ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
10.

agrees with the Commission that there is scope for the EU to work more closely with both civil society and local and regional authorities, but stresses that it must forge closer ties with civil society organisations and regional and local authorities through regular structured dialogue. It regrets that in this connection emphasis is not placed on the key role that RLAs should play as democratic, representative bodies. For example, they could set up partnerships of excellence with local and regional authorities in developing countries, and the Committee of the Regions therefore urges the Commission to create a specific financial instrument that will encourage the creation of such partnerships. The CoR also asks the Commission to set goals for support to local authorities under specific programmes so that the country strategies can produce a wider range of initiatives that promote decentralisation. By this token, the CoR welcomes the proposal to provide more support for decentralisation in line with the funding and objectives relating to social cohesion and human rights;
24.

therefore takes the view that, if the Commission maintains its preference for a regulation that would also govern public bodies and the context of employment law: — the conditions for Member State regulation of the basis of data processing obligations, provided for in Article 6(3) of the draft regulation, should not be further complicated by invoking the limits contained in Article 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in a way that exceeds its intended scope; — the same applies to giving the Commission powers to issue delegated acts further specifying the limits on regulatory areas given over to the Member States, such as processing of health or employee data, or data processing for historical or statistical purposes, or for the purpose of scientific research; — in both fields, the possibility of consent must be expressly mentioned; in relation to public authorities, this also applies within the scope of the Data Protection Directive; — in order to comply with the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, the Commission should, with regard to all delegated acts (Article 86), be obliged to carry out a comprehensive impact assessment and to consult the Council, the parliaments of the Member States and affected members of the public, as well as the Committees, which under the TFEU must be involved when introducing legislative acts, and the European Data Protection Board; similarly, when issuing implementing acts, procedures should be chosen that ensure timely and full participation by all affected groups; — in addition to the rights given to Member States to grant exceptions stipulated in Article 21, the regulation should also at least allow Member States scope for national legislation that subjects data processing used in exercising public authority to different safeguards in line with the objectives of Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as currently provided for in the regulation; — in fixing the scope of the regulation, it should be made clear that its rules only apply to activities within "the scope of Union law", in which the European Union is empowered to issue binding regulations, and not in areas that still fall within Member State competence, or in which the Treaties expressly preclude the power to harmonise legal and administrative requirements, for example in education systems (Article 165(4) TFEU): — Article 82 of the regulation should stipulate that specific rules may be adopted for processing of personal data in the context of collective agreements in the employment context; — the regulation must ensure that management rights are not limited, e.g. in the context of recruitment or dismissal of a controller; — it must be ensured that powers to penalise non-compliance with data protection requirements should clearly differentiate between private, profit-oriented bodies and other bodies, particularly government bodies, for which fines levied on profits are not appropriate and where political control mechanisms are more effective;
Member States' programmes promoting and offering traineeships to young people can be financially supported by the European Funds. In addition, the Youth Employment Initiative will support traineeships in the context of the Youth Guarantee, targeting young people from the Union's regions worst affected by youth unemployment and which will be co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-20. The ESF as well as the Youth Employment Initiative can be used to increase the number and the quality of Member States' traineeship schemes. This involves a possible contribution to the cost of the traineeships including, under certain conditions, a part of the remuneration. In addition, they can also support the costs of other trainings that young people may pursue outside their traineeship, e.g. language courses.

Member States' programmes promoting and offering traineeships to young people can be financially supported by the European Funds. In addition, the Youth Employment Initiative will support traineeships in the context of the Youth Guarantee, targeting young people from the Union's regions worst affected by youth unemployment and which will be co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-20. The ESF as well as the Youth Employment Initiative can be used to increase the number and the quality of Member States' traineeship schemes. This involves a possible contribution to the cost of the traineeships including, under certain conditions, a part of the remuneration, whilst taking the necessary precautions to ensure that this public funding does not replace private funding. In addition, they can also support the costs of other trainings that young people may pursue outside their traineeship, e.g. language courses.
37.

