Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the Political Objectives of the Committee of the Regions (2006-2008)
Date: 2006-02-16
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU regional policy, European Union, European citizenship, citizens' Europe, committee (EU), local authority, regional authority

C 192/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.8.2006

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the Political Objectives of the Committee of the
Regions (2006-2008)

(2006/C 192/07)

The Committee of the Regions

HAVING REGARD TO the Commission's strategic objectives for 2005-2009 (COM(2005) 12 final);

HAVING REGARD TO the 2004-2006 multi-annual strategic programme of the six presidencies;

HAVING REGARD TO the Communication from the Commission, The Commission's contribution to the
period of reflection and beyond: Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate (COM(2005) 494 final);

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);

HAVING REGARD TO the Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the European Commission's
work programme and the Committee of the Regions' priorities for 2006 (CdR 275/2005);

HAVING REGARD TO the resolution of the Committee of the Regions on revitalising the Lisbon Strategy
(CdR 518/2004);

WHEREAS the political objective underpinning all the CoR's political priorities is to strengthen the link
between the European Union (EU) and each of its regions, provinces, towns and districts, thus bringing the
EU closer to its citizens and making the concepts of cohesion and solidarity more meaningful;

WHEREAS because it is the regional authorities that are empowered to implement many EU policies, their
involvement in defining the EU's priorities and drafting and following up EU legislation helps to strengthen
the EU's democratic legitimacy;

WHEREAS the Committee of the Regions wishes to define political priorities, which, for the first half of its
fourth term of office, will focus on three objectives: promoting the political and citizens' Europe — strengthening
regional solidarity with the EU — consolidating the political and institutional role of the CoR;

WHEREAS without the prospect of the swift entry into force of the Constitutional Treaty, which the CoR
and the regional authorities of the EU believe marks a major step forward, the CoR must devote itself
primarily to strengthening the roles conferred upon it by the current Treaties, particularly the representa-
tion of all regional authorities within the EU;

adopted the following resolution at its 63rd plenary session of 15 and 16 February 2006,
(afternoon meeting of 16 February):

OBJECTIVE 1:

Contributing to the ongoing discussion on the future of the European
Union

STRENGTHENING THE POLITICAL AND CITIZENS'
EUROPE

The Committee of the Regions

2.
considers that the period of reflection should highlight
the progress achieved by the Constitutional Treaty in terms of
European governance, simplicity, transparency of the European
Union and reinforcement of the local and regional levels, espe-
cially as concerns promotion of the subsidiarity and propor-
tionality principles. It should also make it possible to concen-
trate on:

1.
believes that the agreement reached at the European
Council of 15 and 16 December 2005 on the financial perspec-
tives 2007-2013 simply expresses
the lowest
common denominator of European commitment by Member
States' governments. Yet the EU needs a budget and Com-
munity programmes that properly convey the idea and poten-
tial of Europe to our local and regional authorities, and thus
bring the EU closer to the public.

in figures

— the issues which our citizens expect to be solved by the

European Union;

— explaining and demonstrating the real added value of the
European project, and increasing interaction between citi-
zens across the Union, via the opportunities the EU offers
citizens to develop their personal and professional interests.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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3.
stresses that any initiative relating to the treaties of the
Union should be of the type used for the Convention, in which
the CoR would be involved, thus helping to bring greater
democratic legitimacy to the European venture.

OBJECTIVE 2:

STRENGTHENING TERRITORIAL SOLIDARITY WITHIN
THE EU

4. will continue to promote respect
for cultural and
linguistic diversity, as one of the underlying principles of the
European integration process.

5.
reiterates, in the context of the period of reflection on
the future of the European Union initiated by the European
Council of June 2005, its call for a decentralised and structured
discussion, ensuring an active and dynamic phase of dialogue
with its citizens.

notes that

8.
the compromise reached by the European
Council on the financial perspectives for 2007-2013 allows for
0.37 % of the EU's gross revenue to be allocated to structural
and cohesion policy. As this is well below the amount that it
believes necessary to guarantee the convergence of European
regions in the EU-27 (1), the CoR calls upon the budgetary
the CoR
authority to adjust
believes that the swift conclusion of an inter-institutional agree-
ment on the financial perspectives in the first half of 2006 is
necessary in order for regional authorities to start planning
work for projects co-financed by the EU.

this percentage. Nonetheless,

Increasing the

involvement of

local and regional authorities

in

drawing up European legislation

Territorial cooperation

6.
advocates increasing the CoR's involvement, at both the
earlier and later stages, in the EU decision-making process and
in the assessment of the regional impact of major EU policies,
particularly through:

— systematic consultation of

local and regional authorities

during the early stages of drafting European legislation;

— increasingly systematic use of the new impact assessment
method for the European Commission's major initiatives,
and its involvement in the impact assessment method;

— a special focus on the transposition of Community legisla-
tion and its effects on the legislation of local and regional
authorities.

