Brussels, 14/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Union should not just focus on economic criteria in its use of Structural Funds but also on its citizens' quality of life. The best way is through the cities and regions of Europe, which are the only entities that can get the appropriate political messages across to its citizens. The well-being of citizens is one of the factors that can help make the European Union succeed. This is the message Michael Häupl, the president of the Committee of European Municipal Regions (CEMR) and the mayor and governor of Vienna, brought to Brussels. During an interview with EUROPE, Häupl expressed concern about clauses in the Lisbon Treaty being transposed in member states and the chances of the EU 2020 strategy succeeding. He gave his support to the idea of solidarity inherent in cohesion policy and said that the financial situation in cities was an essential factor when showing people how they can be helped, despite very hard social difficulties.
Häupl referred to his predecessor at the presidency of the CEMR, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who has had a huge influence on building Europe, particularly in relation to what has been included in the Lisbon Treaty. In the context of the local authorities, Häupl drew attention to the need to see how the clauses of the said treaty will be applied, whilst ensuring that transposition of the Lisbon Treaty in member states is done in respect of the subsidiarity principle. Häupl provided assurances that the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, Eurocities and the CEMR would begin their reflections on this point and said that he had spoken to the commissioner for regional policy, Johannes Hahn, on Wednesday at noon. Concrete ideas on applying the clauses in the Lisbon Treaty will emerge at the next CEMR steering committee meeting in Oslo in June and will be finalised at the end of the year.
Häupl exclaimed that in connection with the EU 2020 strategy, “I will try and be polite and not too critical!” The CEMR president is not very hopeful about this strategy because “the process has not benefited from much reflection time”. Häupl said that he was afraid that the EU 2020 strategy would soon be forgotten. This is why he prefers to focus on the Commission's work programme, which he said, “does not necessarily reflect the sprit of the treaty… and they should have done better”. What is the role of cohesion policy in this strategy? This involves a policy that “allows for the ideas in the EU 2020 strategy to be implemented, but cooperation with the regional authorities is necessary. If this is not forthcoming, it will fail”.
With regard to the priorities in the debate on regional policy reform, Häupl declared that he “supported the idea of cohesion policy assisting poor or underdeveloped regions. The idea of solidarity is still quite valid”. The president of the CEMR affirms that two principles should be respected: (1) cooperation with the regional and territorial authorities is necessary in order to elaborate efficient policy, (2) in order for this to translate at a city level, a new URBAN programme will not be necessary. Häupl asserts that they should be able to envisage co-funding research and development and creative industries.
CEMR Secretary General, Frederic Vallier, noted in Vienna that 100,000 jobs had been created in the creative industries, which is proof of the very significant potential in this creative sector. In industrial production, 60 000 jobs had been created (current figures). Häupl said that the situation in the production sector was volatile and unstable as opposed to that in the creative sector. Vallier concluded that “the regions and cities of the 21st century will be creative regions and cities!”
How can the social concerns of citizens following the financial and economic crisis be responded to? “There is not a one-size solution for all cities. It should be looked at on a case by case basis”, affirmed Häupl. Vienna has 6.5% unemployment (which is rather good compared to EU statistics) explained Häupl, who insisted on the importance of the financial situation in cities in order to be able to provide an appropriate response to citizens' demands to invest in public markets and infrastructure in an effort to reduce the cost of crèches for children and help those living in difficult social situations. This is possible in cities that are “quite rich” but it also requires taking future initiatives to balance the books for increased spending. Vallier concluded that “cities are in crisis, whether this involves unemployment or increased poverty. European recovery or crisis exit strategies must be discussed with the cities and regions in order to locate the solutions that are best adapted at a local level”. (G.B./transl.fl)