supports the emphasis on greater empowerment of local and regional authorities in this context and emphasises the need to reconcile the thematic concentration principle with an enabling context for integrated solutions at local and regional level. The link between thematic concentration and Cohesion Policy’s focus on results, as well as the need to ensure that Cohesion Policy can offer integrated, flexible and differentiated solutions post-2020 was already addressed in the CoR’s Opinion on the Future of Cohesion Policy beyond 2020, which also called for a dialogue of cooperation between authorities responsible for implementing regional policies and the sectoral policies in good time prior to the start of the next funding period in order to strengthen the territorial approach in line with multilevel governance;
25.

believes that there is a need to promote platforms and initiatives that allow LRAs to share good practices and make use of know-how already made available by established bodies, such as the UNDP Live Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, to prevent the Agenda from being used as an opportunity to recentralise policies. To this end, the CoR looks forward to the launch of the multistakeholder platform announced by the Commission in order to facilitate the roll-out of the universal elements contained in the Agenda at local and regional level, and, above all, to promote the exchange of good practice and the sharing of progress made by the most dynamic European regions; expects to be associated to this platform in the appropriate manner in its institutional role as the assembly representing local and regional authorities;
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council introducing a European services e-card and related administrative facilities

COM(2016) 824 final

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the legal and operational framework of the European services e-card introduced by Regulation [ESC Regulation] …

COM(2016) 823 final

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of professions

COM(2016) 822 final

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the enforcement of the Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market, laying down a notification procedure for authorisation schemes and requirements related to services, and amending Directive 2006/123/EC and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System

COM(2016) 821 final

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on reform recommendations for regulation in professional services

COM(2016) 820 final
17.

asks that, in any case, the following provisions be retained in any future Treaty: — the importance attached to the EU's aims, to values and fundamental rights, and in particular to respect for local and regional self-government and recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity, (Articles I-3, I-5 and Preamble of the Charter of Fundamental Rights); — the new definition of the principle of subsidiarity (Article I-11(3)); — consideration of the effects of Community legislation on local and regional authorities (protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality); — recognition of the principle of consultation, and consequently, closer cooperation between local and regional authorities in drawing up, implementing and evaluating Community policies (protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality); — the possibility for regional parliaments with legislative powers to be involved in the early warning process of ex-ante monitoring of the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality (Article 6 of the protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality); — the CoR's right to bring an action to defend its own prerogatives (Article III-365) and for infringement of the principle of subsidiarity (Article 8 of the protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality); — bringing the term of office of members of the Committee of the Regions in line with those of members of the Parliament and of the Commission (Article III-386(2)); — a new system governing the number and the appointment of its members and alternates, replacing the current system and moving towards a system based on political or territorial criteria (Article III-386); — the acknowledgement of the importance of grassroots democracy in the Union, (Article I-46); — the new provisions on participatory democracy, which call upon the institutions of the Union to give representative associations, including local and regional associations, the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views on all areas of Union action and hold a regular, open and transparent dialogue with them (Article I-47). — the inclusion of territorial cohesion among the objectives of the Union (Article I-3) and the commitments made by Member States with respect to the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion (protocol on social, economic and territorial cohesion); — recognition of the special status of the outermost regions (Article III-424); — the inclusion of the regional and local dimension in matters relating to civil protection (Article III-284).
6.

outlines that in the past the EU has assisted in the development of local democracy and effective local administration in central and eastern European countries. This has, for example, happened through the TACIS and Twinning framework programmes. The coordination between programmes, however, has been insufficient and it would therefore like to support a more efficient approach to the administration of the new EU external aid programmes such as the new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) and new Neighbourhood Investment Fund. The linkage between all the old and new policies and especially the programmes and financial instruments attached to them needs to be clarified from the perspective of local and regional authorities;
22.

notes that existing practices and Community actions, such as the pilot project on social tourism in Europe and the ‘Destinations of Excellence’ (EDEN) initiative, should be reinforced and should take a more sectoral form; to this end, welcomes the practice of selecting a number of categories each year, and carrying them over on a year-to-year basis, so that the change of content does not cause a break in continuity from one year to another. The European Commission is also urged to take measures to encourage cross-border and interregional cooperation between local and regional authorities with a view to promoting joint tourism products;
64.

