Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the "European Commission's work programme, and the Committee of the Region's priorities for 2003"
Date: 2003-02-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Commission, European Committee of the Regions, European Constitution, action programme, economic priority, public awareness campaign, regional policy

29.5.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 128/53

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘European Commission’s work programme,
and the Committee of the Region’s priorities for 2003’

(2003/C 128/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission’s legislative and Work Programme for 2003 (COM(2002) 590 final);

having regard to the CoR Policy Strategy 2003 adopted by the Bureau on 13 September 2002 (R/CdR
232/2002 item 7);

having regard to the priorities of the Greek Presidency of the European Union;

having regard to the Draft Operational Programme of the Council for 2003 (14944/02);

having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament on the Legislative and Work Programme
2003 adopted in plenary on 5 December 2002 (P5-TA-PROV(2002)592);

having regard to the Protocol governing arrangements for cooperation between the European Commission
and the Committee of the Regions (DI CdR 81/2001 rev. 2);

whereas the CoR, when elaborating its political priorities, seeks to take fully into consideration those of
the other EU institutions;

whereas local and regional authorities are responsible for an important part of the implementation of the
EU policies;

whereas it would greatly enhance the democratic legitimacy of EU policies if local and regional authorities
help define the EU priorities,

unanimously adopted the following resolution at its 48th plenary session on 12 and 13 February 2003
(meeting of 13 February).

The Committee of the Regions

Enlargement

1.

2.

3.

welcomes the new thematic and strategic approach of
the Commission in its annual planning of work;

reiterates its wish to be involved in the inter-institutional
dialogue on the annual political strategy and the work
programme;

recommends a reduction from the 580 titles on the
Work Programme by further prioritisation, integration
and recasting;

3 (a) encourages the Commission to implement forthwith the
recommendation made by the Convention working
group on the subsidiarity principle to attach to every
legislative proposal a ‘subsidiarity assessment’ containing
details making it possible to assess the extent to which
the principle of subsidiarity is respected in it. This part
of the document should also include an assessment of
its financial impact and, in the case of a directive, of its
implications for the rules to be implemented by the
Member States and the sub-national authorities.

4.

5.

6.

its concern however, at

endorses the Commission’s key initiatives in this area;
expresses
the insufficient
involvement of local and regional authorities by the
Commission and the national authorities, and the lack
of awareness of what accession will mean for them;

notes with regret that the Commission Work Programme
does not foresee consultation of the Committee of the
regions on most of the enlargement-related issues;

welcomes the emphasis on the qualitative dimension of
enlargement; stresses in particular the need to further
develop the notion of European citizenship, and the
promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity;

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7.

8.

9.

10.

points out that public debate regarding this enlargement
and possible further enlargement rounds is a pre-
condition for public support; proposes therefore that
information to and involvement of the citizens should
be amongst the fundamental objectives for enlargement;
calls for a joint effort by politicians across Europe in all
spheres of governance, to initiate a wide public debate
about enlargement and the future outlines of the EU;

urges the Commission and the governments of the
applicant countries to step up considerably consultation
of, and information to local and regional authorities
during the pre-accession stage and to earmark the
necessary means for this process;

underlines the need for capacity building at local and
regional level, as successful accession will depend largely
on the degree of preparedness of local and regional
authorities; calls on the Commission to foresee arrange-
ments for this purpose of local and regional authorities
after the phasing out of Phare;

calls for budget to be made available for cooperation
projects with candidate countries, in particular for those
projects that are based on the exchange of experience
and capacity building; underlines moreover the necessity
to further develop the cooperation projects with the
enlarged European Union’s neighbours. In this context,
priority must be given to the Euro-Mediterranean Part-
nership, and to relations with the Western Balkans,
in particular by
Russia,
the Ukraine and Moldova,
assessing the economic and commercial
impact of
enlargement on these countries.

Stability and security

11.

agrees with the Commission that this is a priority
theme, and welcomes the wider perspective that the
Commission has chosen; believes that European inte-
gration has proven to be the best possible policy to
achieve peace, stability prosperity and freedom for its
citizens, and therefore reiterates its view that — in
addition to the proposed security measures — policies
to achieve economic and social cohesion, the spread
of education and culture, fair trade and sustainable
development, contribute equally to a safe living environ-
ment for citizens;

12.

the natural and
proposes furthermore,
environmental disasters in recent years and months, to
include environmental protection in the key objectives

in view of

13.

14.

for creating a secure and safe living environment; and
welcomes the forthcoming integrated strategy on risks
which can be seen as a first step in this direction;

points out that the underlying principles of the European
area of freedom, security and justice must apply equally
to all;

recalls that local and regional authorities are amongst
the primary actors with regard to ensuring stability and
security, and that the new emphasis on stability and
security will have important consequences for local and
regional authorities; Regrets therefore the absence of any
reference to local and regional authorities both in
the Commission Work Programme and the Council
Operational Programme; requests to be consulted on all
relevant subjects in this chapter, for example Euro-
Mediterranean cooperation, the communication on Gen-
eral crime prevention, a European system of frontier
management, anti-fraud measures,
the fight against
drugs, relations with the neighbours of the Union, or
immigration and asylum policies;

15. welcomes any progress made in the area of a common
immigration and asylum policy and considers it essential
that common policies are put in place without delay;
warns however that the matter should not be seen
exclusively in the context of security.

Sustainable and inclusive economy

16.

