The European Parliament supports lagging regions catching up
The European Parliament accepted a resolution regarding the situation of lagging regions. The MEPs are asking the EU to continue to support cohesion policy, by ensuring the resources in the next budget cycle for lagging regions. In the opinion of Csaba Sógor it is in the interest of Romanian Hungarians that the EU continues to ensure resources for cohesion policy.
The European Commission issued on 2017 October its 7th report on economic, social and regional cohesion, specifying two types of lagging regions: “low growth regions” like some regions of Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, and “low income regions” like underdeveloped parts of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
The Strasbourg plenary accepted on 13 March a report on lagging regions, as an answer to the October report of the European Commission. The EP decided that despite the burden that weighs on the budget of the union in the matter, the EU has to ensure the catching up of lagging regions, as this is the only solution to reduce disparities in the regions’ development levels.
“Most regions of my country are considered lagging. The situation of these regions is very concerning because current tendencies maintain underdevelopment and make cohesion policy hard to apply effectively” - remarked RMDSZ MEP Csaba Sógor in the debate. The MEP also drew attention to critical factors such as low productivity and employment rates, lack of adequate education and training systems, an inflexible labor market and a demographic decrease affecting these regions.
