Brussels, 18/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - The president of the Committee of the Regions, Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso, considers that although the Spring Council did not lead to any formal decisions, it is a “step towards urgent and necessary change in the EU strategy to balance fiscal consolidation and growth measures”. Thus, the CoR president argues that regions and cities should continue to be main players in the creation of new jobs for young people and making our economies more competitive.
He has welcomed the fact that the member states stressed the importance of implementing the growth pact: “If implementation is the key and Europe is determined to overcome the delays and the difficulties encountered up to now in putting the growth agenda into practice, the proper involvement of regional and local authorities in planning and performing interventions is the only way to make sure that invested money will reach citizens and businesses”. He calls, therefore, for cooperation to be stepped up between the different levels of European, national, regional and local governance, beginning with application of the European Semester. (MD/transl.fl)