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we will have to study several indicators which will enable us to see the current state of regional societies that are in a worse situation than others and how they are evolving |
it is clear from some of the reports that have been presented to parliament' s plenary sitting today that europe' s 25 most prosperous regions enjoy a level of unemployment which is five times lower than in the 25 least prosperous regions |
this fact means that the european parliament the commissioner and the commission must act decisively and strategically |
i agree that the european parliament did not have the opportunity or that it was not given the opportunity as we had reached the end of the parliamentary term to discuss the directives |
i do not think however that this report has come too late |
we need to consider it together so that the new objective 1 programmes and the plans for regional development which have been drafted before the directives come into force can be submitted for revision and proper assessment |
we all agree that we should ask that halfway through these programmes when the assessment of the directives is made parliament should be given an equally influential role on the grounds that we are the citizens' representatives |
our citizens cannot accept that the european union takes decisions in a way that is at least on the face of it bureaucratic |
they need to see the political dimension working to see that officials accept their responsibilities and that there is communication with the citizens |
this is what we are today asking the commissioner for |
i would like to think that given his previous experience as a regional president he will agree to propose indicators and a strategy which will favour economic and social cohesion and not just productivity |
mr president i support the main proposals of the report concerning the administration of the structural funds and the cohesion fund for the period 2000 2006 and the main recommendations of the report which include the following there must always be an integrated approach to the spending of eu structural and cohesion funds |
this means that there must be a comprehensive partnership between local authorities and national governments with regard to how these funds are to be spent |
member states are urged to attach greater importance to integrated strategies for revitalising relations between towns and rural areas |
this latter point is of particular importance |
while urban renewal in our cities is very important we must always strike a balance in our policies between promoting rural development and improving the lives of city dwellers |
we do not want to build a europe of cities alone |
the structural funds have played a key role in the development both of urban and rural parts of peripheral countries mainly through the upgrading of roads water treatment and related transport networks |
this process will continue in accordance with the financial spending guidelines laid down by the eu leaders at their berlin summit last year which were supported by parliament at its last may plenary part session |
key eu programmes between 1989 1993 1994 and 1999 have certainly helped to improve the economic competitiveness of peripheral countries and objective 1 regions within europe |
the key now is to consolidate and make permanent the progress made to date this would ensure that the peripheral countries and the ultraperipheral regions the poorer regions in europe are in a position to operate successfully within the new euro currency zone as well as within an ever expanding internal market where the free movement of goods persons services and capital exist |
in conclusion while key infrastructure projects have been supported by the european regional development fund and the cohesion fund we should remember that the european social fund has played a very important role in helping the less well off in our society |
the social fund has certainly improved our third level institutions financed our post leaving certificate programmes and put in place comprehensive schemes to help combat youth and long term unemployment assist early school leavers and promote higher standards of adult literacy |
mr president on numerous occasions in the past i have disagreed with the rapporteur on her approach to regional policy issues this time however i actually agree with her |
whether or not this will encourage her to continue along the same path i cannot say nevertheless i would like to commend her on her work |
the second point i would like to make is that we would have preferred it if the guidelines had been added to the regulation in the form of an annex as we and mrs mccarthy as rapporteurs for the general regulation had asked |
unfortunately this did not happen mr berni茅 is not to blame for this as it was a matter for the previous committee |
i am raising the issue just to reiterate parliament' s position |
thirdly we broadly agree on the general guidelines provided they do not deviate from the comments we have made so far |
they are particularly beneficial to the member states and i would particularly like to draw your attention to the emphasis the commission has placed on the issues of sustainable development job creation and more particularly on equal opportunities and transport issues |
personally i at least am totally in favour of the guidelines |
as an islander however i would like to express my dissatisfaction at the lack of recognition of island development |
this is not the first time that this issue has not been given the consideration it deserves this has been an ongoing concern for the five years that i have been a member of this parliament and i have raised the issue time and time again |
commissioner we shall continue to raise the issue as article 158 paragraph 1 of the treaty of amsterdam provides for an integrated policy for islands |
therefore the commission should address the issue once and for all |
the time has come to implement the programmes and so member states should also assume their responsibilities and do their jobs properly |
as for us in parliament i would like to remind you of the code of conduct between the commission and parliament which was signed in may |
i am absolutely certain that this code will be observed and that parliament will keep abreast of all the developments and details concerning the implementation of the programmes |
mr president commissioner in this minute and a half i should like first of all to congratulate mrs schroedter |
i know many have already done so but she has indeed earned our praise for being particularly open and attentive to proposals from all sides and i think it is this openness which has given her report the quality we see today |
i share the regrets she expressed namely that parliament has become involved rather late in the day as regards these guidelines since by now the procedure for negotiations with the states is so far advanced that i cannot see this report having any sort of immediate effect which in my view is a pity |
consequently i feel we must look to the future and establish guidelines for the mid term review in 2003 and thus have an influence on the second phase of programming set to follow 2003 |
in brief i would like to say that we are entering the period when we are called upon to manage the programming for 2000 2006 which must be no routine period for the good reason that we have two major challenges to face |
the first is the harmonisation of national development policies and regional development policies |
subsidies are not enough to ensure development when infrastructure and public services are lacking |
we must ask ourselves a fundamental question how can we ensure that union policy interfaces with the subsidiary national policies for regional development |
the second challenge is that of enlargement which will of course have a considerable impact both in budgetary and geographical terms |
these are two areas of action which i invite the commissioner to set up and in which i would ask him to involve us |
finally in this time of natural disasters i would just like to mention the issue of the use of structural funds |
as you know it is up to each state to redistribute part of the total appropriation |
europe should not be completely absent as the states tend to want |
public opinion and the press nowadays accuse us of being unavailable to give a response even though we are going to be funding a large proportion of the national operations |
