Changes from plenary report to adopted text

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 223/2014 as regards Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE),

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC),

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 29 May 2018 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context (COM(2018)0373),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 September 2017 entitled ‘Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions’ (COM(2017)0534),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 3 April 2020 entitled ‘Guidelines on EU Emergency Assistance on Cross-Border Cooperation in Healthcare related to the COVID-19 crisis’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 30 September 2020 on achieving the European Education Area by 2025 (COM(2020)0625),

– having regard to its resolution of 15 September 2022 on economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU: the 8th Cohesion Report,

– having regard to its resolution of 9 May 2023 on the role of cohesion policy in addressing multidimensional environmental challenges in the Mediterranean basin,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2018 on lagging regions in the EU,

– having regard to the study entitled ‘EU lagging regions: state of play and future challenges’, published by its Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services on 26 October 2020,

– having regard to its resolution of 11 September 2018 on boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions,

– having regard to the 2022 report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change entitled ‘Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’,

– having regard to the agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement),

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 19 April 2021 on a renewed Partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood – A new agenda for the Mediterranean,

– having regard to the resolution of the European Committee of the Regions of 1 July 2021 on a vision for Europe: The Future of Cross-border Cooperation,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 8 February 2017 entitled ‘Missing transport links in border regions’,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A9-0415/2023),

A. whereas EU cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries, whether at land or sea borders, covering 184 regions, 33 countries and 260 million inhabitants, is key to EU policies;

C. whereas cross-border cooperation is an important step in the EU pre-accession process of candidate countries;

D. whereas cross-border cooperation contributes to peace and sustainable development along the EU’s external borders, supports democratic reforms, respect for European values, the economic and social development of border areas, including environmental protection, public health services and safety and security measures, contributes to the EU objectives for a smarter, greener and more connected EU and Neighbourhood, as well as to addressing regional needs regarding good cooperation, governance and common challenges, helps to promote mutual understanding and trust and contributes to preventing future conflicts and wars through instruments such as PEACE+ programme;

E. whereas the current geopolitical situation reaffirms the importance of stability and democratic development in the countries and regions at the EU’s external borders;

F. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have had a profound effect on all cross-border cooperation programmes supported by the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI-CBC), which include Russia and Belarus, with a major impact on half of the programmes proposed for the period 2021-2027; whereas cohesion policy can help cross-border cooperation provided that its strategic approach is kept and a robust budget is agreed on;

H. whereas mass departures from some border regions, particularly by young people and skilled workers, illustrates the lack of economic development in such regions; whereas cross-border cooperation can help to create new employment opportunities and sustainable economic development;

I. whereas the fragile political, economic and security situation in North Africa and the management of the migration crisis highlight the need for cooperation in the Mediterranean basin;

J. whereas border regions are often sensitive to tensions and conflicts, and cross-border cooperation and regional diplomacy have a positive impact on preventing and resolving disputes and potential crises;

General considerations on Interreg NEXT programmes

1. Welcomes the alignment of Interreg NEXT programmes with Interreg programmes as this has the potential to simplify procedures, enhance synergies between programmes and increase the effectiveness of European investments; highlights, however, the need for more simplified procedures in both the evaluation phase and the implementation phase of the projects, with a greater focus on the quantifiable results, where appropriate, and the overall impact on the regions’ development and citizens’ lives;

2. Underlines that local and regional authorities play a key role in cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries through their knowledge of the geographical, cultural, linguistic and social situation, the opportunities, the constraints and the shared challenges;

3. Emphasises the importance of cross-border projects, including people-to-people projects, in bringing people together and, in that way, opening up new potential for sustainable local development and cross-border cooperation; stresses the importance of cross-border investments in enhancing innovations, technology transfer, common solutions and synergies between the different programmes and, in that way, increasing territorial cohesion beyond administrative borders and strengthening solidarity;

4. Stresses that the allocation for the period 2021-2027 is far from optimal and consequently underlines the importance of strengthening the financing of these programmes; welcomes the greater accountability of third countries for recoveries from private-sector beneficiaries; emphasises the importance of the rule of law and a level playing field for all beneficiaries, whether public or private, and underlines the need to encourage the involvement of private investors, alongside public investment, in the sustainable development of border regions and third countries by making more funds available;

