Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the 'Outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)` (98/C 64/18)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Draft Treaty of Amsterdam, which was negotiated in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997 and signed on 2 October 1997;

having regard to the final declaration issued after the European Summit of the Regions and Cities on 15 and 16 May 1997;

having regard to the report issued by the Committee of the Regions on 10 April 1997 on the regions and cities: pillars of Europe;

having regard to the final declaration issued after the conference of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions, with the participation of the Assembly of European Regions and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions on 3 October 1996;

having regard to the report issued by the Committee of the Regions on 18 September 1996 on regional and local authorities: protagonists in the political union of Europe;

having regard to the declaration issued by the Committee of the Regions on 8 March 1996 for the Intergovernmental Conference;

having regard to the opinion issued by the Committee of the Regions on 21 April 1995 on the revision of the Treaty on European Union;

whereas the EU needs the full support of its regions, cities and municipalities, whose strength lies in their diversity and autonomy;

whereas the Committee's members are determined to assume their responsibilities and to place their skills at the disposal of the EU by becoming more closely involved in the process of formulating EU policies;

whereas it is only by pursuing this path to reform that the EU will be in a position to create a better future for EU citizens;

1. is pleased to note that the timetable for the IGC has been respected, thereby opening the way for negotiations on the enlargement of the EU; it assumes that agreement will be reached on decisive institutional reforms, such as structural reform of the Commission, the extension of qualified majority voting and the weighting of votes in the Council in order to advance further on the road towards European integration, with an eye to the forthcoming enlargement of the EU;

2. also welcomes the strengthening of democratic legitimacy and vetting of EU decisions brought about by the major extension of the European Parliament's right of co-decision and the widening of the powers of the European Court of Justice;

3. praises the overall outcome of the IGC as an important step on the road towards political union. The Committee draws attention in particular to the enhanced role of the EU in the fields of social and employment policy, which will benefit the EU's citizens and which represents the necessary complement to the agreement to introduce a common European currency. The Committee therefore welcomes the inclusion in the new Treaty of both the agreement on social policy and a new chapter on employment as well as the European Council's resolution on growth and employment;

4. welcomes the declaration that the Union is based on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law;

5. welcomes the progress in promoting equality of opportunity and equal treatment and endorses the new general clause on non-discrimination;

6. expresses satisfaction that the Treaty of Amsterdam makes provision for the Committee to be consulted by the European Parliament too;

7. welcomes the extension of mandatory consultation of the Committee to the fields of: employment, social questions, vocational training, the environment and transport. The Committee points out that the Community does not have exclusive responsibility for these areas which are covered by the principle of subsidiarity, thereby giving the Committee of the Regions special responsibility;

8. welcomes the special emphasis placed on cross-border cooperation in the context of optional consultation by the Council and the Commission and urges that increased use be made of the provision for optional consultation in other important areas, too;

9. is pleased to note that it will in future be given administrative and budgetary autonomy, which will increase the efficiency of its work;

10. a) regrets that Article 3b of the EC Treaty has not been amended to take account of the special role of regional and local authorities in respect of the principle of subsidiarity. The Committee would reiterate the fact that regional and local authorities are in the best position to understand the complex meaning of 'subsidiarity` and to help supervise its observance. The Committee of the Regions regards the protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, appended to the Treaty of Amsterdam, as an important step forward in the efforts to develop the subsidiarity principle as a Community precept. The Committee urges all Member States fully to respect this protocol in both spirit and letter. The Committee welcomes the reference made in the Protocol on subsidiarity and proportionality to the effect that the Commission shall take duly into account the need for any burden, whether financial or administrative, falling upon the Community, national governments and local and regional authorities to be proportionate to the objective to be achieved (Protocol point 9, third indent);

b) hopes that a declaration signed by Germany, Austria and Belgium might be appended to the Amsterdam Treaty, providing that by virtue of the principle of subsidiarity Community action should concern not only the Member States but also their constituent entities, insofar as they possess legislative powers recognized under their constitutional arrangements, and further hopes that all those Member States having territorial entities which possess their own constitutionally recognized legislative powers will associate themselves with the Declaration;

11. regrets that it has not yet been possible, within the framework of the IGC, to take account of the proposals for amending the Treaty so as to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the Committee, namely the proposals to:

a) enshrine the principle of local autonomy in the Treaty; this principle is of major importance for the establishment of a strong European Union which is capable of taking action and is in touch with public concerns;

b) stipulate that members of the Committee shall be elected members of a regional or local authority or be politically responsible to an assembly elected by direct universal suffrage;

c) grant the Committee the status of an institution under Article 4(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and to align the duration of the term of office of COR members on the five-year term of office of MEPs and members of the European Commission;

d) grant the Committee the formal right to bring proceedings before the European Court of Justice in order to defend its powers and to grant a right to institute proceedings to regions with legislative powers;

12. regrets that the endorsement procedure is not to be replaced by the co-decision procedure in the case of all structural fund and cohesion fund regulations;

13. reserves the right to reintroduce its demands for a still better representation of local and regional authorities in future when amendments to the Treaty are on the agenda.

In view of the success of the European Summit of the Regions and Cities held on 15 and 16 May 1997 and its positive impact on the outcome of the intergovernmental conference in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997, the Committee proposes the convening of such a conference, bringing together representatives of regions, districts, cities and municipalities, whenever fundamental decisions have to be taken on the further development of European integration;

14. now believes that its most pressing task is to give effect to the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam as soon as possible and to work in close cooperation with the other EU institutions to implement the tasks allocated to it under the Treaty even more effectively than has hitherto been the case;

15. confirms its interest in working together with the European Parliament and its unqualified readiness to do so, and trusts that consultations between the Committee and the European Parliament will be launched before the Treaty of Amsterdam comes into force;

16. hopes that the European Commission and the Council of Ministers will consult it forthwith, i.e. before the Treaty of Amsterdam comes into force, in all those new areas in which consultation of the Committee has been made mandatory by the Treaty. This applies in particular to the fields of employment, vocational training and protection of the environment. The Committee, for its part, undertakes to forward its opinions to the European Parliament forthwith;

17. hopes that the Treaty of Amsterdam will be ratified swiftly in order to enable the Committee to continue to work for European unification from a position of greater institutional standing. The Committee will endeavour to promote public awareness of the issues involved in European integration and the provisions of the new Treaty so as to achieve the highest possible level of agreement over the ratification of the Treaty.

Brussels, 20 November 1997.

The Chairman of the Committee of the Regions

Pasqual MARAGALL i MIRA