Brussels, 23/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 23 May, the European Commission unveiled macro-regional recommendations to the member states.
In a report on “Governance of the Macro-Region Strategies”, the Commission calls for stronger political leadership and greater clarity in the running of the strategies. There are only two at present, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Region and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, which need better management to ensure they achieve greater results.
It will be for the member states to respond to the recommendations and select those that are most appropriate because the Commission wants any solutions to be genuinely tailor-made.
Politically, the Commission suggests that countries and regions involved in a macro-region strategy should take general strategic leadership at ministerial level. Countries that have established a national contact point should be responsible for decision-making and coordination. The Commission says individual ministries “should drive progress in their thematic areas” and hold regular meetings.
National contact points should have a strategic coordination function within their national or regional government. The high-level group should become more active and the transnational cooperation programmes and INTERACT should provide targeted facilitation.
Ministers should be fully accountable for work in the thematic areas but thematic experts and steering groups should be the drivers of day-to-day implementation, helped by transnational cooperation programmes where appropriate.
The Commission promises to continue to supply strategic support and involvement where it can provide value-added.
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) has welcomed the report on governance of the macro-region strategies, but regrets that the views expressed focus too rigidly on the member states, national contact points and the work of experts. The regions want greater flexibility and greater involvement from regional authorities. Annika Annerby Jannson, head of the CPMR and the regional council of the Swedish region of Skane, said that the key role of elected regional officials should be better highlighted for implementation of the macro-region strategies because the elected officials are closer to the concerns of the citizens living in the areas in question. (MD)