EN Official Journal of the European Union C 57/39

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the legislative and work Programme of the European Commission and the priorities of the Committee of the Regions for 2007

(2007/C 57/09)

The Committee of the Regions,

HAVING REGARD TO the Commission Legislative and Work Programme 2007 (COM(2006) 629 final);

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

HAVING REGARD TO the resolution of the Committee of the Regions on its priorities for 2006-2008 (CdR 11/2006 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the Commission communication entitled ‘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 communication entitled ‘A Citizens' Agenda: Delivering Results for Europe’ (COM(2006) 211 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the protocol governing arrangements for cooperation between the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions (R/CdR 197/2005 item 11);

adopted the following resolution at its 67th plenary session on 6 and 7 December 2006 (meeting of 7 December).

The Committee of the Regions,

welcomes the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU on 1 January 2007 as a further step towards political stability and prosperity in Europe;

1. Continuation of the constitutional process

1.1 intends, on the occasion of the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome that it will hold in the Italian capital on 22 and 23 March 2007, to re-affirm the need for a revival of the constitutional process;

1.2 expects, as a consequence of the institutional regulation, to keep the acquired rights granted in the Constitutional Treaty signed by the Heads of State and Government on 29 October 2004, and in particular with regard to the territorial dimension of the European Union;

1.3 reiterates its desire to be involved, together with the European Parliament, the European Commission, the national parliaments and the German presidency, in the preparation of the Berlin Declaration of March 2007 in which it wants to add its voice of support to the renewed commitment to an enlarged, sustainable, open and competitive Europe;

1.4 is aware of the issues at this crucial phase and of the responsibilities which also fall on local and regional elected representatives; is cooperating in the implementation of Plan D for democracy, dialogue and debate, particularly as regards its decentralisation in order to encourage an open and direct dialogue with the citizens in Europe's cities and regions on the future of the European Union, and urges reciprocal commitments which will be entered into by the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission with regard to the introduction of a decentralised communication policy;

1.5 believes that an analysis of the costs of not having a Constitution is important for taking the debate forward and showing citizens the benefits of the draft text, and is willing to contribute by identifying such costs from a local and regional authorities' perspective;

2. European governance

2.1 welcomes the new strategy of the European Commission for European citizens which, while resting on the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, endeavours to consolidate the Community method by promoting a ‘Europe of projects and results’, in particular with a view to the full completion of an open and efficient single market, the strengthening of solidarity, the implementation of the strategy for sustainable development and the consolidation of security;

2.2 urges the European Commission to make full use of its role as the engine of the European integration process and as guardian of the EU Treaties, and recalls that a coherent long-term political vision which translates into concrete political action is a precondition for ‘better law-making’ and ‘better regulation’;

2.3 welcomes the Commission's commitment to hold a regular dialogue with young people. The EU needs to encourage young people to take part in shaping the future of Europe. Promoting the creation of a citizens' Europe and the integration of young people into society remain priorities for the CoR;

2.4 requests the sustained adoption of European territorial pacts which, in the name of the ‘partnership principle’, will make it possible to increase territorial consistency and the flexibility of policies with a strong territorial impact through structured collaboration between the various levels of governance; therefore calls on the Commission to commit itself to re-launching the test phase for this instrument;

2.5 advocates the strengthening of the Committee of the Regions' commitment at all stages of the Community's decision-making process, and in particular in assessing the territorial impact of major Community policies; stresses, moreover, the decisive role that regional and local authorities, properly involved in the preparation of legislative acts, can play in their transposition and implementation;

2.6 underlines the potential offered by the new European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGCT) Regulation as an innovative legal mechanism for the development of territorial cooperation and looks forward to contributing towards its implementation on the ground by activating concrete initiatives, especially within its cooperation agreement with the European Commission;

2.7 believes that a constant scrutiny should be placed on ensuring proper implementation of EU standards and principles in candidate and pre-candidate countries; stresses that close attention should be paid to genuine decentralisation, respect for cultural and linguistic diversity and the establishment of a modern public administration;

3. Budgetary review

3.1 confirms its commitment to contribute to the review of the EU budgetary framework; announces that a working group has been established for this purpose within the Committee of the Regions Bureau;

4. Prosperity

4.1 underlines the need for a continuous modernisation of the European economy and the European Social Model through the renewed Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs;

4.2 stresses that the results of the Lisbon Monitoring Platform (which has been established by the CoR in 2006) show that the Lisbon governance cycle has to encourage more visible ownership and commitment to delivery at all concerned levels, and greater involvement of local and regional authorities;

4.3 therefore urges the Member States and the European Commission to involve local and regional authorities to a greater extent, as the Lisbon Strategy can only be successfully delivered if all stakeholders are fully involved in the decision-making, implementation and monitoring processes and invites the European Council, the European Commission and the Member States to take part in its Territorial Dialogue 2007, which deals with the contribution of cities and regions to the successful implementation of the Strategy for growth and jobs;

4.4 reiterates its emphasis on the role of regionally and locally anchored services of general interest in delivering the aims of the Lisbon Strategy;

