MARIGOT–President Daniel Gibbs has revealed that some payments promised by the French State for reconstruction have not yet been received, including the six million euros for reconstruction of social housing,
The President visited Paris and Brussels from June 25 to 29, to attend several working meetings the Collectivité noted in a report on his visits. On Monday, June 25, he met with the prime minister’s overseas adviser, Xavier Brunetière, and then with Overseas Minister Annick Girardin.
Several important issues were discussed during these two meetings. Among the subjects discussed, the payment of the Overseas Assistance Fund FSOM for individuals and companies, still pending, 10 months after Irma. Some 1,500 files are currently pending. At the President’s request, the State has committed itself to unblocking the situation which penalises many business leaders, in particular taxi drivers who are not eligible for this fund and for whom the State has undertaken to find intermediate solutions.
The President also pointed out the hold-ups linked to reimbursements under the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF). There too, many files await finalisation, but he was assured the process will be accelerated.
With regard to the six million euros granted by the State after Irma for the reconstruction of social housing in St. Martin, the Collectivité has still not received this sum. The minister confirmed the Collectivité would soon receive this money so that it can be distributed among the three social landlords in the territory under a framework agreement.
The President also stressed the problem of Sargassum algae and the need not to forget St. Martin when distributing the three million euros allocated by the State to help the French islands of the Caribbean affected by this phenomenon.
St. Martin should receive part of this sum, but the amount has yet to be defined. The local authority is also eligible for payment of certain operating expenses inherent in the setting up of training and integration sites for the collection of algae. As for the investment component, calls for projects have recently been launched.
With regard to the inclusion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of St. Martin in the National GDP and the creation of statistical tools for the Collectivité (at the request of the Executive Council), the Minister for Overseas Territories indicated the Collectivité would have the possibility of this being included in the next convergence plan.
On the question of taking charge of the Revenue Solidarité Active (RSA), the Minister confirmed that only French Guiana and Mayotte were concerned by a re-nationalisation of this social benefit.
According to the government, the Collectivité will have to continue to bear this burden and is therefore invited to review its payment and eligibility criteria, to increase its control policy and to optimise the addressing system in order to better control this expenditure.
The Ministry for Overseas Territories has committed to releasing 100,000 euros in aid within the framework of an Atout France/Business France partnership designed to support hoteliers in St. Martin on engineering projects.
On June 27 and 28 in Brussels, President Gibbs met the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the Director-General for Regional Policy of the European Commission, Marc Le Maître.
These two meetings, organised within the framework of the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions CPRUP, took place at the right time, since a few days ago the European Commission presented its budgetary and regulatory proposals for the period 2021-2027.
The coming months will thus prove crucial for bringing the voice of the Outermost Regions (ORs), including that of St. Martin, to the French government, which sits on the European Council, and to European members of parliament (MEPs) with a view to adopting regulatory texts and financial envelopes commensurate with the issues at stake.
The ORs are now integrated into almost all the regulatory proposals (20 proposals for regulations), which is unprecedented. Measures for our regions are planned on the basis of Article 349 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The President recalled that, like Europe, St. Martin is also facing new challenges, with structural progress falling behind aggravated by Hurricane Irma. He also stressed the lowering of co-financing rates, particularly in the context of cohesion policy, as a sensitive point. This rate increase from 70 per cent to 85 per cent in the Commission’s regulatory proposals is a handicap for St. Martin.
The President commended the European institutions for allocating 46 million euros from the EUSF for clean-up operations, rehabilitation of basic infrastructure (energy, water, health and education), expenses related to emergency services for immediate needs, and measures to protect cultural heritage.
The Presidents of the ORs also met the President of the Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, and signed the Alliance for Cohesion with him.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78184-6m-euros-for-social-housing-not-yet-received-says-gibbs
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