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Van den Brande tells Council: make cohesion a priority in every EU policy
27.04.2009, 14:11
Luc Van den Brande, President of the Committee of the Regions, has urged EU ministers to make cohesion a priority in every policy area in order to help Europe through the tough economic times. Speaking at the informal meeting of regional policy ministers in Mariánské Lázně, President Van den Brande stressed the importance of a coordinated approach to EU policy making. The CoR President also called for the CoR to be invited as a matter of course to all informal ministerial meetings covering areas where local and regional authorities have an important role to play.
"The severe effects of the crisis will hit the core of our societies and risk creating new social barriers. We are in danger of losing social stability, social cohesion and what remains of the trust of our citizens that European unity and cooperation can help to overcome problems. Now is the time for the EU and Member States to go beyond mere attempts to save the financial markets by sending a strong message on the future of Europe, and the future of regional policy as the main keeper of cohesion for a Europe in danger. Cohesion policy is the visible hand of the European Union on the ground, and plays a major role in people's commitment to the European project as a whole," President Van den Brande told the ministers.
Local and regional authorities, represented by the Committee of the Regions, are traditionally invited to take part in the informal meeting of regional policy ministers held by each EU Presidency, and Mr Van den Brande underlined some of the successes that had been achieved following previous meetings. "The opportunity for local and regional authorities to contribute to the debate on regional policy issues that comes through the representation of the CoR at these informal ministerial meetings is substantial. But they are not just talking shops: the CoR's voice is listened to by member states. Many of our suggestions were included in the recent overhaul of EU regional policy, such as the creation of the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), a new European instrument making territorial cooperation easier. "
Thanking ministers for their invitation - the CoR also contributed directly to the conclusions of the Council meeting - Mr Van den Brande stressed that territorial cohesion was more than a component of regional policy. "We believe that the objective of territorial cohesion applies to all Community sectoral policies, since it is a cross-cutting objective that goes beyond regional policy alone. We are therefore calling for sectoral policies and regional policy to be consistent with each other and complement each other, so that they all serve the objective of territorial cohesion. We have urged that ex ante territorial impact studies be conducted for every legislative proposal that will have an impact at local and regional level." He added that the CoR was ready to play an active role in that process, through regular meetings with the Council of Ministers on issues above and beyond regional policy.
Source: www.cor.europa.eu