Brussels, 07/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - At the Committee of the Regions (CoR) Extraordinary Bureau Meeting in Birmingham on 2 September, attended by EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hubner, the CoR adopted a statement on Cohesion Policy and the role of regional and local authorities in the national framework plans for the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. Both the Commissioner and the Bureau urged the British Presidency of the EU and Member States to reach a deal on the future financing of the EU (the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013) by the end of the year since 'failure to do so could have 'catastrophic' political consequences, as well as damaging prospects for growth and jobs.'
In her address, Danuta Hubner said the EU's regional policy 'must focus on making European cities and regions more attractive places to invest, on encouraging innovation and the growth of the knowledge economy, and on creating more and better jobs'. But the success of the EU's new, more strategic approach would critically depend on the 'full involvement of local, urban and regional authorities.' The Commission urged regional and local leaders to make national governments aware of the serious consequences for regional project of further delays in reaching agreement on the future finances of the EU. Michel Delbarre, Mayor of Dunkirk and leader of the CoR's Socialist Group, warned that 'failure to agree on a new budget 'could wipe would efforts made over decades' to help regions such as his cope with industrial restructuring. British local government minister Phil Woolas assured Bureau members that the British Presidency was 'seized with the importance and urgency' of reaching a settlement on the Financial Perspectives: 'It is a major priority for the Prime Minister and we will do our best to take the negotiations forward. We have our national interests, like every Member State, but our objective is an EU budget that is both effective and fair.' Woolas invited CoR President, Peter Straub, to take part in an informal EU Ministerial meeting on 6-7 December on the way sustainable communities can contribute to the Lisbon competitiveness agenda. The British Presidency is working in partnership with local and regional government and developing a concept of 'sustainable communities'.
The CoR Bureau's statement stresses that: 1) strategic EU guidelines for the Cohesion Policy must refer to balanced competitiveness, not force environmental issues into the background, and put forward clear targets for territorial cohesion; 2) cohesion and competitiveness back each other up and have to move in the same direction; and 3) the CoR will aim to flesh out the territorial dimension of the renewed Lisbon Strategy by getting actively involved in the new governance cycle.