Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on "Regional and local authorities and the European Union's common strategy for the Mediterranean"

(2001/C 22/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the declaration adopted at the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean conference on 28 November 1995;

having regard to the conclusions of the Vienna European Council of 11 and 12 December 1998;

having regard to the conclusions of the Stuttgart Euro-Mediterranean conference of 15 and 16 April 1999;

having regard to the conclusions of the Cologne European Council of 3 and 4 June 1999;

having regard to the conclusions of the Feira European Council of 19 and 20 June 2000;

having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on strengthening the Mediterranean policy of the European Union: Proposals for implementing a Euro-Mediterranean partnership (COR 371/95)(1);

having regard to its opinion on Local authorities and the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (COR 125/97 fin)(2);

having regard to its resolution on Decentralised cooperation and the role of regional and local authorities in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (COR 40/2000 fin)(3);

having regard to the European Parliament's resolution of 30 March 2000 on Mediterranean policy;

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 11 April 2000, under the fifth paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an opinion on Regional and local authorities and the European Union's common strategy for the Mediterranean, and to direct Commission 1 for Regional Policy, Structural Funds, Economic and Social Cohesion and Cross-border and Inter-regional Cooperation to undertake the preparatory work;

having regard to the draft opinion (COR 123/2000 rev. 2) adopted by Commission 1 on 28 June 2000 (rapporteur: Mr Chaves González (ESP-PSE));

considering the strategic importance of the Mediterranean for the whole European Union, as demonstrated by the process launched at the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean conference in November 1995;

considering the need to strengthen this process, as in many respects it has not lived up to the expectations raised on both sides of the Mediterranean. Action is particularly needed in the political sphere, establishing effective instruments to ensure that the Euro-Mediterranean partnership helps to create an area of peace, stability and progress;

considering the EU's commitment to enter a new stage in Euro-Mediterranean relations, as expressed at the Feira European Council which approved the common EU strategy for the Mediterranean, designed in particular to give a new boost to the Barcelona process;

considering the decision of the third Euro-Mediterranean conference in Stuttgart, to hold a fourth Euro-Mediterranean conference a the end of 2000, under the French presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, with a view to further building Euro-Mediterranean relations;

considering the policies which the EU's regional and local authorities are pursuing with bodies on the southern and eastern sides of teh Mediterranean;

considering the Stuttgart conference's decision to give regional and local authorities a greater role in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, and to give a new boost to decentralised cooperation. The Cologne European Council ratified these decisions;

considering that it is useful and appropriate for the Committee of the Regions to express its views regarding the EU's common strategy and the fourth Euro-Mediterranean conference, bearing in mind the special relations which the EU's regional and local authorities have with the southern and eastern Mediterranean area, and the policies which they are pursuing to promote the development of that area,

adopted the following opinion at its 35the plenary session of 20 and 21 September 2000 (meeting of 20 September).

The Committee of the Regions

1. Notes that the EU's common strategy for the Mediterranean, and the fourth Euro-Mediterranean conference, should boost the Barcelona process and help to create a new framework for relations that will make the current arrangements more operational, eliminating the shortcomings which have impeded the development of relations and cooperation hitherto and demonstrating the strategic importance which the EU attaches to the Mediterranean region.

2. Renews its call, pursuant to the Barcelona declaration and the conclusions of the Stuttgart conference and the Cologne European Council, for regional and local authorities to be more closely involved as frontline players in establishing an area of peace, stability and progress in the Mediterranean.

3. Considers that this requires the establishment, within the Euro-Mediterranean institutional framework, of a regional and local body which would bring together regional and local authorities from both sides of the Mediterranean, and which would promote the partnership and develop programmes to be carried out throughout the Mediterranean.

The structure and implementing powers of this regional and local body would be decided by the local and regional authorities of the area, taking account of the special characteristics of each.

4. Regrets that, although the Barcelona declaration envisaged that city and regional representatives would hold meetings to take stock of their problems and exchange experiences, no such meetings have yet been held; calls, therefore, for them to begin this year.

5. Reiterates its request for decentralised Euro-Mediterranean corporation to be made one of the pillars of the Barcelona process, in the context of the common strategy and Barcelona IV and in accordance with the conclusions of the Stuttgart conference and the Cologne European Council, also requests that, on behalf of the European Commission, regional and local authorities administer the Community financial resources earmarked for the Mediterranean partner countries under decentralised cooperation.

6. Calls, in the context of decentralised cooperation, for the establishment of guidelines for an interregional and transnational programme for regional and local authorities on both sides of the Mediterranean, that ends the current fragmentation and ensures greater political coordination and more effective use of resources. This programme should address the sustainable development of the peoples on the southern and eastern sides of the Mediterranean, with special focus on spatial planning, the environment, SMEs, employment, economic and social policy, and the management of migratory flows, with special attention to safety, reception and integration.

7. Ask the European institutions and the Member States to reflect carefully on the impact of the MEDA programme with a view to remedying the current imbalances and furthering the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

8. Regrets that, despite the considerable resources allocated to this programme, relatively few projects are under way and most of the resources have not yet been paid out; calls, therefore, for procedures to be streamlined in order to facilitate the effective distribution of the present and future resources concerned.

9. Calls, in the planning stage which is now beginning, not only for better management and greater flexibility in Community programmes but also for coordination and dovetailing of the programmes conducted in the Mediterranean by national governments, regional and local authorities, and Community financial instruments, so as to achieve greater consistency and synergy in resources used for the economic and social development of the Mediterranean countries; also calls for clarification and concentration of the various Community budget headings for measures in the Mediterranean region.

10. Calls for the MEDA II programme to be allocated a sufficient budget which takes account of the importance and necessary development of the Mediterranean.

11. Calls for the MEDA II regulation to include a section on decentralised cooperation, with provision for the funding of programmes as outlined in point 6.

12. Renews its request for coordination of the various Community financial instruments for cooperation in the Mediterranean region; calls, more particularly, for coordination between the Interreg programme and the MEDA programme.

13. Supports the proposal for an overall socio-cultural programme that highlights and promotes, from different perspectives, the contributions which Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures have made to the development of Mediterranean culture, and that strengthens dialogue between the three religions and the three cultures. Such a programme should fully respect the real history of this influence, whose degree of intensity differs according to the culture and geographical area concerned.

14. Calls for the definition of a clear and precise framework for action which, with a view to the establishment of a free trade area by the year 2010, promotes diversification and ensures that the agricultural production of the northern Mediterranean dovetails with that of the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

15. Considers that the general public on both sides of the Mediterranean must be made more aware of the aims of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership; to this end, advocates information campaigns to make the public more receptive and committed to this partnership; accordingly, recommends that a specific information and awareness programme be drawn up and adopted, involving the local and regional authorities and targeting the public on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Brussels, 20 September 2000.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos Chabert

(1) OJ C 126, 29.4.1996, p. 12.

(2) OJ C 64, 27.2.1998, p. 59.

(3) OJ C 156, 6.6.2000, p. 47.