Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the European Commission's work programme and the Committee of the Regions' priorities for 2004
Date: 2004-02-12
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Commission, European Committee of the Regions, cooperation policy, economic and social cohesion, economic priority, enlargement of the Union, regional policy

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 109/53

5. CALLS ON Member State governments to shoulder their
responsibilities and ASKS them to put the Community
interest before national interests, in order to safeguard the
future of European integration, not least cohesion policy;
6. STRESSES in that connection that the inclusion of terri-
torial cohesion as a Union objective is one of the funda-
mental achievements of the Convention's draft Constitu-
tion;

7. URGES the IGC to confirm the constitutional recognition
of the role of local and regional authorities in the Euro-
pean venture and the new role given to the CoR on the
monitoring of the principle of subsidiarity, as affirmed by
the Convention;
8. REITERATES its

to straighten out
recommendations
certain inconsistencies between the various sections of the

Brussels, 12 February 2004

Treaty without, however, undermining the institutional
balance in order, on the one hand, to clarify the CoR's
institutional status, firmly establish its areas of mandatory
and
consultation within
strengthen its consultative role, and, on the other,
to
consolidate economic,
social and territorial cohesion,
among other things by establishing an explicit legal basis
for interregional and cross-border cooperation;

constitutional

set-up

the

9. CALLS ON Member State governments, to complete the
Union reform process launched at the Laeken European
Council;

10. INSTRUCTS its president to forward this resolution to the
Council of the European Union, the European Parliament,
the European Commission and members of the Conven-
tion.

The President
of the Committee of the Regions
Peter STRAUB

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘European Commission's work programme’
and ‘the Committee of the Regions' priorities for 2004’

(2004/C 109/11)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

HAVING REGARD TO the Commission's legislative and work programme for 2004 (COM(2003) 645
final);

HAVING REGARD TO the European Parliament resolution on the Commission's legislative and work
programme for 2004, adopted at the plenary session of 17 December 2003 (P5_TA PROV(2003)0585);

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 local and regional authorities are responsible for implementing a large proportion of EU poli-
cies;

WHEREAS the fact that local and regional authorities help to define the EU's priorities will greatly enhance
the democratic legitimacy of EU policies;

adopted the following resolution at its 53rd plenary session on 11 and 12 February 2004 (meeting of
12 February):

C 109/54

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

The Committee of the Regions

The future of cohesion policy

General observations

welcomes

1.
Commission 2004 annual work planning;

strategic

approach of

the

the European

9.
undertakes to be fully involved in drawing up a new
cohesion policy, drawing on its expertise and its members' in-
depth knowledge of local and regional matters. Regions are not
only the most appropriate level for taking cohesion policy deci-
sions but are also the most efficient
level ensuring their
delivery;

considers that

the priorities of the Committee of the
2.
Regions are reflected within those of the Commission. The
CoR's priorities will be: to contribute to shaping the future of
cohesion policy; to implement the Lisbon agenda; to complete
enlargement, to prepare a new neighbourhood policy; and to
strengthen the local and regional dimension of the Area of
Freedom, Security and Justice;

reiterates its wish to be involved in the inter-institutional
3.
dialogue on the annual political
strategy and the work
programme and in this context is pleased that the Commission
Communication on dialogue with associations of regional and
local authorities on the formulation of European Union policy
’The proposed systematic
[COM(2003) 811] provides that
dialogue will be based upon a presentation of … the Commis-
sion's annual work programme‘;

undertakes, especially with a view to the European elec-
4.
tions in June 2004, to defend the achievements of the Euro-
pean Convention in accordance with its resolution on the
results of the Intergovernmental Conference adopted on 12
February 2004;

5.
considers it essential to step up consultation with the
European Commission on the practical methods of evaluating
respect for the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and
proximity, as well as the territorial impact of Community legis-
lation, and recalls that in its resolution on the Commission's
work programme for 2003 the CoR encouraged the Commis-
sion ’… 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‘;

6.
considers it necessary to continue the European Commis-
sion's trials promoting tripartite contracts in order to improve
territorial cohesion, and asks the Commission to inform it
about the results of these trials;

