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Cohesion policy should be driven by the EU Treaty, rather than by EU 2020 agenda", CoR President Bresso tells in Zaragoza
23.02.2010, 12:34
The newly elected President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso (IT/PES), on February 19 warned against turning European cohesion policy into a mere tool for implementing the new Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs. Addressing high-level EU decision-makers and national ministers in charge of regional affairs at their informal meeting in Zaragoza, Spain, President Bresso insisted that EU regional aid must above all respond to the needs of Europe's regions and cities.
At the invitation of the Spanish EU Presidency, Member States' ministers for regional policy, Johannes Hahn, the new European Commissioner for regional policy, Danuta Hübner, the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development, and Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Mercedes Bresso discussed the future of cohesion policy in a changing economic and political environment.
In view of the debate on the Europe 2020 agenda, the successor to the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, CoR President Bresso stressed that cohesion policy could contribute to this strategy, but that it must not be absorbed by it. If they are to deliver concrete results on the ground, existing funding and cooperation programmes cannot be turned into vehicles to implement objectives set at central level: "The Committee of the Regions insists on the difference between cohesion policy, as a development policy for the European Union as stipulated by the Treaty, on the one hand, and the Europe 2020 strategy on the other. Cohesion policy must not be considered as a mere tool to implement the new Europe 2020 strategy. Its political value must be reflected through the installation of a formal Council of Ministers for Regional Policy."
Bresso, who is President of the Piedmont Region in Italy and was elected to the Committee of the Regions' top job last week, reiterated the policy's purpose: "It is aimed at reducing disparities by helping regions to fully exploit all their potentials, to make full use of their human, economic and natural resources. Built on partnerships and long-term programming, it is designed flexibly enough to respond to the different challenges and changing circumstances facing Europe's regions."
Bresso also highlighted that side-lining regional and local actors had been one of the main reasons why the Union had so far failed to achieve the Lisbon goals: "The Lisbon strategy was very disappointing and one of the evident reasons for this was its lack of involvement of institutional, economic and social actors on the ground. This message has not been heard, up to a point where the Europe 2020 strategy hardly sees our role as partners. In reality, we are much more than partners: we are the lynchpin of this strategy."
On the issue of simplifying the implementation rules of regional programmes in order to tackle the current economic crisis, Bresso reiterated the CoR's longstanding support for cutting red tape: "In this context, and in times of crisis, I would like to underline that this is not just an issue for administrations and auditors, but also a question of survival for certain regions, for companies that have to undergo restructuring measures and for citizens that work and live in these regions."