An Opinion by the European Economic and Social Committee has called on the Commission to provide specific tools that will allow ‘areas with structural and permanent disadvantages (islands, mountain regions etc.1) to effectively tackle their specific and complex challenges’.

EESC member Stefano Mallia, who was the rapporteur of this Opinion believes that such a call should also be applicable to island states such as Malta and Cyprus. Mallia said ‘Article 174 of the Treaty makes specific reference to such areas however there are no specific provisions within Cohesion Policy which provide these areas with specific tools or advantages to tackle what are undeniable challenges. In this Opinion we are calling on the Commission to formally refer to Article 174 and to give such regions the possibility to develop ad hoc tools and mechanisms to tackle or compensate for issues such as geographical distance from mainland Europe, increased pressure on the natural environment due to lack of space and problems concerning waste management’.

The Opinion also calls for a higher co-financing rate to be given to EU funded projects taking placein such areas facing ‘structural and permanent disadvantages’. In its proposals for the next round of Cohesion funding for the period 2021 -2027, the Commission is proposing that the co-financing rate for EU funded projects goes down from the current maximum rate of 80% to a new maximum rate of 70%. In the EESC Opinion Mallia calls on the Commission to 1) not reduce the co-financing rate and 2) to give an even higher co-financing rate to those areas classified under Art 174 for which Malta too would classify. On this aspect Mallia said ‘ the Commission feels that the co-financing rate should now be reduced to allow for more projects to take place. This we feel is unfair especially on the smaller Member States such as Malta as it will mean more national funds will be needed for EU projects to take place. In our view islands and other areas facing particular difficulties should be given a higher and not lower co-financing rate’. He also pointed out that there will be a few Member States which are currently enjoying a co-financing rate of 80% but which could go down to 55% in the next programming period. According to Mallia, ad-hoc solutions need to be found for such Member States.

The Mallia Opinion was adopted by the EESC during the last plenary session with an overwhelming majority and will now be sent to the Commission, the Council and the Parliament to be taken into account during their deliberations on the new Cohesion Policy budget for the period 2021 – 2027.