Danuta Hübner: regionale en stedelijke cohesie van groot belang bij bestrijding economische crisis (en)

Danuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, will address the European Summit of Regions and Cities in Prague on 6 March. The event, which gathers more than 500 presidents of European regions and city mayors, will focus on the regional response to the economic and financial crisis and the importance of territorial cohesion in addressing the major challenges faced by Europe. Commissioner Hübner will present the initial findings of the public consultation on the Commission's 'Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion', which highlights the need to mobilise the strengths of all the EU's regions and cities in order to increase the Union's overall competitiveness.

Ahead of the event, Commissioner Hübner stated: “It is vital that every part of the European Union mobilises its full potential, not only to tackle the current crisis, but also to ensure we effectively address the challenges of climate change, globalisation, population decline and energy security. To reap the full benefits of the EU's immense assets, we must also continue to increase cooperation between our regions and cities. This is key to ensuring Europe bounces back from the downturn quickly and emerges stronger."

Commissioner Hübner will address the summit, which is organised by the EU Committee of the Regions, together with the Czech Prime Minister, Mirek Topolánek, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the President of the Committee of the Regions, Luc van den Brande.

The main purpose of the consultation on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, concluded at the end of February, was to reach a common understanding of how to better exploit European territorial diversity to deliver growth, sustainable jobs and competitiveness (IP/08/1460). The Commission received nearly 350 responses from a wide range of bodies including national governments and parliaments, regional and local authorities and EU-wide interest groups. There is a consensus among the respondents for:

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  More strategic and flexible territorial cooperation. The Commission's Baltic Sea Region Strategy is a good example of this new approach, with cooperation at the level of a “macro-region” to address challenges which go beyond traditional regional or national boundaries;
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  A more practical approach to policy implementation on the ground, taking account of territorial diversity. The regional level should remain central in the implementation of EU regional policy but, depending on the issues to be addressed, other territorial levels (eg urban neighbourhoods, metropolitan zones, river basins or mountain areas) may be the most appropriate focus;
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  Better coordination between the EU's policies and a “multi-level governance” approach based on shared partnership between European, national, regional and local tiers of government;
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  Improved understanding of territorial processes though indicators and analysis of territorial impacts of different policies.

Key milestones in the debate on the future regional policy

Territorial Cohesion is part of a broader debate on the future design of the EU's regional policy. Commissioner Hübner is inviting all representatives of regions and cities to contribute to this discussion, which is also a priority for the Czech Presidency of the EU.

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  The Commissioner will participate in a conference on the "Future of Cohesion Policy and Territorial Cohesion" organised by the Czech Presidency in Prague on 26 and 27 March.
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  She will also outline ideas for the future policy at the Informal Council of Regional Ministers in Marianske Lazne (Czech Republic), on 23 and 24 April.
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  Italian economist Fabrizio Barca has been invited by the European Commission to carry out an independent review of the EU Cohesion Policy, together with academics and practitioners. The Barca Report, which assesses the policy's rationale, objectives, achievements and governance, will be published on 27 April.
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  The final results of the public consultation on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion will be presented in the Sixth Progress Report on Economic and Social Cohesion in June 2009.

Note for editors

This European Summit of Regions and Cities aims to put forward views of regional politicians ahead of the European Spring Council on 19-20 March, when Member States will discuss the implementation of measures to tackle the economic and financial crisis and the re-launch of the European growth and jobs strategy.

More information:

http://www.praguesummit2009.eu

Consultation on territorial cohesion:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/consultation/terco/contrib_en.htm

In parallel to the Summit, Commissioner Hübner will visit the North-East region and Central-Bohemia (IP/09/350).