EU2020: groener, eerlijker en duurzamer, maar waarom niet meer lokaal? (en)

COR/09/112

Brussels, 03 December 2009

EU2020: greener, fairer, more sustainable growth, but why not more local?

Local and regional authorities must be more widely involved if the European Commission’s proposals for boosting economic growth and creating jobs are to be successful, according to Christine Chapman (UK/PES), member of the National Assembly for Wales and Committee of the Region's rapporteur on the future of the jobs and growth strategy after 2010.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso i unveiled his proposals for a new strategy - dubbed EU2020 - on 24 November, launching a consultation process that will last until 15 January 2010. Detailed proposals based on the result of this consultation will then be presented to EU heads of state and government at the Spring European Council meeting in March.

Speaking at the at the CoR Plenary Session on Thursday ahead of the adoption of her own-initiative opinion on the successor to the so-called Lisbon Strategy, Chapman said: “I am very concerned that the Commission’s consultation document fails to give explicit recognition of the important role played by local and regional authorities across Europe in delivering Lisbon on the ground: the words ‘regional’ and ‘regions’ are used only four times in the paper. When referring to the importance of engaging regions the document calls for ‘national parliaments’ to be involved, which is certainly something I support, but why doesn’t the document mention the role of regional parliaments, like the National Assembly for Wales, or indeed local and regional governments? This is very disappointing, and I urge local and regional authorities to make clear to the Commission in their responses to the consultation that we expect better, and that this must be corrected in the proposal that is sent for agreement at the Spring Summit in 2010.”

But she welcomed the fact that many of the CoR’s key proposals for the new jobs and growth strategy figure prominently in the Commission’s consultation document, a clear sign that her opinion and the CoR consultation on the new strategy launched in March had influenced Barroso’s thinking. EU2020 will be a ‘greener’, more social strategy that will set the foundations for sustainable, long-term, crisis-resistant growth - a proposal that is very much in line with Chapman’s call for what she dubbed a ‘sustainable Europe strategy’ that made economic growth conditional on protecting the environment and narrowing the social divide.

But Chapman warned that the ambitious goals of the EU2020 would be far harder to meet without the involvement of local and regional authorities, especially if access to EU cohesion funding is reduced following next year’s planned review of the EU budget. “In my opinion I have highlighted the importance of an EU-wide cohesion policy, both in terms of the benefits it provides in supporting flexible and targeted actions on the ground, and also the governance structures, which place local and regional partnerships at the heart of delivering the funds. This is a very practical way in which the EU has been able to connect with and add value at the local and regional level. The Commission would do well to listen to this message, and take on board my recommendation to build on this inclusive approach to ensure a much stronger ‘buy in’ to the future strategy.”

The CoR also adopted the opinion of Marianne Fügl (AT/PES), deputy mayor of Traisen, on the European Commission’s communication on “New skills for new jobs - anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs”. Fügl stressed that while the move towards a ‘green’ economy proposed by the Commission will have implications for the European workforce: “The shift to a low-carbon economy entailed by climate change and continuing technological developments, particularly in the field of ICT, will necessitate restructuring - in some cases extensive - of existing fields. This will bring about corresponding changes for the labour market, but at the same time has the potential to create new jobs (‘green’ jobs), which are often multidisciplinary and require knowledge in many different areas.”

And she too underlined the need for new job strategies to retain a strong social dimension. “The labour market requires more and more skills and flexibility from the working population, but this must not be a one-sided request. The economy, too, has to contribute its share, and has to enable employees to undergo further education and vocational training.” Local and regional authorities will have a key role to play in facilitating the move towards this greener, fairer economy, Fügl added: “Local and regional authorities are the main providers of primary and secondary education, providing the initial training that lays the foundations for additional skills, and they are very often also responsible for the facilities required for mobility and training, such as transport connections, child care and educational establishments. But they must also cope with the impact of job losses and restructuring, and that is why regions and local authorities should have greater access to EU resources such as the Social Fund. This will make it possible to ensure that the regions and local authorities get the money they need quickly and directly and that they can better coordinate how it is used.”

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

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Chris Jones

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christopher.jones@cor.europa.eu

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Athénaïs Cazalis de Fondouce

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