7.
asks the European Commission to jointly evaluate the
results of implementing the cooperation protocol with a view
to revision before the end of 2004 and in the light of the new
culture of consultation and cooperation and the new tasks
assigned to the Committee;

welcomes the initiatives related to the European Year of
10.
Education through Sports and, as local and regional authorities
are deeply involved by the organisation of sport events, asks to
be more involved in the events organised by the Commission
within the 2004 EYES initiative;

11.
strongly supports a genuine European regional policy
which promotes competitiveness in order to attain the goals of
the Lisbon strategy and will reject any idea of re-nationalisation
and the idea of replacing this by mere regional assistance for
poorer Member States;

considers the objective of earmarking 0.45 % of EU GDP
12.
for regional policy to be the minimum needed to guarantee the
Union a viable regional policy and refuses to accept
that
regional policy should be the EU budget-balancing variable in
response to calls for cuts by certain governments of Member
States that are net contributors;

13.
rejects any move to make an agreement on the future
financial perspectives and the amount of funding earmarked for
cohesion policy conditional on alignment with the positions of
the net contributors in the Intergovernmental Conference;

stresses that regional cooperation is an integrating factor
14.
and provides real Community added value in regional policy,
which must be a fundamental pillar of the future Structural
Funds;

15.
reiterates the need to further simplify, streamline and
decentralise the Structural Funds, as noted in the CoR Outlook
Report and requested by grassroots interest groups during the
broad consultations held on the matter;

16.
reiterates its call for practical implementation of a Com-
munity rural development policy based on an integrated
approach within a single legal and policy framework, in accord-
ance with the Cork (1996) and Salzburg (2003) declarations;
calls for the current concept of rural development as just an
extension of agricultural activities to be abandoned and a
policy to be introduced that embraces the diverse activities of
farmers, tourism, support for crafts activities, access to the
information society, services to the general public and to busi-
nesses, and housing policy;

8.
welcomes the Council's adoption of a multiannual stra-
tegic programme for 2004-2006 [Doc. 15709/03 of 5
December 2003], which provides a useful reference for the
strategic programming of the other European institutions;

calls for more intensive and more decentralised imple-
the Lisbon strategy, and adequate budgetary

17.
mentation of
resources for achieving this;

Towards implementation of the Lisbon strategy objectives

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 109/55

18.
welcomes the strong impetus to the Lisbon agenda
given by the Commission Communication to the spring Euro-
pean Council and asks the spring Council to take the necessary
steps to implement the reforms required to stimulate competi-
tiveness, innovation, sustainable growth and stability; considers
that local and regional authorities should be regarded as part-
ners in the implementation of the Lisbon strategy and empha-
sises
their contribution to realising these objectives and
narrowing regional disparities;

notes with satisfaction that

27.
the Commission has
included further development of administrative capacity among
its top priorities for the accession countries; points out that the
local and regional authorities of the accession states in particu-
lar still need more support; invites the Commission to intro-
duce urgently new innovative measures to reinforce the admin-
istrative and implementation capacity of the local and regional
authorities of the accession states;

19.
considers, however, that the structural reforms needed
to attain the Lisbon objectives should not be prejudicial to
social cohesion and must therefore be accompanied by substan-
tial economic,
in this
context, the Committee of the Regions supports the need to
tighten up the criteria of the Stability and Growth Pact, taking
into account public
infrastructure
investment,
spending and measures to promote labour market and social
inclusion;

social and educational

investment;

including

20.
calls for the further and stronger inclusion of environ-
mental concerns in all policy areas in accordance with the
Gothenburg strategy, taking economic efficiency into account;

strongly recommends that the local and regional autho-
28.
rities be better involved in the ongoing and future accession
negotiations; notes that the problems currently faced by the
first ten accession countries are also due to lack of implementa-
tion and administrative capacity, which could have been
avoided if more attention had been paid to the needs of the
local and regional authorities in the enlargement process;

fully endorses the neighbourhood policy of the Commis-
29.
sion and the stability element it is based on; notes again with
regret that the Commission work programme still does not
provide for consultation of the Committee of the Regions on
most enlargement- and neighbourhood-related issues;

