CoRAI Meeting 30-11-2023

On the morning of 30 November, CoRAI members, members of the CoRAI Focus Group, guests and members of the CoR administration met with the Chair of the Interregional Group, Thomas Schmidt, to sum up the past months since taking over the chairmanship in May 2023 and to look at priorities for the coming year. Susana Solís Pérez, Spanish member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe Group), was invited to share her enriching perspective with the participants as coordinator of the Renew Europe Group in the REGI Committee, as rapporteur on the opinion on "reshaping the future framework of EU structural funds" and as shadow rapporteur on the "Euro 7" report. Petr Dolejsi, further guest speaker, spoke in his role as Mobility & Sustainable Transport Director of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) and as Vice-President of the Automotive Skills Alliance (ASA).

A six-month chairmanship marked by a variety of high-level discussions and a good partnership with ARA and ASA

In his report, CoRAI Chairman Schmidt emphasised in particular the good cooperation with the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA), whose chairmanship he recently passed on to the President of the regional government of Navarre, María Victoria Chivite Navascués, at the second ARA Political Conference in Pamplona. The recently agreed Working Agreement between CoRAI, ARA and ASA and the Navarre Declaration are particularly worth mentioning. According to Schmidt, both documents serve to coordinate the joint efforts more effectively and to address the issues even better politically.

CoRAI maintains and values its close relationship with the EU Commission, as demonstrated by an invitation to talks with EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton and EU Commissioner for Social Affairs Nicolas Schmit as part of the "Route 35" process in June of this year. The two letters written by the Chairman of the COTER Commission, Emil Boc, together with Thomas Schmidt – which included the addition of a 6th indicator in the "Route 35" process – were positively received, summarised the Chairman.

The European Parliament was also involved in the group's activities, for example at the Political Breakfast on 10 October, where several representatives of the regions massively affected by the transition gathered and exchanged views with political actors and stakeholders. Another highlight was the adoption of the opinion "A Just and Sustainable Transition for Automotive Regions" in October during the 157th plenary session of the CoR, which was discussed during the last CoRAI meeting on 25 May and prepared by the Minister of Economic Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt (DE) Sven Schulze as rapporteur in the COTER Committee.

Three demands from CoRAI to the European Commission

The fact that the Intergroup has expanded this year to include additional members (Juraj Dobra (SK/EKR), Marco Marsilio (IT/EKR), Sven Schulze (DE/EPP)) and has now grown to 41 members made Thomas Schmidt confident that he would be able to successfully address the following three demands to the EU Commission and the relevant bodies:

1. We are talking about an industrial transformation that primarily affects regional jobs and value creation. We therefore need a well-founded impact assessment. This is the EU Commission's duty.
2. If the EU Commission sets targets with the Green Deal and triggers a change in the economy, then it should also help the regions to achieve these targets.
3. We therefore need a European mechanism to promote fair and equitable change.

These demands to the EU Commission were reiterated by MEP Susana Solís Pérez in her guest contribution. As rapporteur on "reshaping the future framework of EU structural funds to support regions particularly affected by challenges related to the automotive, green and digital transitions", it is important to her that the Just Transition Fund is extended to the automotive regions affected by the transition in the future design of European cohesion policy in order to make the transition a success. This also includes an accelerated expansion of charging stations for electric vehicles, particularly in rural areas.

When considering the impact of transformation projects, the entire value chain must be taken into account, said Solís, agreeing with the CoRAI Chair's first demand. Solís made an appeal to the members of CoRAI and thus the European Committee of the Regions: "We need more data to be able to design suitable instruments for a just transition!"

Study results on the regional effects of the automotive transition and possible adaptation scenarios expected soon

The CoR will be able to fulfil this request in the coming weeks to some extent. For the study commissioned by the CoR "on the regional impact of the automotive transition and possible adaptation scenarios", expert interviews and surveys were conducted among regional authorities of ARA members. The results of the study are expected at the beginning of next year.

Following the meeting, CoRAI obtained the following key findings on the study from the project leader Ivo Hindriks (Panteia):

The study aims to

1. identify the current composition of the automotive sector within different regions and their challenges,

2. identify elements for a regional transformation strategy

3. develop a KPI framework to keep track of the transition of different regions and potentially develop new KPIs, building on “Route 35 Platform” KPIs

The automotive industry can be broadly divided into core, periphery and semi-periphery regions, with an overlap in challenges between regions as they simultaneously fulfil different functions in the supply chain. Labour shortages and retraining, as well as the transition to EV production and adoption, are among the main challenges for all regions.

A successful regional transformation strategy involves many stakeholders from different levels and a host of initiatives, with innovation and investment programmes and employment and re-training policies, considered the most important elements.

The study finds that regions risk being insufficiently monitored by the “Route 35 platform” KPI areas as insufficient data is being collected on a regional level on indicators relevant to regions. The study recommends the establishment of a Monitoring Programme for Automotive Regions where selected automotive regions monitor a selected list of indicators relevant to regions, building forth on existing initiatives (Eurostat, SDG, TEN-T policy indicators)

Petr Dolejsi, ACEA Director for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, added to the canon of agreement on the funding framework for the regions in his key note, in which he emphasised the importance of targeted and simplified funding options. Bureaucratic hurdles, such as excessive audits, offer too few incentives. The Chairman also took up the call for deregulation in his closing remarks. With regard to his role as Vice-President of the ASA, Dolejsi emphasised the need to focus more on the aspect of upskilling and reskilling.

A holistic approach must be pursued

In the ensuing discussion, characterised by the contributions of Thomas Wobben (CoR Director of Legislative Works 2) and Claudia Suppan (Deputy Head, Liaison Office of the Regional Government of Styria), the importance of a holistic approach was emphasised, which must include good cooperation with all Directorates-General concerned. Overall, the expectations on the next EU Commission are very high; the current legislative period focussed on regulation must now be followed by an implementation phase.

For CoRAI, the conclusion is therefore to call on the next EU Commission to address the just transition of all regions by appointing a European Commissioner with primary responsibility for all industrial transition pathways with an impact on the regional economy. It can be concluded that CoRAI has ambitious plans for the 2024 election year.