EN Official Journal of the European Union C 271/6

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on

‘Proposals of the Committee of the Regions for the new European Union legislative mandate’

2014/C 271/02

Following the elections to the European Parliament and ahead of the new term of the European Commission, THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR) puts forward expectations and proposals for the new legislative mandate for the European Union:

1. Europe’s cities and regions are key partners for strengthening trust in the European Union

1.1. considers the main objectives of the new legislative mandate of the European Union must be to create more and better jobs, to generate sustainable and territorially balanced growth and to promote our joint values in order to strengthen citizens’ trust in the European project;

1.2. underlines that local and regional authorities are not only a source of democratic legitimacy for the EU as well as a lever for driving forward and communicating on the ground the Union’s objectives; recalls that multilevel governance ensures that all levels of governance cooperate in exercising powers and that subsidiarity and multilevel governance go hand in hand with strong local and regional self-government;

1.3. recalls that while Europe’s local and regional authorities are responsible for delivering two-thirds of public direct investment in the EU they have been hit hard by the economic and financial crisis, leading to a significant reduction of public expenditure by more than 20 % in the past three years and an increased territorial divergence. At the same time, local and regional authorities are often confronted with growing financial demands to cope with high unemployment and social exclusion.

2. Investment in Europe’s municipalities and regions for more jobs, growth and sustainability

2.1. proposes to take the occasion of the mid-term review/revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020 foreseen at the end of 2016 to examine possible changes in the payment appropriations’ ceilings within the current MFF overall budget given the accumulating outstanding payment claims (RAL) and increasing difficulties for the EU to meet its legal obligations, and to ensure that the budget corresponds to the evolving strategic priorities of the Union;

2.2. asks the Commission to propose measures to help increasing the absorption capacity at Member State level and to reconsider its analysis on the exclusion of national and regional co-funding of EU-supported investments from budget deficit calculations and to consider more ambitious support for EU public investment in the medium term;

2.3. calls for an extension in time and scope of the Europe 2020 project bonds initiative following and based on the results of the independent full-scale evaluation expected in 2015;

2.4. calls on the Commission to put forward a Communication on the quality of public spending which would i.a. translate the OECD principles for effective public investment in the future design of EU policies;

2.5. suggests that the Commission presents a Green Paper to enhance synergies between the EU, national and sub-national budgets in order to ensure the optimal use of the EU budget;

2.6. asks the Commission and the European Investment Bank to step up the practical support for local and regional authorities in strengthening their expertise in relation to innovative financial instruments.

3. Strengthen the territorial focus of EU policies and overcome the EU’s territorial divide

3.1. urges the Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States to add a territorial dimension to Europe’s growth and jobs strategy in the context of its planned review;

3.2. calls for a European Union wide strategy and action for the preservation and promotion of cultural, heritage and linguistic diversity in Europe; firmly believes that more attention should be dedicated at the policy level to the potential of culture and heritage to create sustainable growth and jobs;

3.3. also calls on ensuring a closer involvement of the sub-national level in the new economic and financial policy coordination as part of the European Semester;

3.4. asks the Commission to review the results of the involvement of local and regional authorities in the programming, implementation, and possible re-programming of the partnership agreements and operational programmes, as required by the Regulations on the European Structural and Investment Funds and the European Code of Conduct on Partnership; and bring forward appropriate recommendations in case Member States fail to comply with these provisions;

3.5. calls on the EU institutions to better take into account the territorial dimension in any further proposal on deepening the Economic and Monetary Union and asks the European Commission and the Member States to give special attention to local and regional spill-over effects and their possible impact on the sustainability of public finances and on territorial cohesion, particularly in view of the ‘Convergence and Competitiveness Instrument’ and other major economic and fiscal reforms in the EU;

3.6. requests Territorial Impact Assessment to become obligatory in the conduct of Commission impact assessments;

