A4-0210/98

Resolution on the Commission communication on Agenda 2000 - For a stronger and wider Union, Part 1, Chapter II: Economic and Social Cohesion (COM(97)2000 - C4-0523/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)2000 - C4-0523/97),

- having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 130a thereof on economic and social cohesion, Article 2 thereof on the tasks of the Community and Article 130d thereof on the coordination of the Structural Funds,

- having regard to the Commission's annual reports on the Cohesion Fund and the Structural Funds and its resolutions thereon,

- having regard to the Commission's White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment (the Delors report), and in particular Chapter 10 thereof on sustainable development,

- having regard to its resolution of 5 September 1996 on the Commission communication on a European strategy for encouraging local development and employment initiatives ((OJ C 277, 23.9.1996, p. 45)),

- having regard to the results of the European Council on employment in Luxembourg in November 1997,

- having regard to the first triennial report on economic and social cohesion (COM(96)0542), and its resolution thereon of 19 November 1997 ((OJ C 371, 8.12.1997, p. 89.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 21 November 1997 on the future of the European Social Fund ((OJ C 371, 8.12.1997, p. 251.)),

- having regard to its resolutions of 4 December 1997 on the communication from the Commission 'Agenda 2000 - for a stronger and wider Union' (COM(97)2000 - C4-0371/97) ((OJ C 388, 22.12.1997, p. 17.)) concerning a strategy for enlargement and its impact on EU policies and on the communication from the Commission on Agenda 2000: the 2000-2006 financial framework for the Union and the future financing system (COM(97)2000 - C4-0372/97) ((OJ C 388, 22.12.1997, p. 31.)); having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Regional Policy on the reports on which these resolutions are based,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0210/98),

A. aware that the Structural and Cohesion Funds are the central instruments of economic and social cohesion in the European Union and that they serve the common objective of promoting the harmonious development of the Community as a whole by reducing the disparities in the levels of development of the various regions and the underdevelopment of the most disadvantaged regions, including rural areas, and making a key contribution to the fight against unemployment and social exclusion,

B. whereas the Treaty attaches paramount importance to structural policy, which is intended to improve the economic strength of the most disadvantaged regions, as determined by their level of GDP,

C. whereas in the internal market growth in economic activities may be concentrated on the centres of gravity, to the detriment of disadvantaged regions and the natural environment; whereas, however, even in those centres whole sectors of society do not share in the advantages but are increasingly being forced into poverty; whereas, accordingly, the advantages of integration do not benefit all regions and all people in Europe equally,

D. whereas the idea of a 'Citizens Europe' applies independently of regional location or social standing and whereas it is the shared political task of all Member States to grant everyone comparable opportunities while at the same time avoiding the risk of generations to come being unable to satisfy their needs,

E. having regard to the great challenge facing economic and social cohesion if the EU is enlarged to include a number of central and eastern European states and Cyprus, since these are countries with regions which are lagging way behind the Fifteen in terms of development, together with the efforts which the Member States have to make in the third stage of monetary union,

F. aware of the need for a revision of the current Structural Funds, partly in view of the expiry of the Edinburgh agreements and partly in order to reduce regional and national imbalances, enhance the Funds' effectiveness in fostering sustainable development, enable jobs to be created and keep administrative expenditure at a reasonable level,

G. aware that the Commission has proposed a reduction in the Structural Fund Objectives from six (or rather seven, with the split of 5a and 5b) to three, and whereas it envisages with this greater concentration a reduction in the percentage of people eligible for aid; whereas it would be regrettable, however, in view of the progress made in agricultural reform, for there be no separate support objective for rural areas,

H. whereas, according to the Commission proposals, Objective 1 is to continue to cover underdeveloped regions with a per capita GDP, expressed as purchasing power parities, less than 75% of the Community average, but also all current Objective 6 regions and the ultraperipheral areas,

I. whereas the new Objective 2 is rather complex, since it includes not only areas undergoing economic change but also rural areas in recession and areas dependent on fisheries together with urban areas with severe social problems, and whereas, according to the Commission proposals, Member States will have the flexibility to determine, on the basis of national and local criteria, a percentage of Objective 2 areas within their population thresholds,

J. whereas the Commission proposes to make Objective 3 a horizontal support instrument to be used, in accordance with the long-term employment plans and the new employment chapter in the Treaty of Amsterdam, in the fight against unemployment; whereas, in its resolution of 21 November 1997 referred to above, it set the priority as lifelong learning and expressed the wish for a continuation of the preventive adjustment of human resources to economic change and a modernization of training and employment systems,

K. concerned that, in the absence of support programmes for SMEs, Objective 3 will lose an important instrument for creating sustainable jobs,

L. noting that the Commission is proposing the retention of the Cohesion Fund in its current form, and advocating the retention of a cohesion fund,

M. concerned as to whether the Commission's optimistic forecast of economic growth rates in the EU represents a sound basis for a credible enlargement process in which the CEECs will have to adapt speedily to Community policies, in particular to avoid ecological and social dumping,

N. whereas assistance for structural measures in the applicant countries should be designed in such a way as to speed up the development of the economies of these countries as far as possible; expressing the hope that future structural measures in the CEECs will support local and regional development in addition to the SME sector and employment measures,

