On 30 May Mr.Stanisław Szwabski, EA member and president of Gdynia council, addressed Commissioner Hahn on the future of structural funds and the partnership agreements.

 

As former rapporteur on the European Code of Conduct on Partnerships, Szwabski praised the effort put in place by the Commission on this front and stressed that "Almost all CoR proposals on the European Code of Conduct on Partnership have been accepted" and the key role of local and regional authority acknowledged.

 

However, still too many are the constraints the LRAs have to live with during the programming phase. If the future Europe 2020 and structural policies are to be effective, LRAs should be given more flexibility in defining their local investment priorities. We expect the Commission to put sanctions aside and to concentrate on technical support and assistance to local authorities, Mr. Szwabski concluded.