Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the Priorities of the Committee of the Regions for 2009 based on the Legislative and Work Programme of the European Commission
Date: 2008-11-27
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU policy, European Commission, European Committee of the Regions, action programme, legislative programme (EU)

C 76/66

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

31.3.2009

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the Priorities of the Committee of the Regions
for 2009 based on the Legislative and Work Programme of the European Commission

(2009/C 76/14)

POLITICAL PRIORITIES

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

stresses the importance of a new momentum towards
1.
structural reforms in the EU, aiming at solutions to overcoming
the present financial crisis and its impact on the European and
world economies; considers that, even though emergency
measures are important to help Europe over the present crisis in
the short term, long term actions, are necessary to also generate
sustainable jobs and growth, quality infrastructure, public trans-
port and investments in energy efficient technologies are there-
fore of outmost importance;

6.
underlines the need for sustainable development for citi-
zens and the generations to come; recalls also the importance
of a social Europe and stresses that these goals should not be
compromised but that, on the contrary, common efforts are
needed from the EU and the Member States as well as regional
and local political actors. To this end, central government and
local and regional authorities should be further encouraged by
the EU — inter alia through a more lenient application of the
rules on permitted deficit levels in the Member States — to also
pursue these objectives by making ambitious long-term invest-
ment in education, training, research and innovation as well as
in the development of quality infrastructures, public transport
networks and investment in energy efficient technologies;

2.
recalls in this context its specific Resolution on the finan-
cial crisis which sets out the main steps to be taken at European,
national, regional and local level to address the financial crisis
and to limit as far as possible its negative consequences;

7. welcomes the decision of the European Council to ensure
support to the economy, giving wider attention to long terms
needs such as energy efficiency and innovative clean technology,
as well as measures aimed at simplifying and reducing adminis-
trative burdens in view of better law making;

the

explicit will

and the proposals

3. welcomes
to
strengthen the European Union's territorial dimension and its
democratic nature; signals its intention to continue developing
the CoR's political and institutional role in the European deci-
sion-making process; and announces that a White Paper will be
drawn up on multi-level governance which it intends to present
during 2009;

4.
reaffirms its intention to follow closely the EU budgetary
review in order to contribute to a better integration and coordi-
level and calls for this
territorial
nation of EU policies at
process to reflect the needs of all levels of governance, and to
improve the quality, equality, stability, visibility and simplicity of
EU measures; to this end, suggests to align the budget program-
ming period with the European electoral cycle on a 5 + 5 years
basis, to provide effective support to the least developed regions
to help them catch up, to ensure that the budget in the future
reflects better all the EU competencies and to avoid the re-natio-
nalisation of EU policies which would endanger the effectiveness
of the European integration project (1).

For more jobs and growth

5.
emphasises the need for confidence building measures to
win back the trust of the EU citizens facing uncertainty and
high pressure on their jobs, confronted with fluctuating energy
prices,
instability and a loss of confidence in the
banking sector and recalls that it is also necessary to look at
mechanisms which would help to avoid such crises in the
future;

financial

(1) CoR Opinion CdR 16/2008 fin,

‘Reforming the budget, changing

Europe’, rapporteurs Mr Van den Brande and Mr Delebarre.

8.
supports a relaunched EU Strategy for Growth and Jobs
post 2010, which aims to create new jobs in the face of the
crisis by a concerted effort at European level to combine public
investment, support for research, innovation, sustainable tech-
nology and SMEs, comprehensive social dialogue, sound finan-
cial regulation, non-protectionist trade rules and close coopera-
tion on fiscal and monetary policy in the EU;

underlines the need for coordinated actions among all
9.
levels of government
to support SMEs to stronger connect
fundamental research to the applied research and to support
cooperation with the private sector in order to promote innova-
tion and technological leadership; welcomes measures aimed at
launching and supporting Creativity and Innovation initiatives,
especially those
cooperation
because innovation and creativity are key drivers for change and
competitiveness in the regions, contributing to quality of life
and economic cohesion;

targeting university-enterprises

recalls as crucial

in particular the role of

10.
local and
regional authorities as public investors and buyers and under-
lines that local and regional authorities, enterprises and univer-
sities play a key role in creating active networking and clusters
policy in the EU;

11.
firmly believes that investing in youth is vital for the
achievement of the goals of the European Union in terms of
employability and social inclusion of young people;

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12.
calls for equal opportunities in employment and for a
special attention to the potential contribution of elder workers
who possess precious knowledge for product and system
innovation;

