Regional organisations did not hide their disappointment at the State of the Union speech by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Wednesday 12 September, and its absence of any announcement to strengthen the principle of subsidiarity.
"We regret that despite expectations, President Juncker did not present the conclusions of the working group on subsidiarity", said Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Council of European communities and regions, noting the role of the regions and municipalities in "proper development of the EU." Likewise, the general secretary of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, Eleni Marianou, regretted the absence of any reference to the regions or Cohesion Policy.
Subsidiarity was only mentioned once by the president of the Commission, when he addressed the question of the hour change (see EUROPE 12094). However, this announcement was made at the start of the month and was not a sufficient response to the regions’ expectations, said the Committee of the Regions (CoR) president, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, a few days beforehand. In a conference on 7 September, he said the EU needed more than a change of clock – it needs a change of direction and the process of rebuilding it with the cities and regions should begin.
Several European sources expressed to this newsletter their failure to understand the absence of any mention of the working group’s work, particularly since positions were awaited. A year earlier, in fact, making his State of the Union address to MEPs, Juncker announced the setting up of a working group on subsidiarity and proportionality under the aegis of first vice-president Frans Timmermans (see EUROPE 11952), forgetting to invite representatives of the regions.
Attar a difficult start, the European Parliament refused to participate in the working group, which had six reflection meetings and made a series of proposals in July, including flexibility in the length of ‘yellow cards’ for national parliaments, introducing an impact assessment of legislative texts after negotiations and the representation of local and regional elected officials in interinstitutional negotiations (see EUROPE 12059).
At the CoR, one likes to believe that the president of the Commission is keeping his announcements for the European Week of Regions and Cities on 8-11 October. The president of the CoR will make his own speech on the state of the Union on 9 October, in which he will outline his vision of the cities and regions, particularly about the future of the EU. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)