Brussels, 18/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - Having presented the Commission's legislative and work programme 2006 at the “structured dialogue” meeting of 17 November with the Committee of the Regions, under the chairmanship of Peter Straub, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso replied to question from representatives of European or national regional organisations, which covered the subjects of: - welfare, solidarity and prosperity; - security and external relations; - governance and “better legislation”. Here are the key points from the discussions:
Better Regulation. In reply to Michel Delebarre (France) and Isidoro Gottardo (Italy), the presidents of the PSE and PPE groups who feared that the Commission's “better legislation” initiative betrays “a certain concept of a Europe a minima”, Mr Barroso assured them that he was “prepared to move forward even if we must face opposition in Council. We want a Europe which brings added value, one therefore which is for social, economic and territorial cohesion aspects, but not a minimalist”. Partnership. “I agree 100% with the idea of a partnership where we work together at local, regional and European level", said Mr Barroso to Kent Johansson (Sweden), the president of the ALDE group. “Cohesion is a policy for the future in the same way as the CAP and rural development", Mr Barroso indicated to the president of the UEN-AE group Keith Brown (United Kingdom). Financial perspectives. “You are the people's directly elected representatives. That is your strength. Myself, I can speak frankly with the UK Presidency (…) but not to put pressure on the UK!”, said Mr Barroso, asking the CoR to send out a message in favour of a budgetary agreement in December.
Services of general interest. To Martin Eurlings (Association of European trans-border Regions), Mr Barroso said: “Traditions are different in the Member States in terms of services. But we cannot have a European project with 25 mini-markets for services!”. Free movement of workers. To Karolyn Kocsis, from the Association of Hungarian Towns, who insisted on the need for an employment market which is “authentically unified and harmonised” in the EU of 25, Mr Barroso indicated that a study for 2006 on the impact of the transitional period was in preparation in the services of Commissioner Spidla. The countries which have opened up their borders, like the UK, “are delighted no longer to have hindrances to free movement of workers”, Mr Barroso noted. Trans-border cooperation. To reassure Karl-Heinz Lambrechts (Belgium) from the Association of Regions of Europe and Martin Eurlings, Mr Barroso announced that Commissioner Hübner and he himself were to examine in detail the situation of regions with different characteristic features, such as peripheral regions, or those which are sparsely populated. Renewed Lisbon strategy. Mr Barroso recalled that the Commission had received the national programmes from all the Member States apart from Poland and Germany (where there have been elections). The Commission has begun to evaluate these programmes, which “seem good”. The Commission will publish a guide on this new phase of governance. Neighbourhood policy. In this new instrument the Commission emphasises cross-border cooperation, which must be ambitious at regional level, Mr Barroso replied to Claudio Martini (Italy), Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, and Pierre Brombin, Arc Latin. Participation of women in local and regional politics. To Roger Kaliff from the Association of Swedish Local and Regional Authorities, Mr Barroso indicated that women's rights and their opportunities to exercise public mandates had been increased. “We will be very strict on this question”, he stressed. Decentralisation. Here, Mr Barroso picked up on the terms used by Mr Jardin, the head of Madeira's local government; “institutional cooperation”, which “involves the principle of good management and good governance”. In conclusion, President Barroso asked the Committee of the Regions actively to support the implementation of the Commission's programme; putting the “institutional cooperation” between us to good use should allow us to send out “a positive signal to citizens, showing them that Europe works for them”, he said.