3.7. calls on the Commission to present a White Paper on Territorial Cohesion to reinforce the concept of economic, social and territorial cohesion in order to address the growing territorial disparities in the EU and relaunch the debate on measuring the quality of life ‘beyond GDP’, large economic and social disparities between regions persist, so it is essential to promote the economic, social and territorial cohesion policy with particular attention to less developed regions;

3.8. requests the Commission to promote urban and urban/rural sustainable development through a White Paper on integrated urban development;

3.9. underlines the need for a territorial vision for the European Union and therefore makes a plea for an update of the European Spatial Development Perspective;

3.10. suggests to put special emphasis on the development of cross-border solutions, interregional networking and macro-regional strategies by also extending the use of European Groupings for Territorial Cooperation as an instrument for other EU policies;

3.11. asks the Commission to step up its efforts to complete and extend the TEN-T core network and core network corridors, and include local and regional authorities in drawing up the corridor work plans and strengthen their involvement in the corridor platforms.

4. Preparing the European Union for new policy challenges

More support for education, training and culture

4.1. requests the Commission to come forward with a proposal on the European coordination of the modernisation of teaching professions;

4.2. calls on the Commission to propose a quality framework for early childhood education and care and an EU framework for the recognition of skills and competences, acquired through non-formal and informal learning;

4.3. asks the Commission to make concrete proposals on how to increase digital literacy by citizens of all ages;

4.4. expects the European Commission to recognise the role of local and regional authorities in the development of its future policies in the areas of justice and home affairs; asks notably to include the local and regional dimension of promoting the respect for fundamental rights, and the development of a comprehensive European migration policy in the design of its activities;

4.5. emphasises the importance of the Youth Guarantee schemes as a mechanism to combat the high youth unemployment rates and provide opportunities for young Europeans. Therefore, the Committee calls for an increase in the funding of this programme and for a greater support to local and regional authorities in the preparation, development and implementation of these instruments;

4.6. suggests a better integration of culture and creativity in the revised Europe 2020 Strategy and its future flagship initiatives;

A new momentum for integration in Europe’s cities and regions

4.7. calls on the Commission to work closely with cities and regional and local authorities in their efforts to integrate migrants which is an important element of reaching the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and responding to the EU’s demographic challenges;

4.8. demands the recognition of demographic change as a priority in the design of relating EU legislation and in the implementation of all EU funding programmes for the 2014-2020 period;

4.9. reiterates its call for a European homelessness strategy;

4.10. asks the Commission to step up efforts to effectively coordinate and monitor Roma integration policies at national, regional and local level; suggests reinforced cooperation with the Council of Europe’s ‘European Alliance of Cities & Regions for Roma Inclusion’;

Strengthening competitiveness and innovation at local and regional level

4.11. calls for the development of a regional Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) initiative to specifically reduce administrative burden particularly for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises; calls for strengthening of the role of local and regional authorities in the review of the Small Business Act;

4.12. asks the Commission to enhance the role of smart specialisation strategies in Europe to tackle the innovation divide between EU regions; calls for an Action Plan for the ‘Stairway to Excellence’ providing practical steps and a permanent monitoring in linking Europe’s research programmes (Horizon 2020) and Europe’s Structural and Investment Funds;

4.13. requests actions to complete the single market by reducing burdens on exercising liberal and regulated professions in the Member States, and also expects the European Commission to initiate all the legislative proposals announced in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan during the first half of the new legislative mandate in order to speed up the implementation of the Action Plan and of job creation at local and regional level;

4.14. calls for an European Action Plan on Public Sector Innovation with a specific focus on local and regional administration;

4.15. suggests the review of the 2011 White Paper ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area’ which would include a debate on the Union’s future transport policy beyond 2020;

Rethinking Europe’s Energy strategy based on local and regional solutions for climate change and sustainable development

4.16. calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the role of local and regional governments in the development of an integrated European energy policy; decentralised energy solutions are necessary to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and the EU therefore needs to ensure a ‘level playing field’ for smaller energy producers;

4.17. calls on the Commission to present an Action plan against energy poverty that combines measures at European, national and regional/local level;

