The rebellion to prevent European funds from passing through Madrid

BrusselsBrussels' new obsession is to simplify and reduce bureaucracy. And, with this goal in mind, the European Commission is considering further centralizing cohesion funds, which are one of the most substantial in the European UnionIn this way, the state governments would negotiate them with the EU executive and distribute them within their territories, leaving each regional administration in charge of this. They are included in the European Commission's proposal for the next European budget, scheduled for July 16.

The outcry from the regions is significant. Foreign Action, Jaume Duch, has met with the Vice President of the European Commission, the far-right Italian Raffaele Fitto. They have asked the EU executive to back down and not modify the way cohesion funds are distributed, which in the previous budget period (from 2021 to 2027) amounted to €42.556 billion. The European budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework, must be negotiated and approved by the EU Council—where the countries are represented—and by the European Parliament, where there is also a general reluctance to centralize cohesion funds.

So why is Brussels considering recentralizing them? The European Commission's initial intention was to impose conditions on the allocation of this funding, and it could gain influence over the policies pursued by member states. In fact, this is how the COVID recovery funds work: Brussels only disburses the money if governments approve the measures jointly agreed upon by the EU. However, regional administrations argue that the COVID recovery funds were approved at an exceptional time and ask that their operation not be extrapolated to other funding sources.

It should be remembered that this is not the first time that Brussels and northern EU states, such as Germany and the Netherlands, have pushed for these funds, from which southern countries primarily benefit, to be linked to a series of measures. It would be a way for countries that contribute more money to the European Union budget to gain influence over the policies of states that receive more funds, especially regarding cohesion.