31.3.2009   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 76/66

1.

stresses the importance of a new momentum towards structural reforms in the EU, aiming at solutions to overcoming the present financial crisis and its impact on the European and world economies; considers that, even though emergency measures are important to help Europe over the present crisis in the short term, long term actions, are necessary to also generate sustainable jobs and growth, quality infrastructure, public transport and investments in energy efficient technologies are therefore of outmost importance;

2.

recalls in this context its specific Resolution on the financial crisis which sets out the main steps to be taken at European, national, regional and local level to address the financial crisis and to limit as far as possible its negative consequences;

3.

welcomes the explicit will and the proposals to strengthen the European Union's territorial dimension and its democratic nature; signals its intention to continue developing the CoR's political and institutional role in the European decision-making process; and announces that a White Paper will be drawn up on multi-level governance which it intends to present during 2009;

4.

reaffirms its intention to follow closely the EU budgetary review in order to contribute to a better integration and coordination of EU policies at territorial level and calls for this process to reflect the needs of all levels of governance, and to improve the quality, equality, stability, visibility and simplicity of EU measures; to this end, suggests to align the budget programming period with the European electoral cycle on a 5 + 5 years basis, to provide effective support to the least developed regions to help them catch up, to ensure that the budget in the future reflects better all the EU competencies and to avoid the re-nationalisation of EU policies which would endanger the effectiveness of the European integration project (1).

5.

emphasises the need for confidence building measures to win back the trust of the EU citizens facing uncertainty and high pressure on their jobs, confronted with fluctuating energy prices, financial instability and a loss of confidence in the banking sector and recalls that it is also necessary to look at mechanisms which would help to avoid such crises in the future;

6.

underlines the need for sustainable development for citizens and the generations to come; recalls also the importance of a social Europe and stresses that these goals should not be compromised but that, on the contrary, common efforts are needed from the EU and the Member States as well as regional and local political actors. To this end, central government and local and regional authorities should be further encouraged by the EU — inter alia through a more lenient application of the rules on permitted deficit levels in the Member States — to also pursue these objectives by making ambitious long-term investment in education, training, research and innovation as well as in the development of quality infrastructures, public transport networks and investment in energy efficient technologies;

7.

welcomes the decision of the European Council to ensure support to the economy, giving wider attention to long terms needs such as energy efficiency and innovative clean technology, as well as measures aimed at simplifying and reducing administrative burdens in view of better law making;

8.

supports a relaunched EU Strategy for Growth and Jobs post 2010, which aims to create new jobs in the face of the crisis by a concerted effort at European level to combine public investment, support for research, innovation, sustainable technology and SMEs, comprehensive social dialogue, sound financial regulation, non-protectionist trade rules and close cooperation on fiscal and monetary policy in the EU;

9.

underlines the need for coordinated actions among all levels of government to support SMEs to stronger connect fundamental research to the applied research and to support cooperation with the private sector in order to promote innovation and technological leadership; welcomes measures aimed at launching and supporting Creativity and Innovation initiatives, especially those targeting university-enterprises cooperation because innovation and creativity are key drivers for change and competitiveness in the regions, contributing to quality of life and economic cohesion;

10.

recalls as crucial in particular the role of local and regional authorities as public investors and buyers and underlines that local and regional authorities, enterprises and universities play a key role in creating active networking and clusters policy in the EU;

11.

firmly believes that investing in youth is vital for the achievement of the goals of the European Union in terms of employability and social inclusion of young people;

12.

calls for equal opportunities in employment and for a special attention to the potential contribution of elder workers who possess precious knowledge for product and system innovation;

13.

welcomes that the European Commission will present an assessment of the EU's demographic future at the Spring European Council and asks the European Commission to consider how best to take into account the needs of an ageing population; underlines that demographic trends at the level of regions, cities and municipalities should be considered in a more differentiated way because of the diversity of the regions and the migration flows they are facing; stresses that, in the context of the Social Agenda for Opportunities, Access and Solidarity, vulnerable groups of citizens require special attention and targeted measures;

