EN Official Journal of the European Union C 115/69

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the European Commission's work programme and the Committee of the Regions' priorities for 2006

(2006/C 115/15)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

HAVING REGARD TO the Commission's work programme for 2006, Unlocking Europe's full potential (COM(2005) 531 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the Strategic Objectives 2005-2009 (COM(2005) 12 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the 2004-2006 multi-annual strategic programme of the six presidencies;

HAVING REGARD TO the Communication from the Commission, The Commission's contribution to the period of reflection and beyond: Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate (COM(2005) 494 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the protocol on the arrangements for cooperation between the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions (DI CdR 81/2001 rev. 2);

HAVING REGARD TO the resolution of the Committee of the Regions on revitalising the Lisbon Strategy (CdR 518/2004);

HAVING REGARD TO the resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the way forward for the financial perspectives 2007-2013 (CdR 203/2005);

WHEREAS regional and local governments are the authorities responsible for implementing an important part of EU policies;

WHEREAS regional and local governments help to define the EU's priorities, which greatly enhances the democratic legitimacy of EU policies;

WHEREAS the Committee of the Regions will set its four-yearly priorities in February 2006, at the beginning of its fourth term of office (2006-2010);

adopted the following resolution at its 62nd plenary session of 16 and 17 November 2005 (meeting of 17 November):

The Committee of the Regions

FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES

Considers that the adoption, under the British presidency, of ambitious financial perspectives is essential if the European Union is to fulfil its mandate and secure stronger public support for setting out afresh on the path of reform, for ensuring the European added value of the common cohesion and agricultural policies, and for laying the groundwork for genuinely Community-wide research and innovation policies.

PERIOD OF REFLECTION

Reaffirms its commitment to the Constitutional Treaty and its advances which guarantee better European governance through its considerable improvement in the functioning, simplicity and transparency of the EU compared to the existing treaties.

Recommends that the European Commission give consideration to its proposed roadmap for a decentralised debate during the period of reflection, recognising the need to act at a level as close as possible to ordinary citizens, and conducted in European local municipalities and regions, focusing on the purpose and added value of the European Union, its fundamental values and policies.

Calls upon the European Commission to adopt an ambitious, proactive and, above all, decentralised approach in its implementation of both Plan-D and its future information and communication policy, in order to arouse public support for the European venture.

Is prepared in this regard to assume its responsibilities towards regional and local public authorities and the regional and local press, who represent a crucial link to citizens; and therefore requests an increase in the financial resources allocated to it in order to make an effective contribution to the period of reflection.

EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE

Welcomes the European Commission's view that the European Union will only achieve its objectives if its institutions and national, regional and local authorities, as well as citizens, together contribute to this end; hopes that this partnership in the process of drafting and implementing Community policies will lead, in particular, to:

— a consideration of the contribution that target-based tripartite contracts and agreements could make to the arrangements to revitalise the Lisbon Strategy;

— systematic consultation of local and regional authorities in the early stages of drafting European legislation, regardless of developments in the ratification process;

— increasingly systematic use of the new impact assessment method for the European Commission's major initiatives, and its involvement in the impact assessment method;

— the introduction of a regional dimension to the national action plans to simplify legislation;

— a special focus on the transposition of Community legislation and its effects on the legislation of local and regional authorities.

Welcomes the intensification of the processes of consultation and assessment of the impact of legislation, proposed by the Commission in connection with the objective of better governance. Against the background of the possible impact of the common commercial policy on the regions and municipalities, the Commission is urged to consult the CoR on common commercial policy initiatives, particularly when drawing up recommendations for negotiating mandates for international trade agreements.

Urges the European Commission, in consequence, to promote a more proactive role for the Committee before action is taken at Community level by means of outlook opinions on future Community policies focusing on their impact on local and regional authorities, as well as through impact reports on certain directives from a local and regional perspective.

Emphasises, in connection with the work to codify and recast the Commission's legislative proposals, that ‘better lawmaking’ does not necessarily mean ‘less lawmaking’. Any withdrawal of legislation by the Commission must be accompanied by an assessment of the European added value of the legislative proposal.

PROSPERITY

Reaffirms its conviction that equal attention should be paid to the three pillars of the Lisbon Strategy: the economic, social and environmental pillars.