Explaining the EU accession processes more clearly

7.1
believes that public support for any new accession to
the European Union hinges on the coherence of the EU's plan
for the future.

7.2
encourages the European Commission, the European
Parliament and the EU presidencies, in close cooperation with
local and regional authorities and civil society, to promote and
support information campaigns on the EU enlargement process
at a local and regional level, in both the Member States and
candidate countries.

7.3 maintains that local and regional authorities have a key
role to play in increasing the involvement of the local and
regional bodies represented by the CoR in the integration of
the new candidate countries. This role is particularly important
given that various forms of decentralisation are being imple-
mented in most of these countries. Moreover, the CoR should
continue, particularly through the joint consultative commit-
tees, or other alternative modes of cooperation, to provide
support to local authorities in candidate countries as they adapt
to the acquis communautaire and in the ongoing, open process
of membership negotiations.

considers that, in the context of enlargement and a new
9.
cohesion policy for the period 2007-2013, the creation of an
EU legal basis for enhancing territorial cooperation in the EU
constitutes a major priority for regional and local authorities as
it brings an added value by helping them to overcome the prac-
tical difficulties that cooperation faces in this moment in the
EU;

underlines the importance of a Regulation creating a European
Grouping for Territorial cooperation (EGTC) and supports the
proposal of the European Commission and the position of the
European Parliament in view of the final phase of the negotia-
tions for the Structural Funds Regulations;

calls on the Council of Ministers to reach an agreement on the
EGTC together with the rest of the Regulations of the Structural
Funds.

Towards a more decentralised implementation of the Lisbon Strategy
for growth and jobs

reiterates its support

10.
priority political strategy of the European Union until 2010.

for the Lisbon Strategy as a

highlights the role of European local and regional
11.
authorities
in ensuring consistency between the projects
financed via the structural funds and the Lisbon Strategy (2) and
recalls the need for more decentralised implementation of the
Lisbon Strategy, in line with the conclusions of the European
Council of Lisbon (3); therefore calls for the strong involvement
of local and regional authorities in the process of revising the
Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs and in the imple-
reform programmes by respective
mentation of national
Member States, and undertakes to help achieve this objective
by organising regional dialogue prior to the spring European
Council meetings devoted to the economic and social reform of
the EU.

(1) CdR 162/2004 fin.
(2) Page 11 (EN), COM 2005 (24).
(3) Point 38 of the conclusions.

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12.
considers that equal attention must be paid to the three
pillars of the Lisbon Strategy (economic, social and environ-
mental).

services are provided in line with the principles of subsidiarity
and local self-governance.

underlines the essential contribution of

13.
the Lisbon
Strategy to the development of the European venture, through:

— the improvement of labour market conditions in order to

create more and better jobs for all;

— promoting the social integration of women, young people,
the long-term unemployed, people with

older people,
reduced mobility and minority groups;

— the fight against poverty and social exclusion caused by

inequality, discrimination and lack of opportunity;

— reinforcement of regional cohesion, particularly by taking
account of the needs of rural areas and ensuring that there
is a balance between town and countryside in future urban
and rural programmes;

— promotion of high-quality public services and investment in

infrastructure quality;

— promotion of a knowledge- and innovation-based economy,
through policies that better meet the needs of the informa-
tion society, R&D and education and vocational training,
particularly through the widespread introduction of lifelong
learning;

— anticipation and accompaniment of globalisation-related

restructuring;

— promotion of a culture of entrepreneurship and creation of
a supportive business environment for the further develop-
ment of SMEs.

Completing the internal market

14.
considers that the completion of the internal market
must be leveraged to increase employment growth and step up
competitiveness and innovation in the EU.

