Comité van de Regio's zet sterk in op Europees Donau-plan
EUROPEAN UNION Committee of the Regions |
Press Release |
The EU's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives
C O R/09/93
Brussels, 7 October 2009
CoR pushes through its demand for an EU Danube strategy
The EU's elected regional and local representatives, meeting at the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels today, have emphasised the strategic importance of the Danube area and welcomed the planned development of a European Danube strategy. The adopted CoR report was prepared by Wolfgang Reinhart (DE/EPP), European affairs minister of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, and proposes concrete fields of action for this strategy, underlining the central role of regions and cities in its planning and implementation.
The blue band of the Danube has always connected people, cities and regions across borders. In addition, the Danube area brings together EU member states, candidates for accession and neighbouring countries. To realise the full economic and social potential of such "macroregions", the EU has already defined comprehensive strategies for the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea. The development of a distinct "Danube strategy", however, has only just started, and is due to the engagement of the adjacent regions and cities as well as to the CoR.
CoR rapporteur Wolfgang Reinhart again welcomed the June EU summit's clear request to the European Commission to prepare a European Danube strategy by the end of 2010. "This was an important first step. Now we have to breathe life into this future strategy. We have to examine carefully in which policy areas more cooperation could yield concrete results for the entire Danube area and the people on the ground. On account of their proximity to the citizens, regions and cities have a central role to play in planning, implementing and further developing this strategy. It is therefore crucial to involve them in the next steps", Reinhart stated.
Building on their practical experiences within the framework of existing cooperation and networks, CoR members today presented concrete fields of action for the Danube strategy. The scope of suggested measures ranges from the development of transport infrastructure and cross-border cooperation in flood protection to joint concepts for sustainable tourism and regional cultural work. In this context, Reinhart emphasised the bridge function of regions and cities: "In addition to a 'Europe of institutions' we also have to create a 'Europe of encounters' through concrete local initiatives, for instance through town twinning and youth exchanges."
Perceiving the Danube area as a single major unit is also a prerequisite for its sustainable economic development. The CoR pointed out that in the current 2007-2013 development period the Danube area is split into two overlapping development areas, and therefore called on the European institutions to treat it in its entirety in the next development phase. "To reach its full economic, social, environmental and cultural potential, the Danube area should be viewed as a single transnational European area of development", argued Reinhart.
The Danube area in the Committee of the Regions
In the past few years the CoR has repeatedly highlighted the particular importance of the Danube area in Europe and has called for the development of an EU Danube strategy. On the initiative of the President of the Landtag (regional assembly) of Baden-Württemberg and former CoR President Peter Straub (DE/EPP), an interregional group "Danube area" was set up in the CoR at the end of 2008. It brings together regional and local representatives from regions along the Danube in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as guest members from Croatia and Serbia. Its goal is to boost the visibility of the Danube area in Brussels and to represent the interests of the regions involved at European level.
Visit the CoR's website : www.cor.europa.eu
The Committee of the Regions
The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. Around two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities in the Member States. The Committee of the Regions was created in 1994 to give representatives of local government a say over the content of these laws. The CoR organises five plenary sessions a year, where its 344 members vote on opinions issued in response to proposed legislation. The European Commission, which initiates EU laws, and the Council of Ministers, which determines the final content of the legislation (usually in tandem with the European Parliament), are obliged to consult the CoR on a wide range of policy areas including the environment, employment and transport. The Lisbon Treaty will strengthen the position of the Committee of the Regions further. In future, the Committee must be consulted by the European Parliament on all issues that are important for regions and municipalities. The Committee can also 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.
For mo re information, please contact:
Committee of the Regions
Michael Alfons
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