5. Welcomes the possibility for managing authorities to transmit data to the Commission electronically, but at the same time points out that more frequent data transmission should not lead to greater bureaucratisation; stresses, therefore, the importance of interoperable systems that could automatically submit data to a common database and encourages the Commission to further develop cooperation with third countries in this regard;

6. Expresses its concern that large infrastructure projects will no longer be subject to approval by the Commission;

7. Welcomes the removal of the limit on EU funding for large infrastructure projects and believes that sustainable infrastructure development contributes to socio-economic growth in cross-border regions; underlines, at the same time, the necessity of involving the public and private sectors, which could lead to more innovation and the development of infrastructure relating to the energy sector, transport, communication and digitalisation;

8. Raises the point that major challenges faced by the EU can also be met by promoting cross-border cooperation between neighbouring regions (e.g. a sustainable future for the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and other maritime basins; a sustainable future for the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Carpathians and other mountain ranges; a sustainable future for the large river basins of the Rhine, the Danube, the Meuse, and so on);

9. Emphasises that cross-border cooperation is an important step in EU pre-accession processes, which encourages candidate countries to share experiences and learn how the EU functions internally; highlights that this helps to bring EU initiatives and objectives closer to candidate countries, to share experiences and to begin the economic and social convergence process; stresses that candidate countries that have participated in cross-border cooperation will, at the time of EU accession, already be familiar with EU programmes and projects;

10. Highlights the crucial role of cross-border cooperation in the sustainable management of natural resources and climate change challenges, including natural disasters, environment, biodiversity and food security, as well as ecosystems in border areas; emphasises, in this context, the importance of prevention and of the development of local and regional plans for climate change adaptation measures across borders; highlights the need to increase efforts to fight climate change and enhance climate change mitigation in these regions in particular in order to align with EU climate targets;

11. Underlines the potential of cross-border cooperation, particularly in more sparsely populated cross-border areas, in such fields as renewable energy and the circular economy, and calls for better use to be made of existing opportunities to develop the sustainable economy and quality jobs;

Cross-border cooperation with the Eastern Neighbourhood

12. Welcomes the suspension of cross-border cooperation with Russia and Belarus as a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the re-routing of funds to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which has fundamentally changed the European security architecture; emphasises, consequently, the need for cooperation on security policy in order to achieve the common goals of reliable collective deterrence and defence within the framework of cross-border cooperation;

13. Draws attention to the difficult situation of regions sharing a border with Russia and Belarus following the suspension of cross-border cooperation with these countries and encourages the Commission to work closely with the affected Member States to find sustainable solutions to address the social and economic challenges in these regions;

14. Calls for funds from cross-border programmes to be used for the development of sustainable transport infrastructure, including the construction of railway connections and storage facilities near the EU’s borders with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, in order to streamline the flow of goods and grain so as to ensure global food security, contribute to fostering the development of a sustainable economy for both countries and help frontline Member States, as well as Moldova and Ukraine, to meet these challenges;

15. Recognises the importance of promoting local and regional culture and heritage conservation and educational and economic exchanges between border regions in order to strengthen mutual understanding of neighbours’ customs and create major incentives for multilingual education; underlines the importance of inclusive education with regard to democratic values and the need to support greater quality in this field;

16. Calls for support for more sustainable infrastructure projects that contribute to improving the connectivity of cross-border regions, boosting mobility within and between these regions and enhancing quality of life and opportunities for the regions’ residents, along with projects addressing the need for infrastructure;

17. Recognises the immense efforts made by national governments, regional and local authorities and civil society in the EU Member States situated around Ukraine, as well as the efforts of the Republic of Moldova, to host displaced Ukrainians and address all the challenges arising from the Russia’s war of aggression, including the matter of grain from Ukraine and the lack of transport infrastructure; calls, in this regard, for appropriate support to be given, including through cross-border cooperation programmes, to meet emerging needs;

18. Underlines that although it is not at open war with Russia, the Republic of Moldova also has conflict zones supported by Russia and has welcomed a large number of Ukrainian refugees, and that Moldova’s economic and social situation was greatly affected by the cessation of its commercial relations with Russia; stresses, therefore, that solid investments and an open market are highly necessary and that common projects are more than welcome in all economic and social fields;