Brussels, 09/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Euro-Mediterranean Local and Regional Assembly (ARLEM), which is co-chaired by the EU's Committee of the Regions (CoR), has published its position ahead of the review of the European neighbourhood policy (ENP). Only the CoR will issue its opinion just before the summer, and this will cover both the “southern neighbourhood” and the “northern neighbourhood”. As regards the Mediterranean neighbourhood, which concerns it primarily, ARLEM says it “supports a differentiated and balanced approach” with the “eastern neighbourhood” (countries of Eastern Europe). It calls for “differentiation” between the two areas and for ambitious cross-border cooperation.
ARLEM “urges for the role of local and regional communities to be strengthened in the action plans and indicative plans developed as part of the bilateral component of the ENP so as to favour, within the national implementation plans, the distribution of aid based on an approach that is not only sectoral but also territorial”.
In ARLEM's view, the ENP should be adapted to the conditions of the target countries and ARLEM advocates “optimisation of its financial envelope” by “developing synergies with other structural policies, as well as with the various financial instruments”. The idea would be “to ensure a true lever effect with a view to a dynamic for investment in favour of sustainable socio-economic development”. “Decentralisation” would be the rule.
Similarly, ARLEM proposes “gradually introducing a macro-regional approach in the Mediterranean basin”. It believes the ENP should “integrate the methodologies, concepts and instruments of the European cohesion policy and also offer the possibility for all countries of the Mediterranean partnership to participate progressively in European structural programmes and policies.” ARLEM states that support to cross-border and inter-regional cooperation should be “particularly favoured”.
ARLEM would also like the ENP to be “refocused” according to “three strategic priorities” - “good democratic governance, sustainable territorial development, and circular migration and mobility”. In addition, it underlines “the necessary complementarity” between the ENP and Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), as well as “the value added by greater synergy with the European development policy and agenda for migration”. ARLEM believes that this reform should quickly “lead to a deep reworking of its concept and become fully effective thanks to the implementation of common projects” involving civil society (our translation throughout). (Fathi B'Chir)