13. welcomes that the European Commission will present
an assessment of the EU's demographic future at the Spring
European Council and asks the European Commission to
consider how best to take into account the needs of an ageing
population; underlines that demographic trends at the level of
regions, cities and municipalities should be considered in a
more differentiated way because of the diversity of the regions
and the migration flows they are facing; stresses that, in the
context of the Social Agenda for Opportunities, Access and Soli-
darity, vulnerable groups of citizens require special attention
and targeted measures;

14.
calls for a review of the European Globalisation Adjust-
in order to make this instrument more
ment Fund (EAGF),
operational; this could be done through: more flexible EAGF
thresholds, allowing these funds to be used in conjunction with
other EU financial instruments applicable to mass redundancies
and increasing the EAGF budget from EUR 500 million to
EUR 1 billion;

underlines that Cohesion policy has become one of the
18.
highest profile success stories in the European Union.
Its
leverage effect for regional development has been proven. Based
on this positive experience, it is necessary in 2009 to reinforce
the exchange of ideas and cooperation on new approaches and
models for regional policies; proposes that the CoR works with
the European Commission to provide adequate mechanisms for
such actions; emphasizes that to this end further debates will
be organised on the future of Cohesion Policy during the
Summit of Cities and Regions organized by the Committee of
the Regions in Prague on 5-6 March 2009, as well as in the
context of the ‘Open Days — 2009’ (on 6-9 October);

underlines that

19.
territorial cooperation is an essential
element in achieving the objective of territorial cohesion; there-
fore recalls that the new legal instrument ‘European Grouping
of Territorial Cooperation’ (EGTC) has a great potential on the
ground. Member States therefore should adopt all necessary
measures to implement the regulation's provisions.

For combating climate change effectively and for a
sustainable Europe

points out that it is of vital

15.
importance for citizens,
especially in the context of the financial crisis, that high quality
public services are guaranteed; express therefore its concern
that the current situation of legal uncertainty for the local and
regional authorities who often provide such services,
is not
addressed in the Commissions work programme.

20.
urges the European Commission to maintain a strong
political focus on energy and climate change policy, ensuring
the effective involvement of local and regional authorities in the
drafting and implementation of legislation;

For Cohesion

16.
regrets to see that the importance of cohesion policy is
not reflected in the priorities of the European Commission's
work programme, despite the financial and political weight of
this policy area making it a core objective of
the EU; and
supports a large debate on the future of the cohesion policy
within the EU budget review process, in order to consolidate
this major policy around its central objective: the harmonious
development of EU territories between them, more specifically
the reduction of their economic, social and territorial disparities;
therefore, expects the consultation on the Green Paper on Terri-
torial Cohesion in 2009 to be followed up by a White Paper on
Territorial Cohesion;

17.
recalls that an ambitious cohesion policy, which makes
serious efforts to translate territorial cohesion objectives into
concrete policy actions, will allow the consolidation of the Euro-
pean integration process and to meet future challenges affecting
all European regions; in this context, sees the need for flexible
earmarking of funds to adapt structural cohesion instruments to
the diversity of local and regional situations;

21.
strongly supports a high profile role of the EU in the
framework of the negotiations of the 2009 Copenhagen UN
Climate Change Convention aiming to agree on a leap forward
in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2012;

22.
proposes that mitigation and adaptation to climate
change to be treated as priorities in the debate of the EU Budget
Review; Furthermore, calls for complementarities between terri-
torial cohesion and climate change measures to be sought,
notably through the use of existing financial instruments;

regions as an essential

underlines the role of

renewable energy, and considers that without

23.
link
between national and local energy efficiency plans and promo-
tion of
the
support of regions Member States may not be able to live up to
their commitments for greenhouse gas reductions by 2020;
stresses that
the negotiations of a post-Kyoto international
climate agreement should focus both on comprehensive policies
and their implementation as well on emissions' targets; reaf-
firms its support to initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors
and suggests to complement it with a direct involvement of the
regions;

24.
reaffirms its commitment to halting the loss of biodiver-
sity and hopes the European Commission's midterm review of
the EU Biodiversity Action Plan will provide new momentum;

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25.
strongly suggests that synergies be fostered between
rural development policy and other EU policies, particularly
cohesion policy; asks the European Commission to analyse the
the world economic crisis on agricultural
consequences of
markets and the rural sector in order establish the appropriated
measures to preserve this sector from decline and to maintain
alimentary independence;

Programme; supports the pursuit of an integrated and compre-
hensive approach to migration and asylum, since it is only
through this approach that Europe will reach a stable and
sustainable immigration policy; to this end, the CoR stresses
initiatives;
also the
importance of
welcomes in this respect
legislative
actions — so called ‘Stockholm programme’ — aimed at
strengthening a European area of freedom, security and justice;

intercultural dialogue
the new timetable of

26.
recalls its request to be involved as a logical follow-up to
its contribution to the Commission's maritime action plan in
developing and implementing the European Union's new inte-
grated maritime policy;

