Brussels, 02/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - Conference on cohesion and Lisbon Agenda on 3 March in Brussels (on the initiative of Danuta Hübner) will debate how regions can contribute to the Lisbon objectives (EUROPE 24 February p 12). Acting director of DG Regional Policy Ronnie Hall said that the 254 regions of the EU had a key role to play in the new partnership for growth and jobs recently proposed by the Commission for adding a new dimension to the Lisbon strategy. His job touches on reform of cohesion policy. In the context of the Kok report (a work session is tackling this), Mr hall highlighted two recommendations directly linked to the proposals submitted in 2004 by the Commission on reform of regional and cohesion policies for 2007-13, namely: the need to increase the active and responsible participation of the European institutions in the Member States in the Lisbon process and that of reorganising the EU budget to reflect more Lisbon priorities. Hall noted the relevance of these recommendations and indicated that strategic investment was planned, with reorientation on jobs and competitiveness. The Commission has bilateral contacts on this subject with 25 EU Member States and Romania and Bulgaria. Mr Hall indicated that the synthesis documents on “the EU territorial State” would be on the table at the informal Council on 20-21 May in Luxembourg (see below). He also asked how they would reorient ate future regional development programmes (more than 50% of these programmes were on the Lisbon Agenda and that this percentage was even higher than in the revised agenda”, he said. Mr Hall added that the Commission would propose strategic reorientations for which the contents will be the subject of consultations with the EU 25, Romania and Bulgaria and where the regions have a key role to pay in the implementation of new programmes. The Commission considers that “economic development is essential”, explained Hall, while providing assurances that this did not mean that the social agenda would be put o the side lines. He said that they would continue to invest in social equality and that ethnic and minority groups would be highlighted so that they participate in job creation.
Danuta Hübner will meet President Krecké to prepare the informal
“Regional Policy/Territorial Cohesion Policy”
Luxembourg ministers Jean-Marie Halsdorf (Interior and Territorial Rejuvenation) and Jeannot Krecké (Economy and External Trade) met the Commission for regional policy Danuta Hübner on Tuesday to prepare the joint informal meeting for regional policy and territorial cohesion ministers on 20-21 may in Luxembourg. According to presidency press release the meeting should be focusing on the EU's strategic orientations for cohesion (which make up the context for Community structural funds and the contents for the operational programmes of Member States in 2007-13), as well as for territorial cohesion policy. According to the press release, the Commissioner and the ministers agreed on the link between the Lisbon strategy, cohesion policy and territorial approach. They also had an initial session where they looked at the synthesis documents “Territorial State of the Union”, as well as an exchange of view on ORATE network Observatory for European territorial alteration) for which they underlined the importance.