Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the "Annual statement on the priorities of the committee of the regions"
Date: 2000-04-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Committee of the Regions, European integration, enlargement of the Union, the EU's international role

C 226/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

8.8.2000

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Annual statement on the priorities of the
committee of the regions’

(2000/C 226/13)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Strategic Objectives 2000-2005 of the European Commission (COM(2000) 154);

having regard to the Work Programme of the European Commission for 2000 (COM(2000) 155 final);

having regard to the Political Priorities of the Committee of the Regions (R/CdR 351/99 pt. 7);

having regard to the European Parliament’s resolution on the European Commission’s 5-year Strategic
Programme (B5-0143, 0144 and 0145/2000);

having regard to the European Parliament’s resolution on the European Commission’s Work Programme
(B-50228, 0229 and 0230/2000);

whereas a closer alignment of the priorities and objectives of all EU bodies will reinforce the impact of
the initiatives and actions of the individual institutions;

whereas the Committee of the Regions, acting from its responsibility as voice of the local and regional
authorities in Europe, wishes to react to the priorities proposed by the European Commission;

whereas the Committee of the Regions wishes to state its priorities for the coming year, in view of the
forthcoming adoption of its Work for the Programme 2000-2001;

whereas in view of enlargement, the Union is particularly confronted with progressive fundamental
reforms;

whereas the participation of the Committee of the Regions, as the representative of local and regional
authorities in the EU institutional framework, will broaden the basis for EU action;

whereas in most European countries there is a growing trend towards decentralisation and a strengthening
of the powers of sub-national institutions, and as a result those tiers of government are increasingly
affected by and directly involved in European policies and choices

adopted the following resolution at its 33rd plenary session of 12 and 13 April 2000 (meeting of
13 April).

A. Reacting to the priorities of the European Com-

mission

Strategic Objectives 2000-2005 of the European Commission

1.
welcomes the European Commission’s Strategic Objec-
tives 2000-2005; is pleased that by making its main political
aims for the coming years known, the European Commission
has given local and regional authorities the opportunity to
express their views and to present concrete proposals and
suggestions;

the subsidiarity principle;

of
reviewed through further clarification of EU fields of action;

these core tasks should be

3.
subscribes to the four objectives identified by the Com-
mission and recognizes their importance and urgency, and
wishes to contribute wherever possible to achieving the set
goals as soon as possible;

2.
notes with satisfaction that the Commission intends to
concentrate on its core tasks, and feels that this is in the spirit

4.
recalls that the purpose of all European Union policy is
to satisfy the expectations of European citizens and that
restoring their confidence must be the first and foremost aim
of all reforms to the Union’s institutions;

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for this reason emphasises the importance of economic,

5.
social, environmental and consumer protection issues;

15.
notes with concern a tendency to call for EU action in
areas where the Member States fail to introduce the necessary
reforms or take difficult political decisions; this will risk to
undermine the credibility of the EU;

Work Programme 2000

welcomes the Work Programme 2000 of the European

6.
Commission;

C. COR priorities for 2000-2001

is concerned however,

7.
that such an ambitious and
detailed Work Programme may prove to exceed the capacity
of the European Commission and that a fragmentation of
forces could lead to failure;

IGC, European governance and modernization of the EU institutions

8.
believes therefore that fewer actions and a strong focus
on priorities — also in terms of targeted and effective use of
available resources — will offer better chances of success than
trying to strike on all fronts at the same time;

will actively contribute to the process of Treaty reform
16.
in the Intergovernmental Conference; advocates an ambitious
agenda for reform, as outlined in the CoR opinion on the
Intergovernmental Conference 2000 (CdR 53/99);

9.
suggests that in the future the Work Programmes of the
European Commission clearly distinguish between outlined
priorities for that year and any additional actions;

10.
is of the opinion that in many areas greater emphasis
should be on improving implementation of current existing
legislation, before commencing new initiatives;

11.
urges that the Commission’s priorities be brought into
line with the objectives set out in the conclusions of the
extraordinary Lisbon Summit;

17.
welcomes the innovative approach of the European
Commission in its initiative on new forms of European
governance and intends to participate fully in the debate and
the formation of new ideas and concepts for European
governance, and put forward suggestions for improved law-
making;

18.
believes that the debate on new forms of governance
should not be narrowed down to a simplistic vertical distri-
bution of powers, but that it should be a wide concept that
takes account of changing structures in society;