17.

recommends for the chapter on ‘A Sustainable and
Inclusive Economy’
in the Work Programme and
Priorities of the Commission for 2003 to already take
account of the accession of ten new countries in 2004;

underlines the crucial importance of getting ahead with
the Lisbon process, in the face of economic slow-down
on the one hand and the accession of new Member
States on the other;

17 (a) welcomes the new coordinated approach of the Euro-
pean employment strategy and the economic policy
guidelines; believes that the Lisbon strategy should be
significantly reinforced in order to meet the objectives
set for 2010; feels, however, that the requisite structural
reforms must not be detrimental to social cohesion, and
must therefore be accompanied by major economic and
social investment, and in education; in this context the
Committee of the Regions endorses the need for the
Stability and Growth Pact to include more specific
criteria to take account of public investment, in particu-
lar in infrastructure and schemes for social and employ-
ment integration;

18.

19.

20.

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points out that local and regional authorities are affected
by the Lisbon Strategy, and are at
the same time
responsible for the practical implementation of many of
the proposed measures, in some cases even as the main
actor; recommends therefore that the Committee of the
Regions be closely involved in policy making in this
area;

24.

is pleased that the issue of local and regional authorities
in the EU is now firmly on the political agenda,
and considers that methods need to be developed for
adequate involvement of local and regional authorities
in EU policy making,
in particular in view of the
relatively young and developing structures of local and
regional government in the applicant countries;

is of the view that in the European Monetary Union the
relation between monetary policy and budgetary policy
and the application of the Stability and Growth Pact
deserves more attention, and that this subject should be
studied from the sub-national perspective as well, given
that local and regional authorities are responsible for a
large part of public spending (in some countries even
the largest part);

asks the EU, the Member States, the local and regional
authorities and the social partners to launch territorial
employment pacts, to improve the legal framework for
private enterprise, especially for SME, and to introduce
the necessary reforms of the social security systems in
order to create the right conditions for social stability, a
sound economy and public welfare;

21. welcomes the inclusion in the Commission’s Work
Programme and Council Operational Programme of
environmental and social concerns as integral elements
of the economy, rather than a mere cost factor or a
separate policy issue;

22.

highlights the importance of equal access to services of
general interest for the day-to-day lives of citizens, and
awaits with interest the forthcoming proposals of the
Commission regarding Services of General
Interest;
recalls that local and regional authorities in particular
need clarification of state aid rules and the definition of
commercial and non-commercial services (the latter not
being subject for negotiation within the GATS).

Further CoR priorities

25.

highlights the need for further reinforcement of the
institutional role of the Committee of the Regions, in
line with its natural place as guardian of subsidiarity,
proportionality and proximity.

Communication and information strategy

26.

is convinced that a true integration of people cannot
succeed if the citizens do not have ‘ownership’ of the
process; believes that it is time for a comprehensive
EU information and communication strategy when
awareness of, and public support for the EU seem to
diminish, and calls upon politicians in all spheres of
governance to take responsibility for the debate on
European matters;

27.

points out that CoR, representing local and regional
government, is well placed to communicate with the
citizens, and wishes to be closely involved in the
implementation of the Communication and Information
Strategy.

Regional policies

28.

awaits with interest
the debate on defining a new
cohesion policy and setting the priorities for the future,
and expects to play a leading role in that debate, with all
its political, administrative and technical expertise, and
the profound knowledge of local and regional govern-
ment of its members;

Constitutional affairs and the debate on the future of the Union

23. welcomes the prominent place granted in the Oper-
ational Programme of the Council to the debate on the
future of the European Union; emphasises once more
the necessity to discuss the role of local and regional
authorities in the EU and is therefore pleased that the
Convention has put it on its agenda;

29.

stresses the need for simplification, higher effectiveness
and decentralisation of the Structural Funds, a matter
which is at the heart of the concerns of the general
public and of the CoR;

30.

considers that the concept of territorial cohesion should
be taken into account in the Treaty, as it complements
the principle of economic and social cohesion;

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31.

attaches great
importance to the need to develop
urban, rural, island, mountain and peripheral areas in a
balanced, coordinated and sustainable way; underlines
that for those areas of the European Union whose
specific territorial characteristics constitute an additional
fragility factor, the task of developing an integrated
territorial strategy within the framework of the future
structural policy is all the more difficult and demanding;

32.

is of the view that the European Spatial Development
Perspective should be the political and legislative refer-

ence framework for coordinating regional planning
policies at Community level;

33.

34.

considers that regional cooperation represents an inte-
gration factor and genuine Community value added to
regional policy;

instructs its President to forward this resolution to the
European Commission, the European Parliament, the
Council,
the Greek and Italian Presidencies and the
governments and parliaments of the applicant countries.

Brussels, 13 February 2003.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the document ‘Towards the enlarged Union — Strategy Paper and Report of the European
Commission on the progress towards accession by each of the candidate countries’, and

— the ‘Report from the Commission to the Council: Explaining Europe’s Enlargement’

(2003/C 128/10)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the document Towards the enlarged Union — Strategy Paper and Report of the European
Commission on the progress towards accession by each of the candidate countries (COM(2002) 700
final);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on Bulgaria’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002) 1400);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on Cyprus’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002) 1401);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on the Czech Republic’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002)
1402);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on Estonia’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002) 1403);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on Hungary’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002) 1404);

having regard to the 2002 regular report on Latvia’s progress towards accession (SEC(2002) 1405);