Brussels, 09/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - In the wake of the European Commission's adoption of its working programme for 2010, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) is to meet in Brussels on Wednesday 14 on Thursday and 15 April for its plenary session, under the chairmanship of Mercedes Bresso (PES, Italy), to decide on its action priorities for this year. On the basis of the new architecture of the Union provided by the Treaty of Lisbon, the members of the committee will contribute to discussions on policies with a considerable impact at local level, such as the reform of the common agriculture policy and that of the cohesion policy, and the guidelines to be adopted by the EU for its future, more specifically on economic and environmental issues.
This session will be punctuated by two debates on European regional policy: the first on the future of cohesion policy, the second on the macro-regions of the EU, such as those of the Baltic Sea and Danube regions. The Regional Policy Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, will be taking part in these exchanges of views. He will be presenting his priorities for the next five years, which will be as follows, as he told an interview with the CoR: (1) "for Europe to have a greater presence in the hearts and minds of the citizens, not only in their wallet in the form of euros"; (2) for the citizens, in a far greater measure, to identify with, accept, approve and feel passionate about Europe, as it is only together that we can be stronger, (3) for us to keep our individuality, within judicious interactions between individuals, families, regions, landscapes, towns and countries. This is the added value which is inherent to Europe and which is what gives it its specific nature, said the Commissioner, who believes that "the regional policy of the EU is an investment in the regions, which brings profit for each one of us".
As part of the debates on the future of the cohesion policy post-2013 and the strategy for the Baltic Sea, it is worth noting first of all that the CoR is to hold a forum on the European macro-regions, in Brussels on Tuesday 13 April. On Wednesday 14 April, Pauliina Haijanen, a member of the executive body of the town of Laitila (EPP, Finland), will be presenting her draft opinion on "the strategy for the Baltic Sea region" for adoption. In this text, Ms Haijanen observes that the process for the implementation of this strategy is insufficiently developed in the Commission's communication, even though the Baltic Sea strategy plays a guiding role in this type of micro-regional cooperation, the fundamental elements of which are the involvement of actors at different levels of governance and coordinated action. Pauliina Haijanen is therefore calling immediately on the Commission to "more specifically support implementation and management of the strategy, in a more flexible yet determined manner". Lastly, in order to achieve a common position of the local authorities on the strategy and budgetary negotiations ahead, the Commission has drafted a "prospective opinion" on the future of the cohesion policy. Michael Schneider (EPP, Germany), Secretary of State for Federal and European Affairs and plenipotentiary representative of the Land of Saxony-Anhalt, will present his opinion on the "future of the cohesion policy". In its press release, the CoR notes that the 90 or so amendments tabled during the examinations of the committee on territorial cohesion policy bear witness to great levels of interest on the subject. With an adoption in plenary, the Committee will be the first body of the EU to take an official stance on the future of the cohesion policy, the latter notes.
Still on Wednesday 14 April, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Ciolos, will be addressing the plenary. The CoR hopes that discussions on the budgetary reform of the EU with a significant impact on the funds allocated to farmers and support for the rural economy in a great many European regions will start as soon as possible. René Souchon (PES, France) will present his own-initiative opinion on the future of the common agriculture policy. This opinion will be adopted at the June plenary session. Michel Platini, the Chairman of UEFA, will attend to discuss the role of football in social integration and its impact on the economic development of the cities and regions of the EU with the local and regional parliamentarians. The Committee recalls that in 2007, it adopted an opinion on equal opportunities and sport. It states that Michel Platini's visit to Brussels comes at the early stages of the implementation period of the Treaty of Lisbon, which defines a legal basis for the Union's actions in the field of sport.
The other major subjects on the agenda of the plenary session of 14 and 15 April relate to: (1) the cities and regions of Europe showing solidarity on social and health issues: - draft opinion by Dave Wilcox (PES, UK), a member of Derbyshire County Council, on "Reducing health inequalities in the EU"; - own-initiative draft opinion by Rob Bats (ADLE, Netherlands), Member of the Executive Council of Drenthe, Netherlands) on "Dealing with the impact of an ageing population in the EU"; (2) the negligence of the local and regional authorities in the enlargement process: draft opinion by Georgios Papastergiou (EPP, Greece), Prefect of Pieria, on "Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2009-2010: candidate countries"; (3) technological and digital development measures within the EU: - draft opinion by Jean-François Istasse (PES, Belgium), Member of Parliament of the French community of Belgium, on "Transforming the digital dividend into social benefits and economic growth"; - draft opinion by Veronica Diaconu (EPP, Romania), Mayor of Gorgota, on "Developing a common strategy for key enabling technologies in the EU"; (4) urban mobility and environmental protection: - draft opinion by Sir Albert Bore (PES, UK), Member of Birmingham City Council and former President of the CoR, on the "Action Plan on Urban Mobility" of the European Commission; - draft opinion by Macario Correia (EPP, Portugal), Mayor of Faro, on "Improving the EIA and SEA directives". For more information: http://www.cor.europa.eu (G.B./transl.fl)