14.

calls for a review of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EAGF), in order to make this instrument more operational; this could be done through: more flexible EAGF thresholds, allowing these funds to be used in conjunction with other EU financial instruments applicable to mass redundancies and increasing the EAGF budget from EUR 500 million to EUR 1 billion;

15.

points out that it is of vital importance for citizens, especially in the context of the financial crisis, that high quality public services are guaranteed; express therefore its concern that the current situation of legal uncertainty for the local and regional authorities who often provide such services, is not addressed in the Commissions work programme.

16.

regrets to see that the importance of cohesion policy is not reflected in the priorities of the European Commission's work programme, despite the financial and political weight of this policy area making it a core objective of the EU; and supports a large debate on the future of the cohesion policy within the EU budget review process, in order to consolidate this major policy around its central objective: the harmonious development of EU territories between them, more specifically the reduction of their economic, social and territorial disparities; therefore, expects the consultation on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion in 2009 to be followed up by a White Paper on Territorial Cohesion;

17.

recalls that an ambitious cohesion policy, which makes serious efforts to translate territorial cohesion objectives into concrete policy actions, will allow the consolidation of the European integration process and to meet future challenges affecting all European regions; in this context, sees the need for flexible earmarking of funds to adapt structural cohesion instruments to the diversity of local and regional situations;

18.

underlines that Cohesion policy has become one of the highest profile success stories in the European Union. Its leverage effect for regional development has been proven. Based on this positive experience, it is necessary in 2009 to reinforce the exchange of ideas and cooperation on new approaches and models for regional policies; proposes that the CoR works with the European Commission to provide adequate mechanisms for such actions; emphasizes that to this end further debates will be organised on the future of Cohesion Policy during the Summit of Cities and Regions organized by the Committee of the Regions in Prague on 5-6 March 2009, as well as in the context of the ‘Open Days — 2009’ (on 6-9 October);

19.

underlines that territorial cooperation is an essential element in achieving the objective of territorial cohesion; therefore recalls that the new legal instrument ‘European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation’ (EGTC) has a great potential on the ground. Member States therefore should adopt all necessary measures to implement the regulation's provisions.

20.

urges the European Commission to maintain a strong political focus on energy and climate change policy, ensuring the effective involvement of local and regional authorities in the drafting and implementation of legislation;

21.

strongly supports a high profile role of the EU in the framework of the negotiations of the 2009 Copenhagen UN Climate Change Convention aiming to agree on a leap forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2012;

22.

proposes that mitigation and adaptation to climate change to be treated as priorities in the debate of the EU Budget Review; Furthermore, calls for complementarities between territorial cohesion and climate change measures to be sought, notably through the use of existing financial instruments;

23.

underlines the role of regions as an essential link between national and local energy efficiency plans and promotion of renewable energy, and considers that without the support of regions Member States may not be able to live up to their commitments for greenhouse gas reductions by 2020; stresses that the negotiations of a post-Kyoto international climate agreement should focus both on comprehensive policies and their implementation as well on emissions' targets; reaffirms its support to initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors and suggests to complement it with a direct involvement of the regions;

24.

reaffirms its commitment to halting the loss of biodiversity and hopes the European Commission's midterm review of the EU Biodiversity Action Plan will provide new momentum;

25.

strongly suggests that synergies be fostered between rural development policy and other EU policies, particularly cohesion policy; asks the European Commission to analyse the consequences of the world economic crisis on agricultural markets and the rural sector in order establish the appropriated measures to preserve this sector from decline and to maintain alimentary independence;

26.

recalls its request to be involved as a logical follow-up to its contribution to the Commission's maritime action plan in developing and implementing the European Union's new integrated maritime policy;

27.

welcomes the Commission's activities in the field of green transport; reiterates the importance of supporting measures which soften the impact of transport on the environment, giving priority to maritime transport policy and to an ambitious action plan on urban mobility;

28.

welcomes the European Commission's announcement to give fresh impetus to the TEN-T projects in Europe; insists that local and regional concerns should not only be taken on board, but that local, regional and national planning instruments should be coordinated within this European framework in order to optimise the Trans-European Networks.

