Camille Gira presented the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency to the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development
On 17 September 2015, Camille Gira, the Secretary of State for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, spoke to the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development (REGI) in Brussels to present the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency in the areas of territorial cohesion, urban policy and cohesion policy.
'The implementation of the EU's territorial cohesion goal must be stepped up'
Corina Cretu i and Camille Gira at the European Parliament's REGI Committee on 17 September 2015
First of all, Camille Gira reminded those present that in 2013, the trio of presidencies, consisting of Luxembourg, Italy and Latvia, had prepared a programme on territorial cohesion, cohesion policy and urban policy. He stated that this work had made it possible to debate the way in which the goal of territorial cohesion, towards which the European Union has been working since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, is being implemented. He is convinced that 'this implementation must be stepped up'. He announced that the Presidency is currently preparing a framework of benchmarks, listing ways to improve the EU's territorial cohesion performance with a view to the informal meeting of ministers for of territorial planning and urban policy scheduled for 26 and 27 November 2015.
The Presidency aims to engage, in particular, in a strategic debate on scenarios for European territorial development up to 2050, explained Camille Gira, who stressed the importance of having a long-term vision. In his view, this approach may be useful in dialogue with sectoral policies. He stressed that one of the main weaknesses in the Europe 2020 strategy was, for example, the lack of importance placed upon the territorial dimension.
Developing a legal framework to make it possible to support better integration of border areas is another of the Presidency's goals in terms of territorial cohesion. Camille Gira again referred to the project that he had presented to the Committee of the Regions on 2 September 2015: 'a new European regulation that would enable local and regional authorities to propose to their Member State a way to overcome the legislative stumbling blocks encountered in cross-border cooperation'. The proposal prompted considerable interest from many MEPs. In the debate, Camille Gira made it clear to them that he was aware that this would be a medium- or long-term project.
He said that the first stage would be to identify existing obstacles to cross-border cooperation and to look at the viability and necessary conditions for creating such a tool. He explained that the approach was inspired by the framework offered by the EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation), and that it was intended to complement rather than to replace it. This regulation, he explained, should offer both local and regional authorities a framework through which they could request their country's national authority to waive certain national provisions, in order to apply, instead, those applicable to their partner in a neighbouring country, within the framework of a specific cross-border project. Camille Gira envisages that this could apply, for instance, to technical infrastructure, energy production or environmental issues.
The Presidency will focus on the role of small and medium-sized cities. Their role, 'neglected in political and scientific discourse', is crucial 'for a balanced and sustainable development of European territory', said Camille Gira. Knowing how a polycentric network of small and medium-sized cities can cooperate across borders to reach the critical mass of a metropolitan region is one of the issues raised by Luxembourg in this regard.
On urban policy, the Secretary of State continued, discussions will focus on the EU's urban programme, the goal of which is to enhance the EU's urban dimension and regional and national policies so that cities and urban areas can play their full part and contribute towards achieving the EU 2020 strategy's goals. The goal is to identify the areas in which EU policy should play a part. This work is being carried out in close cooperation with the Netherlands, which will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2016. Camille Gira took the opportunity to welcome, on this point, the report by MEP Kerstin Westphal on the urban dimension of European policies, which he intended to analyse.
Camille Gira has not lost sight of rural areas, which also play an important role, and which need a long-term vision. When questioned about these areas in the debate that followed, the Secretary of State highlighted the opportunity which the digital revolution offered them, and welcomed the trend towards decentralisation and cooperation afforded by the Internet.
Camille Gira announced that the Presidency welcomed the Commission's communication and action plan on the EU's future macro-regional strategy for the Alpine region, and intended to adopt conclusions on the subject in November.
'As current holders of the Presidency, we will make every possible effort to promote cohesion policy'
'As current holders of the Presidency, we will make every possible effort to promote cohesion policy', Camille Gira announced to MEPs. He said this meant, for example, continuing the work carried out by preceding Presidencies and completing the legal framework for the 2014-2020 programming period.
'The Presidency is fully committed to finding solutions to help Greece through special measures within the framework of Cohesion Policy'.indicated Camille Gira, informing MEPs that the Council had just adopted a position to fast-track the adoption of the exceptional measures proposed by the Commission in July. 'Given the unique situation that the crisis has created in Greece, we should ensure that the EU funding available from the European Structural Funds and the European Investment Fundsis effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible', stated Camille Gira. He therefore hoped that an agreement would be reached swiftly through three-way negotiations.
A General Affairs Council for Cohesion Policy
The Luxembourg Presidency will hold a General Affairs Council (GAC) on 13 October 2015 on the subject of cohesion policy, as Italy had done for the first time (last year), said Camille Gira. The goal is to enable a more structured monitoring of debates on cohesion policy within the Council, and not just when new regulations are discussed, he explained.
On the Council's agenda will be conclusions on the contribution of the Structural and Investment Funds to promoting adaptation to climate change. 'Cohesion policy will take centre stage in the EU's efforts on climate change', said Camille Gira, explaining that this step is integral to the Presidency's efforts to put climate change on the agenda of all Council meetings, as was the case at the Informal Meeting of theEcofin Council on 11 September, and not to just leave it to the Ministers of the Environment.
During the debate with MEPs, Camille Gira stressed that every effort would be made to ensure the EU would not hold up negotiations at the Paris Conference on Climate Change in December 2015 (COP 21). We will also 'stress the important role of the regions and municipalities in the agreement', he observed.
This GAC will also provide an opportunity to highlight the added value of European territorial cooperation, known as Interreg. The conference held in Luxembourg to mark the programme's 25th anniversary provided an opportunity to take stock of its achievements and discuss its future, noted Camille Gira. He hopes to place the conclusions of this event on the agenda for discussions by ministers.
Simplification, 'a complicated and recurrent subject', will also be on the ministers' agenda; they are to set out their expectations and priorities for the High-level Expert Group on Simplification that the Commission intends to set up.
Asked several times during the debate about the refugees crisis, Camille Gira assured MEPs that he would support them in terms of making the structural funds more flexible and able to be used more swiftly, in order to deal with the situation.
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