Nantes, 05/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - On the 5th general assembly of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities, which was held from 1 to 3 July in Nantes, France, the 37 Atlantic cities and conurbations of the European Union adopted a declaration, in which they welcome the adoption of the new Constitution Treaty by the intergovernmental conference, in Brussels on 18 June. These 37 cities of 5 countries (Portugal Spain, France, United Kingdom and Ireland) see this as a "strong sign of Europe's capacity for unity". They "commit to play an active role towards the citizens and the national authorities, so that the process of ratification by the Member States can be the opportunity for greater understanding and knowledge of and support for the Union and European citizenship". The Atlantic cities are getting in a couple of days head of the formal appeal to be launched this week by the European Parliament, the Commission and the Committee of the Regions to try to mobilise local and regional government, ahead of the many referendums to be held in 2005.
The cities also underline that the new enlarged European Union cannot afford to disregard the urban phenomenon. They believe that "the cities in their diversity should be integrated more into the process of defining all European policies which have an impact upon urban management and the life of the citizens". The Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities welcomes the European Commission's initiative to carry out permanent territorial dialogue including local, regional, national and European government associations. The Conference pleads in favour of an ambitious cohesion policy. The cities and regions of the Atlantic seaboard feel that "in the light of a polycentric development policy in Europe (...), an urban plank must be proposed within each regional programme, co-funded by the ERDF as part of the "Convergence" and "Regional competitivity and employment" objectives". They also state that proposed regulations for the various structural funds, which are to be presented some time this month, should "raise the principles of binding partnerships and a common work obligation for all of the territorial partners, in step with the national authorities". The regions and cities of the Atlantic Arc have agreed to set up a working group on regional policy in September, to follow the Commission and Council's work. They hope "to defend together a relevant area of co-operation and a management programme adapted to the needs of Atlantic territorial co-operation". They hope to be treated like a "privileged interlocutor of the Commission and the Council at future negotiations on budget and cohesion policy regulations".
At this general assembly, which was chaired by Paz Fernandez Felgueroso, the mayor of Gijon, Spain, and chair of the Conference, several people, such as the deputy mayor of Nantes, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the MEP Jacques Floch, a former member of the European Convention, pleaded in favour of mobilisation for the ratification of the new Constitution Treaty. Others, such as the Secretary of State for the Land of Sachsen-Anhalt, Michael Schneider, who represented the Committee of the Regions, and Jacques Auxiette, president of the Pays de la Loire regional Council, spoke of the future of regional policy. At this second debate, several people took the floor to voice their regret at the Commission's having given up the idea of a framework directive on services of general interest. They underlined the role of these services as instruments of territorial cohesion. The threats brought to bear by Commissioner Monti's services on territorial differentiation on State aid raised serious concerns, given the importance of this tool of local and regional economic development. The MEPs pointed out that aid to the regions was 82 billion EUR a year, whereas the annual consumption of structural funds is just 40 billion EUR.