European Parliament resolution on the role of territorial cohesion in regional development (2004/2256(INI))
Date: 2005-09-28
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU regional policy, economic and social cohesion, regional and local authorities, regional cooperation, regional development, town and country planning

21.9.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 227 E/509

Wednesday, 28 September 2005

M. expressing the belief that the historic events of August 1980 were significant for the whole of Europe,
and that the strike of shipyard workers in Gdańsk, as well as the Gdańsk Accords, may be treated as
the beginning of the collapse of the Communist system, the end of the Cold War, the end of the divi-
sion of Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall,

Expresses its deepest esteem and gratitude to the Polish workers and to all people of central and

1.
eastern Europe who fought for human rights, freedom, solidarity and the unity of Europe;

2. Recognises that, in order to commemorate this effort and to place it in the collective memory of
Europe, 31 August is to be celebrated as the Day of Freedom and Solidarity;

3. Calls on the Council and the Commission to raise awareness that Solidarność is part of European
education and culture;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments

4.
and governments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2005)0358

Territorial cohesion in regional development

European Parliament resolution on the role of territorial cohesion in regional development
(2004/2256(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, and in particular to Articles I-3, I-
14, II-96, III-220, III-363, paragraph 3 and Article 8 of the Protocol on the application of the principles
of subsidiarity and proportionality,

— having regard to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community,
as amended by the Single European Act and the Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, and in
particular Articles 158 and 159 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

— having regard to its resolutions of 7 February 2002 (1) and 22 April 2004 (2) respectively on the

Commission's Second and Third reports on economic and social cohesion,

— having regard to its resolution of 2 September 2003 on structurally disadvantaged regions (islands,
mountain regions, regions with low population density) in the context of cohesion policy, and their
institutional prospects (3),

— having regard to its resolution of 29 June 1995 on the Commission document ‘Europe 2000+, Coop-

eration for European territorial development’ (4),

— having regard to the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) adopted in Potsdam in 1999 by

the Informal Council of EU Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning,

— having regard to the White Paper on European Governance adopted by the Commission in July 2001

(COM(2001)0428),

— having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 10 April 2003 on ‘Territorial cohe-

sion in Europe’ (5),

(1) OJ C 284 E, 21.11.2002, p. 329.
(2) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 1000.
(3) OJ C 76 E, 25.3.2004, p. 111.
(4) OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 39.
(5) OJ C 244, 10.10.2003, p. 23.

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Official Journal of the European Union

21.9.2006

Wednesday, 28 September 2005

— having regard to the reports of the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (ESPON), including
that of 2004 on territorial cohesion and the spring 2005 interim report entitled ‘In search of territorial
potentials’,

— having regard to the study carried out in February 2005 by Notre Europe, at the request of the

Committee on Regional Development, on the future of the cohesion policy,

— having regard to the conclusions of the informal Council of Ministers responsible for spatial planning

held on 29 November 2004 in Rotterdam,

— having regard to the conclusions of the informal Council of Ministers on regional policy and territorial
cohesion of 20 and 21 May 2005, and its intention to draft by 2007 a document entitled ‘The Terri-
torial State and Perspectives of the European Union’,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A6-0251/2005),

A. whereas cohesion, since it aims to promote harmonious and uniform development throughout the
territory of the EU, represents one of the strategic objectives of the Union, and whereas, following
enlargement, the Union must further enhance the effectiveness of cohesion policy, given the much
greater disparities which are becoming apparent in the Community of 25 Member States,

B. whereas territorial cohesion is becoming a new objective of the Union and enriches the objective of
economic and social cohesion by giving it a transversal dimension applicable to the whole territory and
all Community policies,

C. whereas a territorial cohesion policy at EU level is of crucial importance for the development of the
Union by supplying a fundamental ‘Community Added Value,’ which is capable of enhancing sustain-
able development prospects,

