Brussels, 27/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - The third ever "Subsidiarity Assizes" were held in Paris on Friday 24 October. At the heart of the work of this event, which was organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in partnership with the French Senate and with the support of the French Presidency of the EU, was the consolidation of links between the national and regional parliaments and the CoR, in order to improve the checks made on subsidiarity. With a view to this, the CoR has called for the networking of competencies to coordinate and consolidate the European culture of subsidiarity. Those taking part in these "Assizes" included representatives of European governance, namely the national and regional parliaments, members of the CoR, regional parliamentarians and representatives of the European institutions, including the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, on behalf of the French Presidency the EU, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margot Wallström.
First of all, the debates focused on the subject of good governance and the multi-level allocation of responsibilities which, according to the CoR, has a contribution to make to improving the regulatory environment of the EU. They also focused on simplifying the community acquis and the effectiveness of the way in which Community legislation is transposed. The exchanges then focused increasingly on reinforcing the methods of consultation and impact assessments (particularly assessment of the regional impact) of Community legislation.
The object of the day was to consolidate improved relations and concertation between the national and regional parliaments and the CoR, whilst attempting to bring in a joint working methodology shared by all of those concerned, to encourage synergies and thus the effectiveness of controls on subsidiarity. This is to be the objective in all phases of the legislative process, within the framework of the Treaty of Nice but also with a view to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, which will boost the regional dimension of the EU further. With a view to this, the CoR pointed out that it already had an operational tool at its disposal: the subsidiarity follow-up network. Since 2007, this network has had the mission of fully assessing the regional impact and consequences for local and regional finances of Community legislation. The French Senate was the first national parliamentary House to sign up to this initiative, which now has 96 partners, including representatives of regional governments and parliaments, local and regional authorities, municipal councils from large urban areas and medium-sized towns, and regional authority associations. This network is at the service of all national and regional parliaments and regional legislative assemblies wishing to join. It may eventually, according to the Committee of the Regions, be used as a reference platform for all European players responsible for ensuring that the principle of subsidiarity is observed. Since his election to the chairmanship of the CoR, its President Luc Van den Brande has increased the number of meetings held with the presidents of the various parliaments in order to work together on concrete ways to keep a check on subsidiarity. The fact that some 10 representatives of the national parliaments attended the meeting in Paris boosted the legitimacy of a concerted effort in this area, said the CoR a press release. This is why the conclusions of Friday's work will be sent to the members of the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees, COSAC, which will meet in Paris on 3 and 4 November 2008.
During the session, Mr Van den Brande said that "the principle of subsidiarity, which has been conceptualised, interpreted and revised on several occasions, which has become justiceable and finally constitutionalised, is suffering from a deficit of readability". "Today, it must be demystified and respond to the reality of European governance, which means that political decision-making will no longer be located exclusively in the hands of a single tier of government", continued the president of the CoR, concluding: " This need for consultation and cooperation between the different levels of responsibility must be transformed into a partnership to establish a genuine culture of subsidiarity in Europe, which means good governance". As for the president of the French Senate, Gérard Larcher, whose message was read out by Bernard Frimat, the vice-president of the institution, he welcomed the fact that the Assizes would be tackling the issue of the principle of subsidiarity from the point of view of good governance at all levels of public decision-making, and reiterated that the French Senate is extremely active in controlling subsidiarity. He also welcomed the fact that the Committee of the Regions is adding a regional dimension to subsidiarity because "acting as close as possible to the citizens is one of the main duties of democracy", and that it is "particularly valuable in a world which has become too complex". (O.L./transl.fl)