Strasbourg, 20/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The main demands formulated by the European Parliament of the European Commission when it voted through an own initiative report by Francesco Musotto (EPP-ED, Italy) by 473 to 26 with 35 abstentions on natural, economic and island constraints in the context of regional policy were: the establishment of a regional aid policy for islands; the creation of a special administrative unit for islands at DG Regional Policy (such a unit already exists for ultra-peripheral regions), which would be responsible for ensuring that policies took account of the needs of islands and their year-long or seasonal inhabitants; the creation of a European coastguard service to help islands and member states monitor the EU's external borders; and for 2010 to be the European Year of the Islands.
The European Parliament also stressed the different treatment of ultra-peripheral regions, which have a specially adapted and applied legal basis, from measures covering island regions which have never been applied and are much less beneficial. The EP recommends that island communities make use of the funding and management facilities available under the Jaspers Programme (aid for projects to support regions in the EU) and the Jeremie Programme (EU resources for micro, small and medium-sized companies) in order to foster the development of micro-companies and SMEs and thereby encouraging the diversification of the economy and the promotion of sustainable development. To take account of the specific issues facing islands, the EP wants member states to establish special local data collection mechanisms and submit the information to the EU town and country planning monitoring centre.
The EP urges the European Commission to consider granting state aid to islands where high energy costs clearly hinder local communities' competitiveness, and wants the specific nature of island needs to be better taken into account in general. The MEPs point out, for example, that the huge fluctuations in fuel prices could lead to huge increases in the cost of transport between the islands and mainland Europe and that in the new guidelines on regional state aid, the system allowing aid to be granted to operations to be extended to all island regions and not just island countries or internal islands.
During the plenary debate Elspeth Attwooll (UK, ALDE) said that the aim was to ensure above all that islands could access the common market like other regions. Cypriot GUE/NGL MEP Kyriacos Triantaphyllides called for support for the positive role that islands could play in the EU. Although backing the report, Triantaphyllides said he didn't agree with the rapporteur's opinions on immigration. He said that calling for more police patrols and maritime police was an ostrich policy and not the best way to address social issues. He said islands had to have a positive role to play on the issue of immigration and the EU couldn't just try to be an economic power and close down its borders, which he described as illogical. The problem of mass immigration is everywhere, said UK IND/DEM MP Derek Clark. Rejecting the parts of the Musotto Report that suggested close connections between the EU's island policy and immigration, Giusto Catania (GUE/NGL, Italy) said that most illegal immigrants who arrived in the Canary Islands, Italy or elsewhere did not arrive by ship at all but by plane and there was no connection to be made between the two. EU Structural Funds have not impacted as expected on islands, noted Vakalis Nikolaos (EPP-ED, Greece), adding that special measures were needed, comparing the level of growth and development of islands with other regions. He urged the Commission to take immediate action to put the measures in this very important report into practice. Pedro Guerreiro (GUE/NGL, Portugal) stressed the importance of promoting not only the economic convergence of less developed member states, but also the reduction of economic and regional gaps, and encouraging harmonious development within each member state. The crucial issue is the lack of financial resources for the Cohesion Policy under the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013, he added. Margie Sudre (EPP-ED, France) said that that ultraperipheral was not the same as insular, noting that insularity, whether in terms of geography or culture, was a potential to be made the most of in an appropriate development strategy, but also a permanent handicap which made it extra difficult for such regions to be competitive. She called on the Commission to make better use of the potential available in the Treaties to 'modulate' EU policies likely to have a negative impact on the social and economic development of such regions, in order to remedy the severe problems faced by each island or group of islands. Emanuel Fernandez (PES, Portugal) said a new maritime policy was required that took account of islands.
Summing up, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that when it came to state aid, aid to reduce expenditure is not allowed under the Treaty and regional guidelines but could be granted to the poorest regions if they are facing problems. However it could only be granted on a case-by-case basis. (gb)