1. Takes the view that the European Union's philosophy of integration is credible only if it continues to make economic and social cohesion a political priority;

2. Welcomes in principle the Commission's plans to reform the Structural Funds on the lines of concentration, simplification and efficiency; stresses once again, however, the democratic nature of the Structural Funds which is expressed in the dual principle of participation: by the Member States, on the one hand, and by local and regional authorities and the social partners, on the other;

3. Calls on the Commission to incorporate in the new Structural Funds the objectives of the Treaty - sustainable development, a high level of employment achieved by paying particular attention to SMEs, innovation and the exploitation of new technologies, an appropriate level of social protection, the combating of social exclusion, a better quality of life, an improved environment and equality for men and women - to ensure a European added value when responsibilities are shifted, as planned, to the Member States in order to support the essential objective of the policy of economic and social cohesion laid down in Article 130a of the Treaty;

4. Considers it of fundamental importance to continue giving priority to strengthening Objective 1 regions on the basis of the criterion of a per capita GDP lower than 75% of the Community average and believes that roughly two-thirds of all Structural Fund resources should be allocated to these regions;

5. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to allow all regions of the Union which will no longer be eligible for Objectives 1, 2 and 5b a period of phasing-out tailored to their requirements, and expects that under the new partnership arrangements a new standard of decision-making and results can be achieved;

6. Welcomes the ideas of providing guarantee funding for rural development as part of the agricultural reform; underlines the need for Parliament's full involvement in the scrutiny, evaluation and financial monitoring of rural regional programmes and fully expects the programmes to comply with the principle of partnership and programming applicable to other regional development programmes;

7. Proposes the splitting of Objective 2 into two sub-categories - industrial/urban and rural and fisheries - with their own specific eligibility criteria, objectives and financial quotas to ensure specific and guaranteed support for rural areas, without jeopardizing the need to strike a balance between town and country, on the one hand, and the democratic quality of structural policy, on the other; regards the new definition of Objective 2 proposed by the Commission as unsatisfactory and draws attention to the risk of imbalances in financing between industrial and rural areas;

8. Calls on the Commission to focus Objective 3 on support for local development and employment initiatives, too, and at the same time to support the job-creation side of this policy with accompanying activities;

9. Expects from the Commission that, precisely because the Community initiatives have been reduced, it will pay attention to ensuring that resources are allocated in particular to projects with a European added value, always in the context of the need to strengthen economic and social cohesion, and that, in terms of cooperation with third countries, it will examine whether the financing procedures can be facilitated through the creation of joint funds;

10. Takes the view that, because of their geographical location, special aid, in particular under the INTERREG Community initiative, is essential to cope with the particular problems faced by regions bordering on applicant countries;

11. Believes that the future development of a successful structural policy aimed at improving the instruments for economic and social cohesion on the basis of sustainable regional development depends on an increase in the structural funding available for innovative measures under a future model fund, with management rules revised accordingly;

12. Shares the Commission's objective of enhancing the effectiveness and profitability of the Structural Funds, while expressing doubt as to the viability of the 10% reserve system;

13. Hopes that the EIB and EIF loans will be used as additional means besides Structural Fund subsidies;

14. Hopes that the Commission is not intending to make 'savings' which undermine the principle of economic and social cohesion by penalizing the failure to take up appropriations through a decision not to reincorporate those appropriations into the budget in the context of multiannual programming;

15. Proposes that the Structural Fund regulations, which will probably not be finally adopted before the end of 1998, should be preceded by arrangements which chiefly ensure the prompt participation of the regional and local partners and the social partners and guarantee their involvement in establishing the programmes, with a view to eradicating the delays of previous programming phases;

16. Calls on the Council to adopt the regulations on the Structural Funds as soon as possible to ensure that the new programming period can begin on time;

17. Calls on the Commission to provide indicators to safeguard cost-revenue control and compliance with common political principles in drawing up and implementing the programmes;

18. Stresses the importance of monitoring committees not only for balanced monitoring, but also for revision and adaptation, and expects the composition of the monitoring committees to reflect the new requirements of EU regional policy and to safeguard their authority and decision-making powers; is of the opinion that the participation of the social partners should be organized in such a way as to ensure that it is representative;

19. Supports the continuation of a Cohesion Fund beyond the year 2000, without prejudice to its final position, to be expressed in the framework of the legislative procedure concerning the Cohesion Fund Regulation; notes that the Commission proposes maintaining a Cohesion Fund for Member States whose GDP per capita is less than 90% of the Community average;

20. Considers it appropriate that, where the pre-accession strategy and the transitional period following accession are concerned, provision should be made for a specific and horizontal financial instrument under the Structural Funds designed to ensure gradual and optimum integration, with funding appropriate to the absorption capacity of the countries concerned;

21. Calls on the Commission, in respect of the fisheries sector, to recognize the particular needs of fisheries areas in the context of promoting economic and social cohesion;

22. Stresses the importance of ensuring that the European Union operates in a transparent manner; considers it essential, therefore, to involve the social partners more closely in European Social Fund action and insists that those concerned be given more information, so as to facilitate access to the various European programmes;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.