B. Subsidiarity

12.
believes that it is necessary in the next few years to take
steps towards further European integration, in order to give
Europe a leading role in the world, but that the integration
must be limited to areas where the EU has a specific added
value, in order to get the highest possible level of acceptance
and to achieve that Europe can truly speak with one voice;

13.
welcomes the aim of the European Commission to take
measures against the lack of proximity of the EU, and the
proposal to solve this problem by interlinking more closely
EU policies and policies of the Member States and of its
regions; is of the opinion however, that the application of the
subsidiarity principle should be extended to local and regional
government;

14.
Considers situating political decision-making responsi-
bility at the lowest possible level to be the best way of
achieving closeness to the citizens, but warns against inter-
preting closeness to the citizens as nothing more than
intensified PR for the EU and the representation of citizens by
interest groups;

19.
strongly supports the European Commission’s commit-
ment to undertake democratic ambitious internal reform in
order to restore citizens’ confidence in Europe and its insti-
tutions, believes that the reforms must go beyond a simple
efficiency-operation, but that they must result in a modern
and flexible work force, geared towards a new political culture;
points out at the same time that the internal reforms may not
distract from the external policies;

Enlargement

20.
considers that the preparations for enlargement have
highest priority in view of the decision of the Summit of
Helsinki of December 1999 that negotiations will start with
all candidates, including those of the second wave, and stresses
in particular the necessity of involving local and regional
authorities in the candidate countries;

21.
will expand, intensify and streamline its contacts with
all candidate countries, and aim at an increased involvement
of
local and regional authorities in the preparations for
accession;

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8.8.2000

22.
calls for coordination of activities and cooperation
between the COR and the EU institutions, in order to arrive at
greater synergy and better results for the applicant countries
concerned and thus ensure better understanding and accept-
ance of the enlargement and integration process both in the
Member States and in the applicant countries;

30.
shares concern at the perennially high level of long-
term unemployment in many regions of the Union and hopes
this phenomenon will be tackled using harmonised
that
economic policies and welfare reform, to further the goal of
full employment;

23.
stresses, in addition, that enlargement strategy must be
conducted in harmony with the strategies applied in areas
outside the Union, especially the Mediterranean and the Baltic,
in order to secure the advent of areas of peace and economic
and social cooperation beyond the borders of the enlarged
Union;

31.
points out that promoting employment does not only
demand specific action, but also entails creating favourable
macro-economic conditions as well as coordination and
integration of the relevant policy areas, while respecting the
principles underlying the European social model;

A Europe of values, close to its citizens

24.
is convinced that the citizens will not adhere to a
‘supermarket’ Europe, but — as recent events have shown —
to a Europe of values and fundamental rights, a political
Europe; feels therefore that this must be the prime focus of the
reform of
the drawing up of a Charter of
Fundamental Rights and the forthcoming White Paper on new
forms of Governance;

the Treaty,

25.
considers that the need for local democracy must be
included in the Treaty and that it is therefore indispensable
that the Charter of Fundamental Rights be an integral part of
the Union’s Treaty;

calls upon the Member States to conduct the nego-
26.
tiations in the IGC with courage and vision; strongly believes
that the IGC agenda must be an agenda of the people; it is
therefore important to closely involve the Parliament and the
local and regional authorities through the COR; welcomes in
relation to this the European Commission initiative Dialogue
on Europe and will gladly make use of the opportunity to give
an active input to the IGC process;

27.
calls on the European Commission to promote the
visibility of the European Union’s action both through effective
communication and by improving the transparency of all its
actions, in order to regain the confidence of Europe’s citizens;

28.
asks the European Commission, in view of the renewed
threat of populist racism and intolerance, to strengthen its
commitment to guaranteeing equal rights, equal opportunities
and the protection of minorities throughout the Union, in
order to ensure that all Europeans share the benefits of growing
prosperity, security and solidarity;

Employment

welcomes the results of

the Lisbon Summit and
29.
endorses its integrated approach and the emphasis on giving
an impulse to new economic dynamism;

reiterates the responsibility which the Community was
32.
given by the Treaty of Amsterdam to contribute to a high level
of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member
States and by supporting their action in this field;

33.
encourages therefore any measures enhancing inno-
vation, technological progress, the knowledge society and
entrepreneurship; the adoption of any measures to assist the
development of SMEs;