4.18. asks the EU institutions and Member States to explicitly consider the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of ambitious, binding targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions, the share of renewable energies and energy efficiency and to develop further in this area the partnership principle analogous to the EU cohesion policy; Also calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to widen the scope of the Covenant of Mayors as the European instrument for the integration of local and regional authorities in the EU policy on climate change and to provide it with the appropriate resources beyond 2020;

4.19. Calls on the European Commission to follow in the revision and development of policies in the areas of air, water, and noise a source-oriented approach, i.e. to combat the emergence of environmental problems at their source and taking into account the experiences of local and regional authorities, which often face the task of implementing appropriate policies without having direct influence on the sources of problems;

A new momentum for rural development and agricultural policy

4.20. calls on the European Commission to propose a proper rural sustainable development strategy based on an integrated territorial approach;

4.21. asks for the safety net measures provided under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to be supplemented by other more targeted measures to address market volatility;

4.22. demands an impact assessment to study the consequences of the trade agreements currently under negotiation for the agricultural sector;

Continue the EU enlargement policy, reinforce the partnership with the EU’s neighbours and better use the levy of decentralised cooperation

4.23. asks the Commission to support and enhance the role for local and regional authorities from the enlargement countries in the reform of public administration and to pay specific attention in its Annual progress reports to the state of decentralisation;

4.24. stresses that the EU must act decisively in support of the Eastern Partnership countries by providing support to the strengthening of local and regional democracy and decentralisation processes, and encourage the use of the programmes for cooperation between Eastern Partnership and EU local and regional authorities;

4.25. calls on the Commission to use the European Neighbourhood Instrument as a tool for increasing social and territorial cohesion in the Mediterranean partner countries, as well as the cooperation among their regions and local authorities;

4.26. asks the Commission, in this context, to expand the Local Administration Facility programme to the southern neighbourhood countries; calls for the formulation and implementation of sustainable migration policies in the Mediterranean region, involving all stakeholders, notably national governments and regional and local authorities;

4.27. demands that local and regional authorities be involved in the development of ‘Integration Partnerships’ with third countries and in other preventive initiatives related to the promotion of circular migration;

4.28. expects local and regional authorities to be involved in implementing a territorial approach to development, including their wealth of experience in decentralised cooperation for development; calls for the contribution of local and regional authorities to the European Year of Development 2015 and for local/regional development strategies to be supported;

4.29. suggests to pursue the negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States provided that transparency and democratic participation are respected and social and environmental standards are safeguarded; requests the CoR to be granted the status of interested party in this process;

Re-connecting with citizens

4.30. calls on the Commission to present a proposal for a modification of the Act concerning the election of the European Parliament in order to strengthen the recognition of the European Parliament’s democratic function, e.g. through the setting of an EU-wide common threshold for representation in the European Parliament, and to facilitate the exercise of the voting right by proposing a European voters’ registry;

4.31. suggests a review of the strategy ‘Communicating Europe in Partnership’ to support the role played by local and regional authorities in providing citizens with information on the Union and its policies; asks the Commission to cooperate more closely with the CoR in implementing a genuine decentralised communication policy at regional and local level, notably through the channel of its Representations in the Member States.

5. A reinforced partnership with the European institutions

5.1. requests to be involved in the upcoming negotiations for a new Inter-Institutional Agreement on better law-making;

5.2. suggests a closer cooperation with the European Commission in the pre-legislative stage on the basis of the cooperation agreement to define longer-term strategic initiatives and promote multi-level-governance solutions in EU policies;

5.3. invites the European Parliament on the basis of the 2014 cooperation agreement with the CoR to reinforce cooperation, along the legislative process as well as during the European Semester and in assessing the territorial impact of EU legislation;

5.4. asks for equal treatment of local and regional authorities and their associations as to the changes in obligation to register in the Transparency Register foreseen by the new Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) on Transparency Register;

5.5. suggests the Council to further strengthen the cooperation with the CoR in those areas of key concern for local and regional authorities.