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Bratislava – Cohesion and cooperation between regions must remain the basis of European investments. This was stated by the President of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (BSK) Juraj Droba after Tuesday’s meeting with the European Commissioner for Budget, Fight against Fraud and Administration Piotr Serafin. The discussion focused on the proposal for a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the years 2028 – 2034. TASR was informed of this by BSK spokesperson Lucia Forman.
“For us it is important to focus on the goal and the result, so that EU funds are less bureaucratic, simpler, and so that we deal less with processes and more with what actually remains built in the territory. I am pleased that the European Commissioner appreciated this approach, as well as the efficient and meaningful use of the funds,” said Juraj Droba.
The meeting also concerned how to ensure that cohesion policy remains a strong tool of regional development. According to the head of BSK, regions expect stability, predictability and genuine partnership from the new financial perspective. He also recalled that strengthening Europe’s competitiveness cannot happen at the expense of cohesion policy, which is the basis of regional development, innovation and social stability.
The Bratislava Region is advocating in the EU Committee of the Regions for cohesion policy to remain accessible to all regions
He also emphasized that regions must be full-fledged partners in the new MFF. The Bratislava Region, together with the Slovak and Czech delegations in the EU Committee of the Regions, is advocating for cohesion policy to remain accessible to all regions. Likewise, that National Regional Partnership Plans should contain mandatory regional chapters with their own allocations and that the European Commission should conduct direct negotiations with the regions.
According to him, it is important that cohesion policy has a separate and stable allocation and that new European instruments are firmly linked to territorial needs. “In addition to the official position of the government, from my point of view the voices of regional self-governments are equally important. That is why we discussed today how to incorporate the interests of the Bratislava Region – and, frankly speaking, of all Slovak regions – into the framework of this long-term budget so that the budget continues to support the economic development of Slovakia,” noted Piotr Serafin.
The meeting also included a visit by the European Commissioner to the Ekocentre Čunovo, which BSK built thanks to cross-border cooperation between Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. It is an environmental education complex focused on nature protection, biodiversity and climate challenges, which also serves as a model example of the effective use of EU funds. (2 December)