4.5 stresses, through the Lisbon Monitoring Platform results, the great importance of the Cohesion Policy in the funding of Lisbon-related actions at local and regional level. The study that was made in connection with the outlook opinion — Leverage effect of European Cohesion Policy under the Structural Funds — that the CoR will adopt at its plenary session in February 2007 shows that, as a result of its specific features (partnership, additionality, strategic programming and multiannual funding), EU cohesion policy has had a number of significant impacts and leverage effects at the local and regional level. It is visible and perceived to be inclusive by European citizens because of its tangible contribution to improving quality of life;

4.6 welcomes the planned Regions for Economic Change initiative as an opportunity to share experiences between regions, to bridge territorial cooperation with mainstream regional development programmes and to allow closer work between the European Commission, the Member States, and cities and regions; urges the Commission to actively involve local and regional authorities in the process of selecting priority fields for the initiative and expects to be fully involved in the development of this initiative;

4.7 welcomes the European Commission's proposed stocktaking of European society as well as the Single Market review, to which the Committee of the Regions will contribute by adopting an outlook opinion; agrees with the ambition of breaking down barriers to the opportunities offered by the European Single Market, ensuring that citizens effectively reap these benefits; underlines, however, that solidarity and social and territorial cohesion must at the same time remain at the core of European policy-making;

4.8 welcomes the European Commission's aim to take further steps to improve the European Research Area and points out that European research and innovation potential depends on the capacity and specialisation of every European region; will continue to follow closely the setting-up of the European Institute of Technology, highlighting the decisive cluster-forming role which local and regional authorities play in promoting university-enterprise collaboration, in particular with small and medium enterprises, and reiterates that one of the prerequisites for a successful innovative Europe is the introduction of a Community patent;

4.9 stresses that education, training and life-long learning are fundamental to meeting the challenges of globalisation, in particular by promoting a highly qualified workforce that is able to meet the constantly changing labour market demands of the knowledge society; underlines the need to recognise the key competences of local and regional authorities in these fields;

4.10 believes that Europe also needs a strong enterprise culture and will continue to encourage local and regional authorities to promote entrepreneurship in schools as a valuable career choice contributing to Europe's prosperity; encourages the EC to re-start its ‘Young Entrepreneurship’ programme;

4.11 reiterates the importance of promoting information and communication technologies that support a regionally and socially equitable information society which includes all citizens and equips them with the skills they need to live and work in the knowledge society; will continue to ensure that the regional and local dimension is also given focus within the framework of the i2010 initiative;

4.12 welcomes the European Commission proposal to continue, as part of the framing of the EU's future maritime policy, the development of an integrated approach taking into account all the policies that have repercussions on the maritime environment, including measures needed to guarantee the sustainability of the European fisheries sector, and in particular the communication on the ports policy of the European Union; reaffirms its interest in being involved in the framing of this integrated policy and its implementation;

4.13 underlines the importance of the mid-term review of the EU Transport Policy and expresses its intention to highlight those commitments already made by the EU in this area with a view to their full implementation, and its wish to contribute to the debate on the initiatives put forward by the European Commission on urban transport, port policy, air transport and the Trans-European Networks of Transport during the period 2007-2013;

4.14 considers that some serious thinking should be started as of now on producing a quality-based Common Agricultural Policy and on the role of a beefed-up rural development policy after 2013, and asks that a consultation procedure, focused on sustainable development, competitiveness and innovation and involving local authorities should be started from the beginning of the new programming period in 2007;

4.15 considers that coordination at regional and local level between rural development policy and regional policy is essential to ensuring optimum use of the financial resources are allocated to them, and, for this reason, points out how much importance it attaches to local authorities being involved in all the stages of developing and implementing rural development programmes;

4.16 encourages the Commission to stimulate an open debate on the co-existence of genetically modified crops and conventional and biological crops, and, while respecting the powers of local authorities and the options chosen by them, promote transparent solutions that reconcile the interests of consumers and farmers, respect the environment, protect health and promote research and competitiveness;

5. Solidarity

5.1 recognises that an ageing population is one of the main challenges that the European Union will have to face in the years to come; underlines the necessity of taking into account the issue of ageing in all policy areas and affirms that there need to be regionally diversified approaches since significant differences are apparent in ageing patterns at different territorial scales;

5.2 welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to develop a European framework for economic immigrants with special attention given to highly skilled migrants as one of the responses to increasing demographic pressures, without undermining the development of third countries;

5.3 urges the Commission to come forward with a communication outlining common principles to define and explain ‘flexicurity’, in particular with regard to how this approach could combine labour market flexibility and the development of skills with strong social protection and at the same time taking into account the specific features of different Member States and regions;

5.4 welcomes the ‘European Year of Equal Opportunities — 2007’ as well as the European Commission's ambition to take stock of the social situation in the European Union, with a particular emphasis on questions of access and opportunity, with a view to building a new consensus on the social challenges facing Europe; reiterates the need to take seriously discrimination with regard to age, gender, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief;

