Motion for a Resolution by
the Committee on Regional Development The scars of deindustrialisation in Europe’s landscape: Bringing dismissed areas to a new life. With the European Commission’s New Industrial Policy Strategy aiming to empower European industries, how can the social, economic and environmental challenges of deindustrialisation be addressed throughout the EU’s regions? What measures should the EU and local authorities take in order to secure the sustainable development of dismissed areas? Submitted by:
Armie Adammegerdichian (AM), Ilinca Adina Margină (RO), Malvina Constantinou (CY), Ali Maeve Fitzgerald (IE), Elsa Hägglund (SE), Felix Heyman (BE), Marta Łazowska (PL), Kseniia Lebid (UA), Lina Lieshout (NL), Akusti Pitkänen (FI), Petar Rajković (RS), Johannes Schäfer (DE), Gregor Vetter (CH), Vladyslav Korshenko (Chairperson, UA)
The European Youth Parliament, A. Deeply disturbed that 64% of the total carbon emissions by the members of the European Environment Agency (EEA) are caused by the industrial sector, B. Alarmed by the harmful effect of industrial areas on the landscape and biodiversity of European regions that leads to the creation of brownfields,
O. Keeping in mind that 96% of all workers who could potentially lose their workplace due to the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) could find a similarly paid job given adequate training;
1. Calls upon Member States to re-establish and expand the Environmental Rehabilitation of brownfield Sites in central Europe project; 2. Affirms Member States’ need for the further implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive through:
a)
additional monitoring of industry compliance,
b)
the imposition of stricter punishments for non-compliant actors;
3. Urges Member States to begin retracting financial support from non-environmentally sustainable industries; 4. Further urges Member States to reuse post-industrial sites to build purification infrastructure for air and water; 5. Invites Member States to reuse existing infrastructure and buildings when developing new sustainable and eco-friendly industrial sites; 6. Encourages Member States to subsidise and expand the use of AI and automated machinery in their national industries; 7. Asks European research groups such as the euRobotics to further the dialogue with the private sector by establishing workshops and regular conferences;
C. Noting with regret that increasing globalisation has led to a rise in carbon leakage,
8. Requests the European Commission to implement the European Cybersecurity Competence Network and Centre proposal;
D. Understanding that the costs associated with the remediation of brownfields is a major deterrent to the reindustrialisation of Member States and a threat to the environment,
9. Suggests that the Directorate General for Education and Culture include additional courses on programming and digital literacy in secondary education curricula;
E. Observing the continuous shift of EEA countries towards a tertiary-centered economy,
10. Further calls upon Member States to promote the study of cybersecurity and data protection in public universities through:
F. Acknowledging the need for an increase in research and development of automated industrial technology for more cost-efficient production, G. Convinced that industries of EEA countries are not currently able to operate using exclusively sustainable resources,
a)
increasing the availability of study programs,
b)
providing scholarships;
H. Aware of the need of former industrial societies to transition to knowledge societies while taking into consideration the differences between Member States,
11. Further invites the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to increase funding and the number of re-specialisation programs for blue-collar workers made redundant due to technological advances;
I. Further noting that European industries are unable to keep up with rapidly developing foreign competitors which rely on cheaper labour,
12. Encourages Member States to allocate additional funding to local municipalities of post-industrial areas for:
J. Disturbed by the fact that 20% of European companies have suffered a breach of their cyber security systems, resulting in industrial espionage and corporate theft,
a)
the creation of art and exhibition spaces,
b)
the building of industrial museums and memorials,
c)
the allocation of remodeled spaces and financial benefits to small and medium enterprises.
K. Taking into account that the departure of industries often leads to de-urbanisation of cities and decay of infrastructure, L. Noting with regret that more than 1,169,650 sites with contaminated soil have been identified, and only 15%1 have been remediated, M. Further concerned that the proposal for a European Cybersecurity Research and Competence Centre has not been implemented, N. Realising that by 2025 there will be an increase in the need for skilled workers by 21% and a decrease in the need for unskilled workers by 17%2, 1 2
”Progress in management of contaminated sites”, European Environment Agency, 2019 ”Skills for industry”, The European Commission, 2019
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Hamburg 2019 | 91st International Session of the European Youth Parliament
Hamburg 2019 | 91st International Session of the European Youth Parliament
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