34.
underlines therefore the need to integrate anti-discrimi-
nation policies into employment guidelines, as well as the need
for measures for groups hit hardest by unemployment, like
women, young people, older people, ethnic minorities and
disabled people;

welcomes the announcement that a new social action
35.
programme is to be introduced; the COR hopes the programme
will be sufficiently ambitious to match the challenges of the
new economic dynamism;

36. Welcomes the proposal that more common European
targets and indicators should be established within the econ-
omic, employment and social strategy, and underlines that not
only quantitative targets but also qualitative targets are of great
importance in all policy areas in order to develop sustainable
growth and employment;

37.
calls for a report of the European Commission on the
imbalances between regions with high unemployment and
regions currently facing a shortage of labour, and the role of
labour market mobility in this,
in order better to target
measures to be taken to improve social and economic cohesion
and to reduce the disparities between regions; The CoR declares
its willingness to cooperate with the Commission in this area,
and to bring the hands-on experience and know-how which
the Regions and Municipalities of Europe have in the field;

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the CoR reaffirms the need for European policies to
38.
local
focus primarily on the Europe-wide promotion of
the
development and on unleashing all
resources available throughout
In this
context, it asks that the European Employment Pact be given a
broader focus and calls for widespread introduction of the
Territorial pacts for employment, taking into consideration
the knowledge and experience of local and regional authorities;

the EU’s regions.

the potential of

39.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the decision
to hold an extraordinary European summit every spring to
provide guidance and coordination for Community actions
and national policies. The Committee of the Regions, which
represents Europe’s local nd regional authorities in their
capacity as promoters of growth and employment, asks to be
a fixed partner in the initiative;

Environment

40.
is looking forward to the publication of the 6th Envi-
ronmental Action Programme; endorses the realistic and result-
driven approach announced by Commissioner Wallström, and
supports in particular the strong focus on implementation of
existing legislation;

notes with concern that environment seems to move
41.
down on the political agenda, at a time when the need for
strengthened environmental protection is more urgent than
ever; regrets to see that environmental considerations have not
been sufficiently integrated into other policy areas, and urges
the European Commission to come forward with concrete
measures;

42.
feels that environmental catastrophes in recent years
have made sufficiently clear the need for improved cooperation
with non-EU countries, including cross-border cooperation, in
particular with the candidate Member States; points out that
the Polluter Pays Principle needs to be implemented correctly;

43.
favours a well-balanced link between economic policies
and environmental requirements, as sustainable growth is a
necessity; and calls for the need to develop co-ordinated
policies to promote sustainable development and associated
activities in rural and peripheral areas;

44.
underlines the special role of local and regional auth-
orities, both in the implementation of European and inter-
national policies, but also as the level confronted most directly
with the consequences of environmental damage;

Brussels, 13 April 2000.

Information society

stresses the importance of all citizens having access
45.
to the information society, particularly during the internet
revolution which is currently taking place, since it is access to
information which ultimately empowers the citizen.

link to be made between the
Underlines the important
information society and employment, through new types of
employment such as electronic commerce and teleworking,
leading to a modernization of the economy and integrating
areas which are not easily accessible, and the rural environment
into the economy.

Would hope that the need to provide education and training
of the citizen in the use of the new technologies is given a high
priority, with special emphasis on school education and on
facilitating free Internet connection for centres of education.

Notes the important contribution that new technology can
make to develop intelligent and multi-modal transport systems
to reduce transport problems faced by citizens in their every
days lives.

Urban policies

46.
recalls that 80 % of European citizens live in urban
areas, and that cities are vital to ensure competitive regions
and a competitive Europe, and realises the value of developing
urban, rural and peripheral areas in a balanced, co-ordinated
and sustainable way;

47.
points out however, that despite this fact there are no
European policies targeting specifically the urban areas and
that the urban dimension in other policy areas is weak;

encourages (new amendment)

48.
the European Com-
mission to come forward with a comprehensive approach to
urban areas and their specific needs and to finally put into
practice the renewed focus on cities in Agenda 2000, with
special attention for sustainable urban development.

will adopt its annual Work Programme on the basis of

49.
this resolution;

50.
instructs its President to forward this resolution to the
European Commission, the European Council, the European
Parliament and the Economical and Social Committee.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT