Europese ministers regionale ontwikkeling en cohesiebeleid resulteert in nieuwe stap 'regionale agenda' (en)
The informal meeting of European ministers for regional development and cohesion policy held in Marseilles concluded successfully with the unanimous adoption of a new stage of the territorial agenda.
Following yesterday's unanimous adoption of the Marseilles declaration on urban development, on Wednesday 26 November, Hubert Falco, the French minister of state for regional development, oversaw the unanimous adoption by the European ministers for regional development of a clear and structured working method for the 'territorial agenda'.
The EU countries made the following commitments:
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-to encourage consideration, from their inception, of the impact of European public policies on the territories;
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-to improve the link between these policies and the cohesion policy, which is the biggest item of the European budget;
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-to increase the understanding of the territorial effects of sectoral policies;
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-to improve coordination at national and European level of issues relating to territorial cohesion;
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-to favour integrated development projects, on a coherent geographical basis;
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-to continue to this end the work on development policies for rural territories, the European sustainable development strategy, the Lisbon Strategy, and the European transport policy.
The French presidency also wished for this meeting to be the occasion for a general mobilisation of the structural funds for dealing with the crisis. This objective was achieved: in adopting its restructuring plan this morning and presenting it in Marseilles, the Commission is proposing real advances in the cohesion policy.
Danuta Hübner i, the European Commissioner for regional policy, announced that next week she would present some new proposals, including amending the eligibility rules for the structural funds to allow funding for spending on energy efficiency in the housing sector. At present it is not possible to use European funds for this type of project.
Hubert Falco welcomed Ms Hübner's proposal, adding that he would work towards getting it implemented quickly. This proposal would help support the construction industry while simultaneously supporting essential investments in adapting to climate change. Last but not least, by reducing citizens' energy spending, it would also increase their purchasing power.
Results of the meeting of the ministers for urban development