Brussels, 30/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Tuesday 24 March, the European Parliament adopted a raft of recommendations aiming to reinforce and improve the impact of the cohesion policy of the European Union, as laid down in the following own-initiative reports (EUROPE 9868).
Green Paper on territorial cohesion (Lambert Van Nistelrooij, EPP-ED, Netherlands): the Parliament expressed its agreement with the main conclusions of the Green Paper of the European Commission on territorial cohesion, and particularly on its rejection of any attempt to renationalise regional policy.
Better practices and obstacles to the use of funds (Angela Krehl, PES, Germany): the Parliament calls for the creation of a clear catalogue of criteria, adapted to the cohesion policy, helping to distinguish the best practices from other projects. The Parliament wants the Commission to take account of the 16 major general criteria when identifying best practice, including the quality and innovative nature of the project, respect for the principle of partnership, the sustainability of the measure in question and its impact on employment and SMEs.
Implementation of rules on structural funds 2007-2013 (Miroslav Mikolasik, EPP-ED, Slovakia): the Parliament takes note of the determination of the member states to respond to their territorial requirements by virtue of strategies aiming to reduce intra-regional and inter-regional imbalances.
Urban dimension of cohesion policy (Oldrich Vlasak, EPP-ED, Czech Republic): the Parliament calls upon the Commission to draft guidelines including recommendations and examples of best practice concerning integrated urbanisation plans and regularly to assess the impact of EU policies on the situation of urban areas.
Rule development measures (Wojciech Rozskowski, UEN, Poland): amongst other things, the Parliament calls upon the Commission, the member states and the regional authorities to: - present data and forecasts on the use of the European Rural Development Fund (ERDF) and the structural funds in rural areas and to look into synergies which may be created; - systematically take account of rural areas in Community policies; - lay emphasis on reinforcing competitiveness, which will also help other sectors of production, and to encourage entrepreneurship in rural areas; - create, between now and 2010 and as part of the CAP health check, a high-level working group to formulate proposals to assure the future of the rural economy and of all populations in rural areas after 2013.
Development of micro-credit in Europe (Zsolt Laszlo Becsey, EPP-ED, Hungary): the Parliament: - calls upon the Commission to present a legislative proposal to create a framework for various measures designed to encourage the development of micro-credit in Europe; - hopes that the EU will participate in the co-funding of the micro-credit systems for those without access to ordinary credit, particularly the most disadvantaged groups; - calls for the creation of a communication strategy to promote self-employment; - calls upon the member states to bring in tax incentives to encourage the private sector to get involved in micro-credit activities.
Speaking on behalf of the committee on budgets, Gary Titley (PES, UK) supported the micro-credit initiative, stressing that "micro-credit should be used only when no other credit is available". "Against the backdrop of crisis, the citizens need to be more reactive, more involved in urban activity and housing. They must build on what there is locally, stakeholders must be on the ground and this will help to improve investments", noted Nathalie Griesbeck (ALDE, France). For the committee on industry, research and energy, Atanas Paparizov (PES, Bulgaria) stressed the efforts of the member states to guarantee close coordination between the cohesion policy and other Community policies. Miloslav Ransdorf (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic) stressed the need to "give a concrete reality to this money". Neena Gill (PES, UK) called for the creation of a European network of lawyers to help micro-businesses get started, as legislation in this field is insufficient. Zita Plestinska (EPP-ED, Slovakia) pleaded for funding to go to disadvantaged women, the disabled and ethnic minorities as a priority. On the Krehl report, Emmanouil Angelakas (EPP-ED, Greece) said that "we need to make choices now: take account of the SMEs to establish a link with an industrial policy and take account of young people and migrants". On the Green Paper on territorial cohesion, Iratze Garcia Perez (PES, Spain) said that "we need to review the eligibility criteria for the various funds (...). Territorial cohesion must be able to put their development possibilities into the hands of the regions". "The cohesion policy concerns all of the citizens. Today, the regions have different riches. We need equality of opportunity, whether it be in little villages, big cities in the centre of the country or the borders of the country, also for older people. I would like to see genuine cohesion within Europe", stressed Mieczyslaw Janowski (UEN, Poland). German Green Elisabeth Schrödter stressed the fact that "the contribution of the structural funds to ecological change is vital". Pedro Guerreiro (GUE/NGL, Portugal) called for greater attention to be paid to the extremely remote regions, which are highly disadvantaged, and for the disparities of economic development between the regions to be reduced.
The cohesion policy has brought great benefits to the citizens of the Union, some of whom have seen their income increase threefold, and to the regions, and "we must shout this from the rooftops during the electoral campaign", said French MEP Jean-Marie Beaupuy (ALDE). "Spatial equity" is what we need to aim for if we are to get out of the crisis and give the citizens a reason to want to get on board the European project, said France's Ambroise Guellec (EPP-ED), whose Socialist countryman, Pierre Pribetich, spoke up for the "urban dimension" of the cohesion policy: the European city must be "attractive, competitive and nice to live in". But for the time being, the funding of the urban centres remains a problem, admitted the independent member Jim Allister, referring to his own city, Belfast. Many MEPs defended the cause of the remote regions, particularly Polish Socialist Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg, who takes the view that the balance between the different agricultural regions is the greatest challenge in the fight against what she calls "territorial segregation". This approach is shared by Elspeth Attwooll (ALDE, UK), who believes in favour of "multi-centric" development. German Christian Democrat Rolf Berend called for simplification of certain procedures, referring to project leaders who need to keep files for 10 years, even though three would be largely sufficient.
Concluding the session, Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner said that she had "the feeling that today's debate will help the cohesion policy to play its part and create jobs". Ms Hübner said that she agreed with those who believe that "the cohesion policy cannot work in its own corner". "We must use the synergies which come from the various policies, and this is particularly the case for regional development policies. We must 'green' this cohesion policy by establishing policies required for climate change and sustainable development. We need continuity in reforms", she said. The Commission went on to announce the forthcoming adoption "of a great simplification plank". "We must stress the results: we need a culture of assessment of controls", she said. (G.B./L.G./transl.fl)