Explanation of vote for the Report

I am voting for this legislative proposal because it introduces needed changes to transfer resources between categories and goals for expenditure in order to keep abreast of set priorities.
Especially, the proposal supports the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative and takes into account the new eligible status of Cyprus under the Cohesion Fund.
However one must point out that despite the improving economic situation across the EU, divergences between regions of the Union are still growing rather than decreasing.
The likelihood is that this state of affairs will continue even if some measures to address the problem have been taken.
The problem is that the tools that are available are not good enough.
In reality, especially within the eurozone, we are operating as a one-way transfer union through the terms of trade that automatically apply within the single market.
Unfortunately though this is an obvious fact of life for all Europeans, the political will is lacking to tackle it through political action that would aim to consolidate the developments of the last thirty years not just institutionally, but also across the Union in terms of the living and work conditions of citizens.