calls for the four concerned Directorates General of the Commission to prepare as soon as possible common indicative simplified guidelines to implement CLLD in crucial areas such as: an assessment on how CPR funds can realistically deliver integrated local programmes and individual projects, eligibility of expenditures, reporting, cooperation, audit and compliance applicable as well as promotion and knowledge transfer methods. In so doing the Commission should undertake a strategic dialogue with national, regional and local development practitioners that can provide some questions to address in the guidelines as well as some possible answers and examples of existing local development partnerships.
Security requirements and incident notification 1. Member States shall ensure that public administrations and market operators take appropriate technical and organisational measures to manage the risks posed to the security of the networks and information systems which they control and use in their operations. Having regard to the state of the art, these measures shall guarantee a level of security appropriate to the risk presented. In particular, measures shall be taken to prevent and minimise the impact of incidents affecting their network and information system on the core services they provide and thus ensure the continuity of the services underpinned by those networks and information systems.

Security requirements and incident notification 1. The Member States shall ensure that public administrations and market operators take appropriate technical and organisational measures to manage the risks posed to the security of the networks and information systems which they control and use in their operations. These measures might include, on the local and regional level, establishing a risk assessment and management process, enforcing information security policy and increasing perception of cybersecurity issues and improving digital literacy and skills . Having regard to the state of the art, these measures shall guarantee a level of security appropriate to the risk presented. In particular, measures shall be taken to prevent and minimise the impact of incidents affecting their network and information system on the core services they provide and thus ensure the continuity of the services underpinned by those networks and information systems.
18.

in view of promoting sustainable agriculture and forestry within GI, believes that developing bio-sourced building materials is crucial for solidarity between rural and urban areas since the use of traditional building materials in urban areas and for grey infrastructure exerts considerable pressure on rural and also maritime environments. It is essential to encourage the use of wood and other materials originating from co-products of agriculture or complementary to usual crops (straw, hemp, flax, wool etc.) to the benefit of local stakeholders. The CoR believes that local growth dynamics need to be promoted, especially through aid for structuring sectors, for investing in industrial processing tools, and for structuring the market through exemplary public procurement practices or encouraging communities which use them. It is also necessary to develop research programmes on the technical properties of these materials and the proper conditions for producing them in terms of preserving ecosystems. Finally, appropriate labelling must be used to inform users of the agricultural provenance and conditions of these materials;
16.

regards the electronic sharing of data between care providers as crucial to improving quality of care (improving effectiveness and continuity, putting the patient in a stronger position, etc.). In many countries and regions, medical data is currently stored in a very fragmented way (saved in files on individual GPs' and specialists' computers, or on the hospital server), with no way of sharing these data among the practitioners involved in a given patient's treatment. An on-call GP, or a doctor in a hospital's accident and emergency department, may have to deal with an emergency without access to a summary of the patient's key medical data or up-to-date medical history. This problem is exacerbated if the patient is in a foreign country where the language barrier seriously hinders communication between the patient and the care provider, and will become an even bigger challenge once the practical impact of the EU Directive of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare becomes clearer. Laboratory tests and medical imaging are often repeated unnecessarily due to a lack of access to a patient's recent medical history;
15.

emphasises that, when drafting policies at EU and Member State level, it is necessary to bear in mind the need for keeping the energy bill at a reasonable level and that energy efficiency is a crucial means of achieving this, because it would allow consumers and EU Member States to save more than EUR 200 billion every year up to 2030 (1); also considers that it would be useful to recommend that Member States as well as local and regional authorities adopt specific measures for families and vulnerable consumers as regards fighting energy poverty. One of the main ways of improving efficiency has to be the renovation of buildings, which will provide an important source of job creation in a sector as socially sensitive as construction. In addition, it will allow innovation in new energy-efficient and bio-sourced materials, which will entail making investments in RDI. To this end, special funds should be created at European level to promote energy efficiency improvements in buildings;
27.