Invites the European Commission to consider the important role of local and regional authorities in achieving higher growth and employment in the EU in the context of the revision and implementation process of the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs.

Believes that cohesion and competitiveness are two mutually reinforcing objectives, which must go together: exploiting underused territorial potential and capital can improve the competitiveness of an area and contribute positively to the objectives of territorial balance and cohesion. Furthermore supports the idea that competitiveness depends on a functioning single market, and insists that in particular attention is needed in cross-border regions.

Considers that the Lisbon Strategy's governance structures in the Member States should be adapted to allow for a more direct and closer formal integration of Structural Fund support and the Lisbon Strategy.

Fully agrees with the Commission estimation that globalisation is a reality that must be embraced to restore dynamic growth and quality jobs in Europe in particular by putting the emphasis on anticipating and accompanying globalisation-related restructuring.

Urges the European Commission to continue bringing down barriers to citizen mobility and to encourage citizens to take up opportunities throughout the Union, as an essential process for a dynamic economy.

Recognises that education and training are key instruments in achieving the Lisbon objectives and in ensuring that all Europeans are included in the knowledge-based society. In this respect it welcomes the fact that the Commission will focus on the recognition of qualifications, as well as encourage mobility and investment in an entrepreneurial culture.

Attaches much importance to the promotion of a regionally and socially equitable information society ensuring that citizens are equipped with the skills they need to live and work in this new digital age. The CoR has and will continue to make valuable contribution towards the development of local and regional e-services and e-Government underlining that local and regional actions would be the most effective method of achieving results.

Shares the Commission's view of the need to build the Trans-European Network on the Growth Initiative by ensuring that significant extra resources are matched by new measures to make the networks more operational and more coordinated.

Considers that the Trans-European Networks in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors are essential in order to reach the full potential of the European economy, connect the enlarged Europe and improve territorial cohesion.

SOLIDARITY

Upholds the determination to concentrate efforts in introducing appropriate programming for the new generation of Structural Funds, but recalls, in this connection, the administrative and financial consequences for local and regional authorities of delays arising from the continuing absence of agreement on the financial perspectives.

Will closely monitor the implementation of the European territorial cooperation objective, particularly with regard to the definition of eligible areas, the simplification of administrative procedures and the consistency of actions with European guidelines.

Strongly recommends that future programmes financed by the Structural Funds cover such issues as urban renewal, social deprivation, specific housing initiatives, economic restructuring and public transport, all of which tend to be concentrated in metropolitan regions, though recognises the importance of all of Europe's regions and the importance of ensuring an urban-rural balance in future programmes.

Calls on Member States and their regional and local authorities to direct ESF support towards areas affected by urban violence. Urges the Commission to ensure the continuation of the URBAN initiative and its objectives through future structural funding.

Strongly supports the added value of the new legal instrument represented by the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation to foster cooperation initiatives between local and regional authorities, and recalls the importance of not over-burdening the monitoring procedures during the EGTC set-up phase. The Committee has brought together a platform of local and regional cooperation actors to monitor the process of adopting the regulation and launching the first EGTCs.

Reaffirms the need to safeguard a form of agriculture which is multifunctional in all the regions of Europe, since the countryside covers 90 % of Community territory, and welcomes the continuing reform of the CAP in those sectors which have not yet been reformed; recalls, in this regard, that the opportunity presented by the review of Community measures should therefore be used to seek new provisions to compensate for natural disadvantages facing farms in particular, but also measures to encourage the management of large areas and, more generally, their economic development.

Finds indispensable to pursue work in the area of services of general interest, which are of strategic relevance for regional and local authorities. In particular, emphasises the need for a horizontal, cross-sectoral Community reference framework in order to define the scope of services of general interest that are to be exempt from the rules of competition. In this context, in 2006, it will consider with particular interest the communication on the social sector of the services of general interest.

Recalls the political, economic and social challenge which demographic change poses for Europe's local and regional authorities. This change should serve as a spur to action in all areas of public life, since such change must be anticipated if the sustainability of our societies is to be ensured; therefore calls upon the Commission to take practical action in the course of 2006 in response to the Green Paper on demographic change.

Welcomes the Commission's initiatives to develop a new health and safety at work strategy, which will allow the European Union to define a more coherent framework in this field. Stresses the need to ensure the effective involvement of regional and local authorities, in particular in the establishment of health indicators and future benchmarking.