27. welcomes the Commission's activities in the field of
green transport;
supporting
measures which soften the impact of transport on the environ-
ment, giving priority to maritime transport policy and to an
ambitious action plan on urban mobility;

the importance of

reiterates

28. welcomes the European Commission's announcement
to give fresh impetus to the TEN-T projects in Europe; insists
that local and regional concerns should not only be taken on
board, but that local, regional and national planning instru-
ments should be coordinated within this European framework
in order to optimise the Trans-European Networks.

For a Europe closer to citizens

29.
emphasizes its role as a key institution in the European
Unions's efforts to communicate with citizens and reminds the
European Commission that the CoR's direct access to Europe's
local and regional authorities, through its members, creates a
valuable relay network to inform citizens about EU benefits and
to listen to citizens and their concerns; reminds the European
Commission and member states that integrating the European
dimension into daily action and communicating in an under-
standable language is the joint responsibility of European Insti-
tutions as well as of national, regional and local elected repre-
sentatives who are situated at the grassroots level of communi-
cation close to the citizens;

considers that the European elections in 2009 must be
30.
taken as an opportunity to step up a decentralised European
communication policy in order to raise awareness of the Euro-
pean Union's shared values by maintaining permanent dialogue
with European citizens and demonstrating the added value of
European integration;

the European level of

underlines that the CoR will pursue its efforts for better
31.
local and
recognition at
regional authorities in the further development of the area of
Freedom, Security and Justice, especially with regards
to
designing and implementing the Multi-annual post — The Hague

the role of

32.
backs the goal of combating terrorism and violent radi-
calisation to enhance the security of EU citizens, recognising
that local and regional authorities are central to the implementa-
tion of the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy and insists that this
fight,
in order to be successful, has to be carried out in full
respect of fundamental rights and freedoms;

33. welcomes that
the Third Strategic Review of Better
Regulation will report on the three core components of the
Better Regulation Agenda — impact assessment, simplification
and reduction of administrative burden; underlines its ongoing
contributions to the debate in the High Level Group of Indepen-
dent Stakeholders on Administrative Burden (‘Stoiber-Group’)
with special regard to cost cutting measures for local and
regional authorities; keeps supporting the application of a joint
methodology for assessing administrative burdens, which expli-
citly takes into account the local and regional dimension and
reaffirms its commitment to inter-institutional cooperation, in
order to attain the objectives set in this domain;

reaffirms that the implementation of the subsidiarity
34.
and proportionality principles in the legislative process is at the
heart of an effective and democratic multilevel governance and
underlines the importance of contributing to a subsidiarity
culture in the EU institutions that will benefit a better decision
making.

For a stronger Europe in the World

reiterates that

35.
local and regional authorities play a
crucial role in the enlargement process and continues its coop-
eration with elected local and regional representatives from EU
candidate and potential candidate countries;

36. welcomes the re-launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Part-
nership through the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean
and stresses the important contribution of local and regional
authorities to its implementation; announces the creation of
the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM),
which shall be a permanent political body representing local
and regional authorities with the goal of being recognised as a
consultative body of the Union for the Mediterranean;

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37.
emphasizes the importance to balance the relations with
the EU's neighbours to the East and the South and welcomes
the initiative of the Eastern Partnership; invites the European
Commission to develop further regional and territorial coopera-
tion components within the Eastern Partnership;

appreciates

the European Commission's

38.
increasing
recognition of the decentralised cooperation method and activ-
ities; commits itself to organise ‘EU Decentralised cooperation
days’
in the end of 2009 to facilitate exchange and political
dialogue of local and regional authorities of the EU and devel-
oping countries; welcomes the creation of an information
exchange platform — ‘stock exchange’ — which will allow
matching between local and regional authorities in the EU and
in development countries aiming at the creation of new decen-
tralised cooperation projects;

Brussels, 27 November 2008.

39.
reiterates its commitment to foster local and regional
democracy in Europe and third countries; and stresses its will-
ingness to continue its involvement
in election monitoring
missions with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of
the Council of Europe, and wishes to be more closely involved
in election observation missions organised with the support of
the European Commission;

40.
instructs its president to forward this resolution to the
European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council,
the current French presidency and the presidencies of the Euro-
pean Union in 2009, namely the Czech and Swedish
presidencies.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Luc VAN DEN BRANDE