D. whereas the ultimate aim of territorial cohesion is to ensure that the territory as a whole develops to
the maximum extent, avoiding geographical concentrations of activities, and to improve the conditions
of life for all those who live there, guaranteeing in particular equality between men and women,

E. whereas regional natural resources and their industrial processing are of great importance for the devel-
opment of the regions but also for the European Union as a whole, and consequently benefit all citizens
of the Union,

F. whereas it is necessary to incorporate the territorial dimension into Community policies, given the real
impact of sectoral policies — particularly transport, environment, competition and research policy —
on the territory of the Union,

G. whereas the mid-term review of the Lisbon and Gothenburg strategies was relatively disappointing as

regards the desirability of including the territorial dimension in the EU's priority objectives,

H. whereas the method for setting the Community's strategic guidelines on cohesion policy now includes

territorial cohesion as a purpose for which the Funds may be used,

1. Considers that territorial cohesion is a fundamental objective of regional planning in the Union and
provides the raison d'être for regional development policy;

2. Notes that territorial cohesion is based on the principle of equity between citizens, wherever they live
in the Union;

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Wednesday, 28 September 2005

3. Calls, therefore, for regional development to be founded on programmes which guarantee equality of
treatment between the EU's territories, while preserving their diversity, which inter alia implies appropriate
accessibility of services of general interest (SGI) and services of general economic interest (SGEI);

4. Calls for the territorial dimension to be considered as a major element in the Lisbon and Gothenburg
strategies;

5. Reiterates that the harmonious development of the whole territory of the EU must be founded on the
application of a polycentric spatial development model, parity of access to infrastructure and knowledge
and wise management of the natural and cultural heritage, as proposed by the ESDP;

6. Urges that initial priority should be given to combating distortions between the centre and the
periphery and disparities at sub-national level, so as to strengthen cohesion;

Stresses, with this in mind, the importance of cooperation and partnership between urban centres,

7.
suburban areas, and the countryside, particularly those with specific disadvantages;

Further stresses the role of towns, particularly small and medium-sized towns, as a specially important

8.
motor for growth and territorial balance;

9. Calls for a boost to be given to all dimensions of territorial cooperation, whether cross-border, trans-
national or inter-regional;

10. Hopes for the implementation of a mechanism for cross-fertilisation between sector-specific policies
with a major impact on the development of the EU's territories and regional development policy;

11. Calls for the measures advocated in the July 2001 White Paper on European Governance to be put
into practice with a view to achieving genuine multi-level and multi-sectoral governance with enhanced
cooperation between territorial actors at three levels: regional, national and European; considers that this
cooperation should be based on the principle of partnership with all appropriate parties;

12. Reaffirms that the principle of ‘One Fund per Programme’ makes it possible to strengthen the inte-
grated approach of the cohesion policy, and is at the very heart of the policy of territorial cohesion;

13. Calls on the Commission, with a view to measuring the development of the regions and evaluating
objectively the obstacles — and in particular the specific territorial disadvantages — in its way, to carry
out a study alongside GDP, on new territorial
indicators, namely the decentralisation and accessibility
index, infrastructure and transport provision, the level of activity in research and innovation, education
and training, level of diversification of production in the area, and the unemployment rate;

14. Calls on the Commission to establish, by means of Epson, a system for the assessment of the impact
of the various Community policies on territorial cohesion within the Union and stresses the role of the
European Parliament in the process of further evaluation of the outcomes,

15. Reiterates the call made in the Third report on economic and social cohesion of February 2004 for
Parliament and the Council to adopt a ‘Community Cohesion Strategy’, which would set out clear priorities
and concrete guidelines for the States and regions, forming the regional plank of the Union's sustainable
development strategy, based on the principles and policy aims of the ESDP;

16. Calls, finally, on the Commission to draw up before 2007 a White Paper on the objective of terri-
torial cohesion, indicating, in particular, how this objective is to be incorporated in the national strategic
plan of each Member State;

17.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.