Underlines the importance of equal opportunities, a field in which local and regional authorities have a key role to play in particular given their role as major employers, as well as their responsibility as providers of goods and services. In this respect it looks forward to the European Commission Communication on gender equality strategy.

Welcomes the proposal to hold a year of intercultural dialogue 2008 and reiterates that for the CoR, respect of cultural and linguistic diversity is one of the basic principles underlying the process of European integration which is not about levelling out differences or creating uniform identities but fostering greater cooperation and understanding among the peoples of Europe.

Agrees with the European Commission's point of view in identifying the battle against climate change as one of the greatest future challenges, which should be tackled through a portfolio approach, through cooperation between all spheres of government, in partnership with the private sector, healthcare, community and education groups, and with energy efficiency organisations.

Calls upon the European Commission to include more measures targeting energy supply and distribution industries in the Action Plan, and proposes encouraging economic incentives for energy efficiency measures — especially those fostering the use of renewable energies — and allowing state aids for measures to introduce environmental innovations and productivity improvements with a view to increased energy efficiency, thus instigating innovation, making Europe more competitive and ensuring a sustainable and secure provision of energy.

Highlights the need to create a dynamic maritime sector based on sustainable development, at the same time demanding that the contribution made by local and regional authorities to managing maritime resource be fully recognised and built into the new EU policy.

SECURITY

Supports the implementation of the Hague Programme's ten priorities for the next five years, which are evidence of the will and determination to promote an area of freedom, security and justice, and urges the European Commission to draw up a specific action plan for local and regional authorities, so that the local and regional dimension can play a more effective role in the Community's approach.

Backs the European Commission's commitment to combating organised crime and terrorism, and reiterates its proposal to set up a European Observatory for urban safety bringing together representatives of the local and regional authorities of the Member States capable of providing the CoR and all other relevant European institutional bodies with all information on the planning of policies, the promotion and coordination of research, and the collection, organisation and processing of security data, particularly through the dissemination of examples and best practice and the building of regional and local partnerships.

Renews its recommendation to use the Structural Funds to sustain and develop instruments implementing the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and invites the European Commission to put into practice, under the new financial perspectives, the spirit of the Third Cohesion Report.

Agrees that the safety of transport systems is a primary concern of transport operators and of key stakeholders such as public authorities and passengers and the recent terrorist outrages in London and Madrid provide a stark reminder of the need for an increased focus on the security of transport systems across the EU.

Urges the Commission to plan and develop cross-border operations that involve the active participation of border regions and to improve coordination between the new Solidarity Fund and the Structural Funds, and suggests an increase in the coordination of the European Civil Protection Mechanism by setting up regional civil protection centres in every area at risk, to be responsible for data collection and monitoring and the establishment of an early warning system.

EUROPE, A GLOBAL PARTNER

Intends to press ahead with its commitment to ensuring intercultural political dialogue between the representatives of local and regional governments of the Member States and the accession and pre-accession states; to this end, considers it appropriate to set up a joint consultative committee with Turkey, and renews its request to the European Commission to propose an operational solution as soon as possible in order to offset the lack of a legal basis for setting up a joint consultative committee under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Croatia and the countries of the western Balkans.

Encourages the European Commission, in close cooperation with local and regional authorities and civil society, to promote and support information campaigns on the EU enlargement process at a local and regional level, in both the Member States and candidate and potential candidate countries.

Advocates boosting the neighbourhood policy through new action plans; calls upon the European Commission to take account of the contribution of cross-border and interregional cooperation in these plans and asks to be involved in their drafting, implementation and evaluation.

Restates its commitment to strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, together with its call for steps to be taken to increase the involvement of local and regional authorities, and calls for the creation of a new forum in the Euro-Mediterranean institutional framework, with the task, firstly, of promoting territorial and decentralised cooperation, and secondly, encouraging the partnership, and developing programmes that include schemes to be undertaken throughout the Mediterranean region.

Regrets that the contribution of European local and regional authorities to European development policy presently remains largely unknown, and consequently recommends a reassessment of the role of decentralised cooperation, by recognising that local and regional authorities possess, alongside other actors, specific know-how and experience which they can contribute to the global approach to the fight against global poverty and efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Goals.

Instructs its President to submit this resolution to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, and the Austrian and Finnish presidencies.