Brussels, 02/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Following a meeting of politicians at regional and local level in Europe with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso (see EUROPE 0171/10170), the president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Mercedes Bresso, has outlined the main challenges facing the regions. In an interview with EUROPE on Wednesday 30 June, she explains the special role that Europe's regions and local communities hope to play in the new EU 2020 strategy, outlining the Committee of the Regions' priorities for the upcoming budget reform and the impact on the regions and towns of Europe of their greater role under the Lisbon Treaty.
EU 2020. On the role of regional policy and the CoR in applying the EUROPE 2020 strategy, Mercedes Bresso points out that one of the reasons for the general failure of the Lisbon Strategy was the fact that it was not based on the EU's regions and local authorities, in other words it was not based on the areas that actually get things done in Europe (in most countries at least). It is clear that there are big differences between large and small countries but on the whole, be it in terms of European funding or in terms of powers that they wield (whether legislative or operational), it is the regions and towns that get things done in practice. If policy does not involve them and they do not contribute right from the start to the implementation of the EUROPE 2020 strategy, particularly in the planning stage, then the new strategy will not work, explained Bresso. She adds that there is already an agreement on the Mayors' Pact, whereby mayors pledge to get their towns and cities involved in introducing a green economy, protecting the environment, social cohesion, poverty reduction and combatting the impact of climate change. Moreover, at its 9 and 10 June plenary, the CoR approved a resolution suggesting that the Commission set up a “Territorial Pact” to get the regions involved in implementing practical aspects of flagship initiatives and related projects.
Bresso's suggestions to Barroso include a request to be able to contribute to the application of national reform programmes (the regions were not very involved in this with the Lisbon Strategy). Bresso notes that for the moment, there is no money earmarked for the new cohesion policy, but the policy is bound to take account of the EUROPE 2020 strategy. The new cohesion policy comes into force in 2014, which means the funding will be available in 2015 in practical terms, so there is a danger of it arriving too late.
Budget. Outlining the CoR's priorities in the field of budget reform, Mercedes Bresso makes it clear that the CoR does not want the EU to spend less and it very keen for the EU to not cut back on cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy by focusing them on the poorest, least developed member states. Instead, the CoR wants the two policies to cover the whole of Europe, which will require an increase in resources. Following her meeting with Barroso and EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier, Mercedes Bresso said that the talks had focused on the need for Europe to raise its own income, either in the form of a tax on banks or a tax on financial transactions (she suggested the latter might raise more cash), or by issuing “Eurobonds”. She explained that if big transport and virtual networks were taxed, then this would raise income to be used as loan collateral to raise cash from the money markets and avoid getting the member states further into debt (which would not be feasible at the moment). The EU taking on its own debt would be an investment for the future and the EU could help its member states, which have to tighten their public spending belts, by finding its own funding from sources other than taxpayers' pockets. She suggests taxes on banks and financial transactions and the EU borrowing money for infrastructure investment in the form of sustainable investment that makes a full return on the monies invested. She added that politicians must be bold for the budget because if the EU budget is cut, then there is the real danger of repeating the Great Depression that started in 1929 which lasted for years and years.
Crisis. Europe's regions and local authorities have not been immune to the crisis. They account for 16% of the EU's GDP, a third of public spending and two-thirds of public investment and therefore an important issue to be considered in the current economic crisis, explained Mercedes Bresso. A poll of Europe's cities and regions had shown that two thirds of regions (69%) had suffered very badly in the crisis with an 80% slump in their income from taxation, a 67% increase in welfare spending and a 38% cut in staff (civil servants and other staff). The crisis has therefore hit hard and all the regions have to be creative and determined to shoulder the burden of continuing to fund companies, particularly small businesses, which rely on local communities, and help the unemployed, support employment, training and microfunding. Bresso added that the regions were suffering greatly because it is at local level that healthcare, employment policies, professional training and unemployment benefit is provided.
Environment and climate change. Mayors have two ways of intervening - the Mayors' Convention and the Territorial Pact - but the regions also need to be involved in sustainable development policies because it is the regions that actually manage EU funding, explained Bresso. The CoR says that environmental policies, particularly measures to tackle climate change (like renewable energy sources and energy efficiency) are crucial, particularly for Europe's cities that can stop wasting and start generating energy. Bresso said the CoR sees this as a democratisation of energy on the one hand and as a vast opportunity to create jobs on the other, and this had been the message put forward at the meeting of EU urban development ministers in Toledo, Spain, on urban policy recently (see EUROPE 10165). Urban policy is crucial, said Bresso, saying that under her chairmanship, the CoR was organising a Forum on the right policy mix between environment policies and urban quality policies and how leading architects can get involved in town and country planning by renovating old businesses (“brown development”).
Discussing cooperation between European and US mayors, Mercedes Bresso announced that the Mayors Association of the United States would be attending the CoR's plenary and Open Days in October 2010. She said the initiative would be extended to city organisations in other parts of the world, like Latin America.
Lisbon Treaty. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the CoR has control over subsidiarity in that it can take cases to the European Court of Justice, explained Mercedes Bresso, adding that the CoR would not be abusing its powers, preferring to take action earlier to head off any need for a court case. She said that rather than take cases to court, the CoR would try to introduce a network to monitor subsidiarity and provide an early warning system for national parliaments. This would mean demonstrating potential breaches of subsidiarity and pointing them out to the EP, European Commission and Council of Ministers so that action could be taken to avert the need for a court case. Mercedes Bresso added that at present, she did not see any cases that the CoR could take to the European Court of Justice, but, to take a purely hypothetical example, if in the EU's new Cohesion Policy, the CoR sees that the regions and local authorities do not have any role to play, then it could decide that subsidiarity has been flouted and may decide to take the issue to court.
Belgian Presidency of the EU. The first document on the future of the EU's Cohesion Policy will be published at some point in the next six months, during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Bresso said the CoR expected it to be strongly based on subsidiarity and Belgium is the only country among the upcoming rotating presidencies (Hungary, Poland and Denmark) to characterised by strong regionalisation. Mercedes Bresso said that Spain and Belgium were the CoR's champions. (G.B./transl.fl)