stresses, finally, that implementation of the transformative agenda requires broad public acceptance. Institutions cannot do it alone, even if they run the gamut from governments, via businesses and knowledge institutions, to NGOs. Once again, the importance of the local level is not to be underestimated. In recent years, activities relating to the Millennium Development Goals have been held in countless towns and villages throughout Europe. There are 1 200 Fair Trade Towns (6) in Europe so far, and we now have the first Fair Trade Regions as well; for decades, hundreds of twinning agreements between European municipalities and their partners in other parts of the world have been drivers for inclusion, understanding and insight in international relations; and in many areas local and regional authorities are helping to shape the European Year for Development 2015. The CoR recommends continuing to make use of this network in the coming years to get the public involved in the transformative agenda, with a view to participation and acceptance, accountability and inclusiveness, as well as its contribution to sustainable change;
36.

wants to see more effective use of support instruments such as Twinning and TAIEX between EU local and regional authorities and their counterparts in ENP countries, with a view to helping ENP countries to develop modern, efficient administrative structures, for example through close cooperation between administrations that includes as a key feature the secondment of officials from a Member State public administration to that of an ENP country. EU regions could also step up their role in supporting potential participants in EU programmes for the 2014-2020 period focusing on third countries such as IPA II (Instrument for pre-accession assistance), the international relations strand of Horizon 2020 and EU programmes involving the participation of EU and non-EU countries, such as the 2007-2013 ENPI CBCMED programme, which will also continue to finance cross-border cooperation during the 2014-2020 ENPI CBCMED programme;
5.

also points out, however, that one of the key aspects of the current migration situation is the increasing business being made of it by people traffickers and organised gangs that exploit human misery and the poor social conditions of the migrants. The CoR supports measures designed to step up the fight against human traffickers and organised crime proposed by European and African Heads of State and Government at the Valletta Summit on 11—12 November 2015; stresses that rapid action as well as long-term, comprehensive and concrete action plans must be set up in close cooperation with non-EU countries. Points out that cooperation on this issue must be mutual, and that countries of origin and transit must commit themselves to supporting and implementing all measures agreed in the Valletta Action Plan. This is why it is essential to have the prompt involvement of the Member States’ law-enforcement agencies, stringent monitoring of criminal gangs and regular reporting on the situation and results in the battle against this form of organised crime, which threatens the safety and social cohesion of the populations of the EU Member States; also stresses the importance of detailed registration at the Schengen borders and effective monitoring of the external borders of the EU. The appropriate level of border control and measures to safeguard the internal security of the Schengen Area should be fully respected; one good example is the cooperation demonstrated by the V4 countries in providing officers to protect the external Schengen border (Hungary, Greece);
18.

Taking account of ongoing discussions on the ‘Agenda for Action’ put forward by the French and Peruvian COP co-presidencies in order to enhance climate action by all stakeholders, the CoR reiterates its desire to see cities and regions involved in this agenda. The CoR: — calls on the cities and regions of Europe to continue and extend their commitment to measurable targets on reducing greenhouse gases, clean transport, developing renewable energies and energy savings to give new impetus to the Paris agreement. It invites them to join the Covenant of Mayors, and the Compact of Mayors and Compact of States and Regions initiatives and to participate in the major meetings in Lyon and Paris to demonstrate their determination, — calls on the cities and regions to continue to share best practices with the other Member States, as well as with the North and South, particularly via the NAZCA platform (6), the Compact of Mayors and the Compact of States and Regions, — is aware that the credibility of commitments taken depends on the selection criteria for projects and initiatives, their transparency, the rigour of methods and the seriousness of their assessment. The Covenant of Mayors is a leader in this field and could inspire other ongoing and upcoming initiatives to ensure that the monitoring, reporting and review system (MRV) (7) is solid. In this regard, the CoR calls on the EU to ensure consistency and harmonisation at EU level, as mentioned above, — also calls on Europe’s cities and regions to use their international decentralised cooperation efforts to support energy transition and resilience in non-EU countries, particularly poor and vulnerable countries. Privileged relations of this kind between regions and cities worldwide could be a vehicle for climate diplomacy at all levels.