21.
welcomes the priority attached to promoting investment
in networks and knowledge, in particular the development of
the European Research Area and the implementation of the
action plan to increase investment in research and development
in line with the 3 % GDP objective and to attract adequate
human resources in research;

Neighbourhood policy

stresses the importance of promoting cultural diversity
30.
in an enlarged Europe; looks forward to actively pursuing its
priorities to respect and promote cultural and linguistic diver-
sity as a source of wealth to be preserved;

calls for increased focus to be given to the role of educa-
in human resources in

22.
tion and training and investment
promoting Europe's growth and achieving the Lisbon strategy;

considers

31.
trans-European
networks is also an indispensable means of enhancing stability
at the frontiers of the EU;

that development of

the

23.
looks forward to the Commission's follow-up to: (a) the
Court of Justice ’Altmark Trans‘ ruling on the financing of
public service obligations and (b) the Green Paper on services
of general interest, in which the Commission set out only a
limited number of proposals for legislative or regulatory action;

32.
recalls that if the Wider Europe policy is to be a success,
it is absolutely necessary to distinguish two differentiated lines
of action - one for the Mediterranean and the other for Russia
and the NIS;

24.
stresses the essential role of a review and adjustment of
the eEurope 2005 initiative in the enlarged Europe, in particu-
lar the development and use of a European secure broadband
infrastructure, and is looking forward to the revised eEurope
Action Plan 2005;

25.
urges the Commission to ensure that the process of
increasing concentration in the media sector does not lead to
creation of an oligopoly jeopardising pluralism, cultural diver-
sity and consumers' freedom of choice;

Enlargement of the European Union

26.
expresses its concern at the insufficient involvement of
local and regional authorities by the Commission and the
national authorities in preparations for enlargement and asks
that cohesion policy should play a vital role in the integration
of the new Member States;

33.
recommends that the Commission take full account of
the experience of the new members of the Committee of the
Regions from the accession countries with their Eastern and
Mediterranean neighbours and involve the local and regional
authorities of the EU-25 in shaping the new ’ring of friends‘
policy; reflecting this concern,
focus on the
Eastern dimension of the Wider Europe policy by organising a
seminar on this issue in Kaliningrad in the second half of
2004;

the CoR will

34.
calls, in accordance with its resolution of 28 November
2003, for closer involvement of local and regional authorities
in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, which means setting up
a body within the partnership that would represent local and
regional authorities and making decentralised Euro-Mediterra-
nean cooperation one of the pillars of the Barcelona Process,
with guidelines for an interregional and transnational coopera-
tion programme for local and regional authorities around the
Mediterranean; the focus here should be on specific training
programmes for administrative capacity building;

C 109/56

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

for

asks

the Thessaloniki agenda to be vigorously
35.
the
pursued and for the local and regional authorities of
Western Balkans
to be involved in all programmes and
networks of the EU which further their integration into Europe
in all fields, be they economic, social or cultural;

Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
36.
stresses the local and regional dimension in relation to
implementing the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; calls
for this dimension to be taken into account when defining
policy further to the Tampere programme, which the CoR
would like to see completed within the deadlines confirmed by
the European Council in Thessaloniki, and asks to be consulted
on this matter;

37.
notes with satisfaction the increased consultation of the
CoR in the field of asylum and immigration policies; regrets
however that the Commission refused to consult the CoR on

Brussels, 12 February 2004

certain documents in this field which the CoR specifically asked
to be consulted about;

points out that integration of

38.
immigrants and social
cohesion are highly topical issues in most EU countries, and
considers that integration should be a key issue in all relevant
EU policy areas, notably the common immigration and asylum
policy;

39.
recommends that the Structural Funds also be used to
support and develop instruments for realising the Area of
Freedom, Security and Justice in sensitive regions and munici-
palities;

40.
instructs its President to submit this resolution to the
European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council,
the Irish and Dutch presidencies, and the governments and
parliaments of the accession countries.

The President
of the Committee of the Regions
Peter STRAUB