Wroclaw, 20/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - Following an invitation by the Mayor of Wroclaw, the Committee of the Regions 'European Summit of Regions and Cities' in Wroclaw, Poland, on 19 and 20 May adopted a final declaration in which the elected officials highlighted the role of cities and regions in the enlarged Europe, which following Economic and Monetary Union should lead to a genuine political union. In the declaration, the representatives of European cities and regions call for a strengthening of democracy in the EU and its Member States. It stresses that decentralisation adapted to match the specific nature of each Member State should strengthen local and regional democracy and respond to citizens' fears about globalisation. It reaffirms the importance of decentralisation for the competitiveness of the EU economy, believing that the local and regional levels are particularly appropriate for the development of public-private partnerships based on regional innovation strategies that take account of the potential, constraints and needs of the areas in question. It calls for improvements in the state aid systems to ensure long-term supply of high quality services and focus on horizontal objectives of Community interest, like employment, regional development, the environment, training and research, along with the promotion of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. The statement notes the role of services of general economic interest in the promotion of social and territorial cohesion and call for such services to be managed at as close a level as possible to citizens, respecting subsidiarity. The statement calls for a Cohesion Policy based on solidarity. It says 'Yes' to the European Constitution and calls on the EU's national parliaments and citizens to personally commit themselves to its ratification (see other article).