15.
urges the European Commission to continue bringing
down barriers to citizen mobility, especially as 2006 is the
European Year of Mobility for Workers.

recalls the need for a horizontal, multi-sector Com-
16.
munity frame of reference in order to define the scope and
management conditions for services of general
local
authorities must be able to decide on the way in which these

interest;

reiterates,

17.
in the light of the legislative procedure to
examine the draft directive on services, its call for the exclusion
interest (healthcare, services
of all social services of general
related to anti-exclusion and integration measures,
social
housing), often managed by local authorities, from the scope of
this draft directive, insofar as these services are not commercial
in nature and have no impact on EU trade.

18.
considers that trans-European networks in the trans-
port, telecommunications and energy sectors are essential to
ensure supply and to realise the full potential of the European
economy, link up the enlarged Europe and improve territorial
cohesion.

Reinforcing security in Europe

19.
calls for security and safety of all citizens to be guaran-
teed, and reaffirms that local and regional authorities are deter-
mined to contribute to the eradication of the causes of inse-
curity and violence in cities and regions across Europe. In this
context, suggests:

— strengthening cooperation actions;

— reinforcing the institutional framework and giving a more
effective role to the local and regional dimension in the
Community's approach;

— developing and properly implementing a strategy to
promote cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding
and solidarity which would complement efforts to tackle
social exclusion;

— improving the European Civil Protection Mechanism by
setting up regional civil protection centres in various risk
areas, which would be responsible,
in addition to other
tasks, for the establishment of an early warning system, as
an important preventive measure;

— set up a European Observatory for urban safety, providing
relevant European institutional bodies with information on
planning of policies, the promotion and coordination of
research, and the collection, organisation and processing of
security data through the dissemination of examples and
best practices from local and regional authorities.

— urges the Commission to improve coordination between

the new Solidarity Fund and the Structural Funds.

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programme similar to that submitted for 2004-2006 by the six
presidencies concerned;

the European Economic and Social Committee: to
21.4
develop political cooperation in the areas of EU policy in
which the activities of the social players and regional authori-
ties are complementary, and to make more effective use of the
synergies generated by the joint administrative services and
shared premises.

Strengthening the impact of the CoR

22.1
calls upon its own elected representatives to use the
possibilities provided by the creation of a budget heading for
financing political and information activities, in order to better
play the role of ‘EU ambassador’ to their fellow citizens, and
the role of ‘local and regional ambassador’ to the EU.

undertakes, with a view to targeting the issues where
22.2
it has credibility and where its work brings real added value to
the community decision- and law-making process, to ensure
that its opinions are of more practical use to the institutions,
and more readable and accessible to European citizens, particu-
larly by being more concise when presenting key political
messages in CoR opinions and the CoR's proposed amend-
ments to the Commission's legislative proposals.

22.3
undertakes to improve the follow-up to opinions so
that the CoR can have an influence throughout the Community
decision-making process, particularly by stressing more specific
points in the context of proposals subject to the co-decision
procedure.

instructs its President to submit this resolution to the
23.
European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council,
the presidencies of the European Union in 2006-2008, namely
the Austrian, Finnish, German, Portuguese, Slovenian and
French presidencies.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE

OBJECTIVE 3:

CONSOLIDATING THE POLITICAL AND INSTITU-
TIONAL ROLE OF THE COR

20.
undertakes to pursue the CoR reforms, protecting its
specific role as the EU's political assembly of locally and region-
ally elected representatives.

The CoR's commitments in terms of inter-institutional cooperation

undertakes, in terms of inter-institutional cooperation

21.
with regard to:

the European Parliament: to leverage the democratic
21.1
debates of
to step up contacts
between counterpart bodies and cooperate on preparation and
follow-up of CoR opinions;

the European Parliament,

to implement

the Commission:

21.2
the cooperation
protocol signed in November 2005 (4), particularly as regards
the CoR's more proactive role during the early stages of Com-
munity action, and to step up synergies in the field of commu-
nication in order to bring Europe closer to the public, which
should lead to an addendum to the cooperation protocol after
the Commission's adoption of the White paper on communica-
tion. Furthermore, the CoR will aim to set up a ‘question time’
with the European Commission at its plenary sessions in order
to further promote the dialogue between the two institutions
about core European issues and provide local and regional
authorities in Europe with further leverage in the European
decision-making process;

the Council: to ensure more efficient communication
21.3
the Regions members also
channels for any Committee of
sitting on the Council, to step up interaction with the presiden-
cies, and to lay the groundwork for more systematic coopera-
tion. In this regard, calls upon the presidencies for 2006-2008
to prepare for 2009 by presenting a strategic multi-annual

Brussels, 16 February 2006.

(4) R/CdR 197/2005 item 11.