Brussels, 16/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Lisbon Strategy Follow-Up Platform established by the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which currently has some 65 local communities signed up electronically, is proof that local communities are acutely aware of the importance and diversity of their contribution, which is a boon for Europe, explained the president of the CoR, Michel Delebarre, at the second Territorial Dialogue on the Lisbon Strategy (see EUROPE 9363). The work of European cities and regions has to be correctly taken into account to avoid damage to the EU as a whole and problems for European citizens and businesses, he explained.
A new stage in the EU's Cohesion Policy was launched in 2007, which should establish the conditions for all regions of the EU to become more competitive and innovative, said Michel Delebarre, who is also the mayor of Dunkerque in France. To this end, CoR members will be preparing a report to be submitted to the 2008 Spring Summit. Work will continue in 2007 with a series of workshops on various areas of the economy, society and the environment under the Lisbon Strategy. Over the next few months, a call for interest will be launched among the regions and cities of the EU to increase the number of members of the Follow-Up Platform to the hundred mark and get wider coverage in new EU member states, explained Delebarre.
Fostering greater understanding of the role of local and regional communities in boosting growth and jobs in the EU is a major political priority for the CoR, and it is therefore extremely important to ensure our voice is better heard ahead of the Spring European Council, said Delebarre. Regions and cities are prepared to take part in the Lisbon Strategy, and using information collected by the Follow-Up Platform in 2006, the CoR's Bureau published a statement in December 2006 for the 2007 Spring Summit. The statement notes that the EU Cohesion Policy is very important for ensuring Lisbon Strategy work is funded at regional and local level; the Cohesion Policy governance system (partnership and strategic, cross-sector multi-annual programming) is well run-in and appreciated despite the Lisbon Strategy itself coming under intense criticism; and unlike the way member states address the Lisbon Strategy, local and regional authorities are considering taking action in the form of territorial cooperation across borders or among different regions, preferring to focus on horizontal action; local communities tend to only focus on investment in knowledge and technical innovation under the Lisbon Strategy but they are also doing important work in terms of the environment, jobs and social cohesion, said Delebarre, adding that the three objectives (competitiveness; social and territorial cohesion; and protecting the environment) should be considered as a cohesive whole.
Gunter Verheugen says the CoR represents the diversity which can ensure greater competitiveness in the EU and create more jobs
We have to do work on the ground and at all political levels, the local and regional dimension must be taken into account in the EU's growth and employment plans, commented Vice-President of the European Commission Gunter Verheugen, adding that the growth and jobs policy was the right way to boost the opportunities provided by globalisation and cope with the risks. Verheugen said he was concerned that people were not aware that the EU was experiencing a period of economic boom. He asked how the growth and jobs agenda was being implemented (it will be covered by the upcoming Summit). The situation, he explained, has picked up since 2005 and most member states now accept the involvement of regions and social partners. Employment policy is being focussed upon, giving education, research and innovation their proper place, along with the development of modern technology. This is where the EU's opportunities lie, said Verheugen, adding that the regions were poles of excellence and innovation. He said the European project was a unique opportunity to see what the EU's neighbours were up to. The advantage in Europe, he said, was that people could learn a lot from one another. Why, he asked, did it take only 2 hours to set up a company in Estonia but 2 days in other member states? What was the secret of the Stockholm region, the most innovative region of the EU, where school failure is virtually non-existent and there are a lot of women business leaders, he asked, adding that the CoR represents the diversity that can guarantee greater competitiveness in Europe and create more jobs, so that citizens will support the great European project.
Danuta Hubner says policy agenda is vital component of EU Cohesion Policy - All member states have now submitted their National Strategic Reference Frameworks
This Territorial Dialogue meeting, explained EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hubner, has enabled examination of the state of play in work to improve agendas for the Lisbon Strategy. The EU's agendas, she said, were implementation in the field through the Cohesion Policy which would make it possible to decentralise the growth-competitiveness agenda. She noted that the European Commission and Council had decided that the Cohesion Policy's political agenda was a vital instrument in the Lisbon Strategy. She explained that all member states had now submitted their National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRFs), thereby demonstrating their genuine commitment. 'In terms of administrative organisation,' she said, 'all member states provide detail in the NSRFs of how policy dialogue between those responsible for the NSRFs and for the National Reform Programmes (NRP) is organised. This is important as in only a few cases, such as the Netherlands, is the same Ministry responsible for both processes. In some cases, the authorities have decided that coordination needs administrative change. In Hungary, the new National Development Agency oversees both the NSRF and the NRP processes. In Poland, the newly created NSRF coordinating committee has the task of ensuring that links are established with the NRP. In terms of transparency, some NSRFs clarify which parts of the NRPs will be implemented using the new Cohesion Policy programmes. The Estonian NSRF provides financial tables showing the contribution that the programmes will make to the NRP. Similarly, for the Czech Republic, the NSRF lists the 24 priorities of the NRP (out of a total of 46) that will be implemented via the new programmes.' The Commissioner explained that in September 2007, the European Commission would be publishing a report to the College of Commissioners on what is being achieved in the EU through the innovation policy. Danuta Hubner explained that three funds were available for stimulating growth in the regions, namely Jeremie, Jaspars and Jessica. This work is not unique, she added, since it forms part of a joint initiative with other commissioners.
Englebert Lutke Dahldrup said diversity of the regions has to be strengthened
The political theme of the meeting of EU regional development ministers in Leipzig on 24 - 25 May 2007 will be boosting urban areas and their regions in Europe, explained German Urban Affairs Minister Englebert Lutke Dahldrup on Wednesday. The German presidency's representative said it was necessary to ensure competitiveness and social cohesion in European towns, which are the crucial factor for expressing European culture and achieving the Lisbon and the Gothenburg Strategies. He stressed that the diversity of the regions had to be strengthened. Closely connected with these two strategies, the Leipzig Council will focus on two documents: 1) the Leipzig Charter for Developing Rural Towns, with its two strategies (sustainable urban development and focussing on deprived areas of towns). The approaches for dealing with deprived areas will also help boost economic development and the local and ethnic economy, said Dahldrup, and ensure active training policies for young people. He said Jessica was one of the tools for attracting investment into run-down urban areas to help ensure their integration; 2) the EU's territorial agenda based on regional diversity and potential to contribute to economic growth and jobs. Dahldrup added that account had to be taken of how EU policies impacted on the regions, particularly their funding process, and the CoR had a key role to play here. (gb)