PROBLEMS, LESSONS & SOLUTIONS

The EUR 347 billion EU Cohesion Policy, also known as ‘regional policy’, represents over one-third of the entire EU budget for period between 2007 and 2013. Cohesion Policy aim is to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities between European regions and as the European Commission website states, “it is not just about transferring wealth from well-off regions to poorer ones”.The investments should foster sustainable development and new job creation. Cohesion Policy is also an investment framework and delivery system to achieve the Europe 2020 strategy promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the following key objectives:

Climate change

The “20/20/20“ climate and energy targets should be met, including an eventual increase to 30 percent emissions reduction

Education

The share of early school leavers should be under 10 percent and at least 40 percent of 30-34 year olds should have completed a tertiary or equivalent education

Poverty

Aiming to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty or exclusion

Environmental organisations in central and eastern Europe firmly believe that the EU must be ambitious and effectively direct the future Cohesion Policy to facilitate Europe’s transformation to a low energy-consuming, renewables-based and resource-efficient society. Confronting global environmental challenges and tackling climate change, energy crises and the overconsumption of resources must be integral and horizontal components of coherent EU-wide action. Moreover Cohesion Policy investments can create hundreds of thousands of jobs within a few short years and set society on a path to sustainable development that will be less prone to energy and resources crises.

The EU has no money to waste and no time to lose. The EU budget is relatively small when compared to national budgets or private sector expenditures, so it must be used wisely to deliver solutions to the common challenges facing Europe. These challenges are not to be underestimated: the EU is not even on track to meet its 2020 energy efficiency increase target of 20 percent, let alone the 2050 goal to become a ‘low-carbon’ society (meaning reduced green house gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent of 1990 levels). Failure to actively pursue these goals threatens Europe’s energy security because of growing dependence on energy imports and its position in the race for global leadership to develop a competitive low-carbon economy.

Central and eastern Europe in particular needs EU funds to focus on the transformation to sustainable, energy and resource-efficient societies. The region inherits an enduring legacy of energy-intensive economies and unsolved environmental problems like polluted waters waste surpluses. According to the European Environmental Agency, economies of central and eastern Europe still rank among the ten most energy-intensive in the EU and on average need three times more energy per GDP unit than countries in the original EU 15. Concentrating Cohesion Policy funds on energy efficiency measures and energy produced from renewable sources can help CEE countries catch up with other EU Member States and become partners in Europe’s drive towards sustainable development.