Brussels, 13/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - “Governance in partnership” must be the new model of EU governance if the EUROPE 2020 strategy is to be a success. At the Commission on Monday 12 December, various local and regional leaders - the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and Eurocities - urged in favour of a Europe in which citizens, business and civil society would be more actively involved in the drafting of EU policies. “We must work together through horizontal and vertical networks to ensure tangible results and the integrated place-based development of Europe. Only thus will we avoid the failure of the EUROPE 2020 strategy, as was the case with its predecessor, the Lisbon strategy, which did not adequately engage local and regional authorities”, said Wolfgang Schuster, CEMR President and Mayor of Stuttgart. The president of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso, who took part in the round table, did not hesitate to criticise the fact that the “EUROPE 2020 strategy is still hindered by a partnership gap” as local authorities have only been consulted but not involved in the conception and implementation of national reform programmes. She felt that the CoR's proposal to conclude the territorial pacts is not making much headway. The president of the CPMR and president of the Brittany region, Jean-Yves le Drian, took up the refrain, saying: “We believe that the Commission's 'code of conduct', expected early next year, should highlight the establishment of a territorial pact at the national level, which should bring together all actors on the ground”. These voices were duly heard by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who admitted there was a gap between the different levels of power and gave his assurance, in his conclusions, that review of cohesion policy would remedy this: “This is a new cohesion policy for a new partnership, a more effective partnership based on responsibility and solidarity, a partnership for progress.” (MD/transl.jl)