5.5 welcomes the forthcoming 4th Report on Economic and Social Cohesion on the progress made towards economic, social and territorial cohesion and the contribution made to cohesion by European and national policies, as well as by the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, other financial instruments and the European Investment Bank, and underlines the important place of cohesion policy in the upcoming mid-term review of the Community budget;

6. Energy and climate change

6.1 expects the strategic review of energy policy for Europe to provide a fresh impetus for a common approach to competitiveness, the security of energy supplies, and the challenge of climate change; This must be based on innovation and the use of new technologies, renewable energy and energy efficiency so as to reduce dependence on energy imports from non-EU countries and bring about the internal market in gas and electricity; requests, therefore, that the dialogue between the European Commission and regional and local authorities be stepped up, since the latter are fully involved in the implementation of projects to encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy;

6.2 reiterates its support for the European Commission in its commitment to face up to climate change and feels it essential that the Commission should promote ambitious objectives at international negotiations for the post-2012 period, which involve both the main greenhouse gas-producing countries and the main sectors responsible for climate change; will contribute ideas for the post-2012 targets during the course of 2007;

6.3 welcomes the emphasis placed once again by the European Commission on adapting to climate change, as certain effects of climate change are no longer avoidable; stresses the need to examine Community policies in the light of these changes; considers it a priority to beef up research into the economic, ecological and social effects of climate change in the various regions and to inform citizens of these effects and costs and asks the European Commission to promote an exchange of good practices in this field so that local and regional authorities can develop methods of adaptation that can be applied to the various situations of the cities and regions of Europe;

7. Area of freedom, security and justice

7.1 recommends recognition of a common European policy on immigration and asylum which is based on five pillars: increased cooperation between the Member States and non-EU countries; securing of external borders and the fight against human trafficking; the development of coherent and effective policies to protect minors; a return policy; an integration of migrants into society. This policy must take account of local authorities' responsibilities in implementing the priorities of the Hague Programme, particularly as regards the integration policy followed with the aim of encouraging access to jobs, the right to education and training, access to social and health services, the participation of immigrants in social, cultural and political life, and access to facilities for learning the official languages of the host country;

7.2 welcomes the new initiative by the European Commission to organise an annual conference on the subject of Integrating Cities, the first one having been held in Rotterdam in October 2006. Confirms its commitment to continue playing an important part in future editions, beginning with the 2007 conference which will take place in Milan;

7.3 asks, therefore, with a view to setting up a systematic and structured institutional partnership, to be involved in the consultation phase on immigration, which will be launched by the European Commission at the beginning of 2007, and in the new method for assessing implementation of the Hague Programme presented by the Commission in June 2006;

7.4 welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to issue a handbook on immigration and integration during 2007, stresses that the Committee of the Regions, through its members, can provide a rich source of information and best practices in this area, and therefore calls on the European Commission to involve the Committee of the Regions as closely as possible in the preparation of this handbook;

7.5 highlights the fact that several regions and cities are particularly affected by immigration influxes and suffer from a lack of means to deal with the masses of immigrants with adequate humanitarian care; therefore requests that Frontex play an increasingly important role in coordinating assistance to the regions concerned;

7.6 recalls the need for a careful balance to be struck between security needs in a globalised world and fundamental individual rights and freedoms;

8. Enlargement

8.1 encourages the Commission to assess the EU's capacity for integration in cooperation with the other institutions, including the CoR; recognises that a public debate about future enlargements is taking place and welcomes this debate;

8.2 supports the process of EU enlargement to include Croatia, Turkey and the Western Balkans and commits itself to developing dialogue between regional and local authorities in the EU and in countries which are or may be candidates for EU membership; believes that, regardless of Turkey's future status within the European Union, it is in Europe's interest to continue encouraging Turkey down the path of reform. Plans to continue direct contact with Turkish local and regional authorities with the objective of setting up a Joint Consultative Committee at the earliest possible opportunity;

9. Speaking with a strong voice in the world

9.1 intends to contribute to the democratic consolidation of the neighbouring countries and the countries of the Western Balkans by taking part in missions to observe regional and local elections and by developing, with this end in view, suitable inter-institutional cooperation at Community and European level;

9.2 strongly encourages implementation of the regional conference Euromed Barcelona + 10 and recalls the importance of institutional dialogue between local authorities in the European Union and the non-EU partner countries of the Mediterranean basin (MPCs) with a view to encouraging the exchange of good practices as regards regional partnership, decentralised cooperation, decentralisation and good governance in the Euro-Mediterranean area; to this end calls for the creation of a Forum for dialogue between regional and local authorities in the EU and the MPCs;

9.3 stresses the need to nurture constructive relations with countries in the Neighbourhood area at a local and regional level, particularly along the newly drawn Eastern borders of the European Union;

9.4 underlines that relations should be developed and reinforced to the extent of creating Strategic Partnerships with Russia and the new Northern Dimension Policy Framework;

9.5 stresses the importance of good governance for implementing the European Consensus for Development and considers that application of the subsidiarity principle as part of decentralised cooperation is a key constituent of good governance and European development policy;

10. instructs its president to forward this resolution to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the presidencies of the European Union in 2007, namely the German and Portuguese presidencies.