29.

emphasizes its role as a key institution in the European Unions's efforts to communicate with citizens and reminds the European Commission that the CoR's direct access to Europe's local and regional authorities, through its members, creates a valuable relay network to inform citizens about EU benefits and to listen to citizens and their concerns; reminds the European Commission and member states that integrating the European dimension into daily action and communicating in an understandable language is the joint responsibility of European Institutions as well as of national, regional and local elected representatives who are situated at the grassroots level of communication close to the citizens;

30.

considers that the European elections in 2009 must be taken as an opportunity to step up a decentralised European communication policy in order to raise awareness of the European Union's shared values by maintaining permanent dialogue with European citizens and demonstrating the added value of European integration;

31.

underlines that the CoR will pursue its efforts for better recognition at the European level of the role of local and regional authorities in the further development of the area of Freedom, Security and Justice, especially with regards to designing and implementing the Multi-annual post — The Hague Programme; supports the pursuit of an integrated and comprehensive approach to migration and asylum, since it is only through this approach that Europe will reach a stable and sustainable immigration policy; to this end, the CoR stresses also the importance of intercultural dialogue initiatives; welcomes in this respect the new timetable of legislative actions — so called ‘Stockholm programme’ — aimed at strengthening a European area of freedom, security and justice;

32.

backs the goal of combating terrorism and violent radicalisation to enhance the security of EU citizens, recognising that local and regional authorities are central to the implementation of the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy and insists that this fight, in order to be successful, has to be carried out in full respect of fundamental rights and freedoms;

33.

welcomes that the Third Strategic Review of Better Regulation will report on the three core components of the Better Regulation Agenda — impact assessment, simplification and reduction of administrative burden; underlines its ongoing contributions to the debate in the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burden (‘Stoiber-Group’) with special regard to cost cutting measures for local and regional authorities; keeps supporting the application of a joint methodology for assessing administrative burdens, which explicitly takes into account the local and regional dimension and reaffirms its commitment to inter-institutional cooperation, in order to attain the objectives set in this domain;

34.

reaffirms that the implementation of the subsidiarity and proportionality principles in the legislative process is at the heart of an effective and democratic multilevel governance and underlines the importance of contributing to a subsidiarity culture in the EU institutions that will benefit a better decision making.

35.

reiterates that local and regional authorities play a crucial role in the enlargement process and continues its cooperation with elected local and regional representatives from EU candidate and potential candidate countries;

36.

welcomes the re-launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership through the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean and stresses the important contribution of local and regional authorities to its implementation; announces the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), which shall be a permanent political body representing local and regional authorities with the goal of being recognised as a consultative body of the Union for the Mediterranean;

37.

emphasizes the importance to balance the relations with the EU's neighbours to the East and the South and welcomes the initiative of the Eastern Partnership; invites the European Commission to develop further regional and territorial cooperation components within the Eastern Partnership;

38.

appreciates the European Commission's increasing recognition of the decentralised cooperation method and activities; commits itself to organise ‘EU Decentralised cooperation days’ in the end of 2009 to facilitate exchange and political dialogue of local and regional authorities of the EU and developing countries; welcomes the creation of an information exchange platform — ‘stock exchange’ — which will allow matching between local and regional authorities in the EU and in development countries aiming at the creation of new decentralised cooperation projects;

39.

reiterates its commitment to foster local and regional democracy in Europe and third countries; and stresses its willingness to continue its involvement in election monitoring missions with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and wishes to be more closely involved in election observation missions organised with the support of the European Commission;

40.

instructs its president to forward this resolution to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, the current French presidency and the presidencies of the European Union in 2009, namely the Czech and Swedish presidencies.