Het Franse Voorzitterschap onthult ambitieus regionaal programma, Europese Commissie stemt in met aanbevelingen Comité van de Regio's (en)

The uncertainty caused by the Irish Referendum will not affect France's plans to pursue an ambitious regional policy programme during its six-month presidency of the EU, beginning on 1 July. This was the clear message delivered by Hubert Falco, French State Secretary for Town and Country Planning, at the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels today.

M. Falco, who was welcomed to the plenary by CoR President Luc Van den Brande, said that whilst the view of the Irish people "must be heeded even if we didn't like their decision", the Presidency would work closely with local and regional authorities "to come up with solutions" and to promote the concept of 'territorial cohesion', a new EU objective under the Lisbon Treaty.

After outlining the Presidency's four main priorities – climate change and energy policy, a European pact on immigration and asylum, European security and defence in cooperation with NATO, and more focus on rural development in the Common Agricultural Policy – the State Secretary turned to France's plans to organise the "largest and most open debate possible" on the future shape of regional policy. This debate will focus on three major topics: Economic and social cohesion policy as a factor in Europe's competitiveness Territorial cohesion

The Territorial Agenda and Urban Development Charter French Premier to attend CoR's OPEN DAYS

M. Falco emphasised that political support and impetus for a strong European regional policy comes from the highest level. He confirmed that the French Prime Minister, François Fillon, will attend the OPEN DAYS European Week of Regions and Cities, organised by the CoR and European Commission, on 6 October, invited the CoR to be an official partner at the Presidency's "Forum on Territorial Cohesion and the Future of Cohesion" in Paris on 30-31 October, and to be "fully associated" with the Informal meeting of Regional Ministers in Marseille on 24-26 November and with the Urban Forum, scheduled in Montpellier in December.

On behalf of the Presidency, he also requested two opinions from the CoR, on the territorial dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean and the role of local and regional authorities in integration policy and the intercultural dialogue. He underlined the importance attached to the Union for the Mediterranean by the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The initiative is already a priority for the CoR: at a meeting in Marseille on 24 June, its External Relations Commission is expected to propose the setting up of a forum, led by the CoR, to increase the involvement of local and regional authorities in the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean", the new strategy for developing cooperation in the region. M. Falco's message from the Presidency was warmly applauded by the CoR's members, who also heard from three EU commissioners and the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Dimitris Dimitriadis, in the course of the two-day plenary.

Verheugen backs CoR call for high-level clusters group

Gunter Verheugen i, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for enterprise and industry, welcomed the CoR's opinion on clusters, presented by Antonio González Terol, from the Autonomous Community of Madrid (ES/EPP). He agreed with the report's proposal for the setting of a high-level group to boost coordination between public administrations, universities, research centres and businesses in support of inter-cluster cooperation. "Excellence and mobility must be further encouraged in a partnership approach," he said.

Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner i presented the newly adopted 'fifth progress report on economic and social cohesion' in the plenary and in the 8th structured dialogue, organised by the CoR for local and regional authority associations. She said it highlighted the consensus for an ambitious European cohesion policy "available to all EU regions" and the need for more investment in innovation, investment and training so that regions can continue to make the most of Europe's competitive edge in high-tech manufacturing. The Commissioner also underlined her strongsupport for the new European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) – the theme of an outlook opinion by Mercedes Bresso, President of Piedmont (IT) and leader of the PES group (See separate press release).

The EGTC, which will make it easier for regions in different countries to team up and deliver joint services ranging from hospitals to tourism offices, was also the focus of a conference held today by the CoR and European Commission, in association with the Slovenian Presidency of the EU and the European Parliament. Luc Van den Brande, the CoR President, and Ivan Žagar, the Slovenian Minister for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy, were among those taking part.

Spidla to target social participation

Vladimír Spidla i, the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, welcomed CoR opinions by Henk Kool i (NL/PES) and Linetta Serri (IT/PES) on social inclusion and the proposed 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. He said the Commission would take account of Mr Kool's key proposal for social participation to give more prominence in the EU's inclusion strategy (See separate press release). In reply to Mrs Serri, he said: "I have always been of the opinion that there should be no hierarchy of discrimination grounds. Any kind of discrimination is unacceptable. I have pushed hard for a horizontal directive that will go beyond employment issues and also cover access to goods and services. I am glad to announce that I will be able to put forward such proposal for a directive on 2 July."

President Dimitriadis spoke of the close relationship between the European Economic and Social Committee and the CoR, paying tribute in particular to his counterpart "for always keeping the door open" between the two consultative bodies. "We must prepare the next generation of Europeans," he said. He also spoke about the Irish Referendum, saying it was necessary to respect the result but also the 18 countries which have backed the Treaty. Key points from other opinions adopted by the plenary include:

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  More account of the views of local and regional authorities to be taken into account in the joint immigration policies put forward by the EU because they are "in the front line in helping manage the issue of immigrant workers." (Developing a European policy on labour immigration in conjunction with relations with third countries. Rapporteur Anna Terrón i Cusí, ES/PES)
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  The need for an integrated policy for all upland and mountain areas, similar to those for maritime or urban areas. 21 Member States have upland areas, which make up 36% of Europe's territory and are home to 18% of its population. (Green Paper - Towards a European Union policy for upland regions. Rapporteur: Luis Durnwalder, IT/ EPP)
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  More account to be taken of rural areas or regions with low population when opening up telecoms marks. Reforms must not have a negative impact on cultural and ethnic minority interests. (Telecommunications reform package. Rapporteur: Marc Schaefer, LU/PES)
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  Decentralise communication to encourage a debate on Europe's achievements and the impact of Community policies on people's lives. (Communicating Europe in partnership. Rapporteur: Claude du Granrut, FR/EPP)
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  Promote multilingualism to help build its social and economic cohesion and to enhance professional, educational, cultural and personal mobility. "Mother tongue plus two" other languages should be an EU objective. (Outlook opinion on multilingualism. Rapporteur: Roberto Pella, IT/EPP)
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  Need to ensure not only the promotion of excellence but also proper education and training for people in every region as the foundation for individual and collective prosperity. (European year of creativity and innovation (2009). Rapporteur: Gerd Harms, DE/PES)
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  Emphasise the role of local and regional level in putting education and training decisions into practice. (Action plan on adult learning. Enhance the participation of older people and challenge the myths and stereotypes regarding older adult learning. Rapporteur: Mary Shields, IE/UEN-EA)
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  Genuine democratic governance cannot be achieved without a substantial transfer of power to the local and regional level. (European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. Rapporteur: Heini Utunen Ziv, FI/ALDE)

For more information, please contact: Dennis Abbott +32 0)2 282 20 99 +32 (0)2 282 20 85 Athénais Cazalis de Fondouce +32 0)2 282 24 47 +32 (0)2 282 20 85