i think we should be capable of saying this loud and clear |
i also think we should ensure or ask member states to ensure that there is some publicity given to european aid whenever it is used to repair damage caused by natural disasters or accidents |
mr president the priority given to financial and monetary criteria reinforces the increase in inequalities of every shape and form |
as far as french planning experts are concerned for example the most probable scenario today is that of the entrenchment of regional disparities within each country |
well the structural funds have helped to apply a brake to this process |
our project of a europe that aims to satisfy social needs envisages the convergence of living conditions towards the highest common denominator |
its implementation would certainly require extending the scope of redistribution instruments such as the structural funds |
what we are proposing specifically is a unified capital tax which would make it possible to boost the funds used to support the harmonisation of social protection systems and the reduction of working hours at european level |
the commission however though bound to issue guidelines does so only reluctantly and in a vague manner |
the report put forward today re establishes its place in the political sphere |
it is one of the steps towards a policy of employment and sustainable development |
this is what persuades us to vote in favour of it |
mr president i too would like to congratulate the rapporteur on her excellent work |
over the coming years faced with the challenges of globalisation and eastward enlargement europe will more than ever before require appropriate detailed guidance on how to plan and revitalise its economy |
to this end europe as a whole and each member state individually will have to make optimum use of all available resources and capacities including the structural funds |
for this to be possible what we need from the european commission are not just good intentions but clearer guidelines and a firm commitment to monitoring the way these resources are used by the member states |
for example in recent years italy has had problems in utilising the structural funds mainly because of excessive bureaucracy insufficient information and a lack of involvement of economic and social operators at local level |
there are therefore two points to which i would like to draw the commission' s attention firstly we need to make the best possible use of consultation as a means of ensuring proper coordination and participation by all local and regional operators in decision making precisely so that imbalances and inequalities can be avoided |
secondly a genuine effort is required to make administrative procedures simpler and more transparent since they are all too often unnecessarily lengthy and complicated to the point of hindering access to the funds this is something about which european small and medium sized businesses in particular tend to complain |
i will conclude mr president by saying that the failure of the commission' s communication to focus on territorial pacts and especially methods of combating unemployment among women and young people is cause for serious concern |
mr president like my colleague mr evans it is a particular pleasure to rise and make my first speech to this house on this very important issue especially since i represent a part of the united kingdom the west midlands which has hitherto benefited from objective 2 funding in particular |
but the report before the house tonight is a prime example of how if we are not very careful we can produce very grandiose sounding ideas that lack the substance to make them relevant to the people who benefit directly from them |
the report itself is well intentioned but as so often when we deal with these issues lacks clarity of purpose and a sound basis for operability |
that is why i and my group are proposing three key amendments and additions to the text not to take anything away from the proposal but to make it more relevant to those whom it is there to guide |
i would like to explain our thinking here |
firstly we are concerned with the proper use of the structural and cohesion funds |
past experience dictates that as the elected representatives of the european taxpayer we should and indeed must demand financial probity and transparency in the disbursement and auditing of this money hence our amendments and additions relate to achieving what are known as value for money indicators in the grant giving process |
next we all too often see vast sums of money being spent on projects whose outcomes will necessarily be unclear at the start of the programme period |
but at the mid way point or end of that period there is no effective way of terminating the project if it has not proved successful |
our additions therefore call for the provision of practical enforceable exit strategies so that not only can we have the requisite insurance against ongoing costs which are often loaded onto the taxpayer but we also avoid the well rehearsed syndrome of throwing good money after bad |
finally we call for a change to the balance and method by which the funds are disbursed |
there should be greater involvement of the private sector which will introduce financial reality as a perspective within the funding equation |
also the type of project funded needs to be shifted away from small scale revenue based projects which are hard to monitor towards capital schemes where in the majority of cases the benefits are there for all to see |
that way the much trumpeted need for transparency in the use of these funds and the temptation to draw unnecessarily in the longer term on the local tax base in areas where such projects are located will be diminished and the european parliament will show how seriously it takes the need for such reform |
if these changes to the report are supported by the house today i believe that they will move us forward in the next phase of achieving the historic objectives which the funds were set up to bring about namely to assist in a financially sustainable manner those deprived areas of the european union which need to be brought up to a decent standard of living not by giving a hand out but by giving a hand up |
i urge the house to support these changes |
mr president commissioner i too would like to commend the rapporteur on her report which is a meticulous and substantive piece of work |
the european union' s structural and cohesion policies are without doubt essential tools for creating the right conditions with a view to tackling and reducing the levels of economic and social disparity between the regions |
despite the steps taken thus far these levels are still very high and are unacceptably high as regards unemployment |
these policy objectives can only be achieved through their careful coordination and organisation on the basis of well thought out and sensible guidelines |
let us not forget that when these policies are effective they also benefit european citizens by directly improving their quality of life |
let us not forget either that greater consideration should be given to the islands and remote regions of the european union because their geographical location is a hindrance to their economic and social development unless of course the commission is intending to build bridges or underwater tunnels linking them to the european mainland |
in closing i would like to point out that the structural policies as a whole require greater flexibility so that they can adapt to changing circumstances and thereby respond to the new challenges and opportunities of the new millennium for which we all hope for the best |
mr president mrs schroedter' s report undoubtedly contains several important observations and i would like to congratulate her on that |
however i feel that we should be a little more concerned about the actual direction and outcome of the community' s regional policy |
quite briefly structural policy does not ease the problem of mass unemployment in any way rather it aggravates it |
the agricultural economy and agricultural regions have been irreparably damaged by the existing regional policy which has had dramatic consequences on employment levels in rural areas and on the living conditions of farmers particularly in the south |
regional disparities are becoming much more marked within the member states |