LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
Migration policy; a fair and efficient corporate tax system – ALDE’s focus at the December plenary session
IN THIS ISSUE Migration policy; a fair and efficient corporate tax system - ALDE’s focus at the December plenary session
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Congress of European Liberals sees a large ALDE-CoR delegation for the third year running 2-3 ALDE-CoR launches Liberal Mayors Network at ALDE Party Congress in Budapest
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ALDE-CoR and ELF join forces on debating about public procurement in TTIP
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ALDE secures two key own-initiative opinions for 2016
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Bas Verkerk (NL/VVD) keynote speaker at conference on connecting Regions and Cities via Digital Single Market: “We need leaders with courage to question!”
ALDE Vice-President François Decoster (FR/UDI).
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Satu Tietari (FI/Keskusta) speaker at event on opportunities for Europe in Valencia - the European Entrepreneurial Region of the year 2015: “SMEs are the backbone of our economy” 5 Michiel Rijsberman (NL/D66) panellist at ALDE-EP seminar on “Simplifying Cohesion Policy to boost results”
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CoR Territorial Impact Assessment workshop: assessing how urban areas are influenced by EC directives
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Upcoming ALDE activities: LeaDeR awards ceremony
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Ongoing ALDE opinions: EU environment law: improving reporting and compliance; own-initiative opinion on radicalisation; own-initiative opinion on food waste.
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In its December plenary session, the European Committee of the Regions gave broad political backing to the European Commission’s European Agenda for Migration. The crucial role of Europe’s local and regional authorities in addressing the immediate and long-term challenges posed by the arrival of large numbers of refugees and migrants needs to be more fully reflected in European Union policies, stressed the Committee of the Regions’ rapporteur, ALDE Vice-President François Decoster (FR/UDI). He further commented: “Inevitably, we have had long, sometimes heated debates in the CoR about what policies the EU’s institutions should pursue. But the process has also produced a very clear political consensus that the EU needs to be more involved in managing and responding to migration, and that we must establish a robust migration system that is fair to all. Across Europe, local and regional governments are given too little political say, too little funding and too little backing. That must change.” In his opinion, Mr Decoster called for reinforced management of Europe’s borders and backed plans to review the EU’s existing system of assessing asylum applications, the ‘Dublin regulation’. The CoR plenary also voted in favour of a permanent relocation mechanism so that newly arrived refugees are resettled across the EU.
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LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
ALDE Coordinator in the ECON Commission, Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/Open VLD), member of Uccle Municipal Council
At the plenary local and regional leaders also called for a fair and efficient corporate tax system in the European Union. The opinion drafted by ALDE Coordinator in the ECON Commission, Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/Open VLD), member of Uccle Municipal Council, criticises the complexity of corporate taxation systems, which disadvantages small businesses, and calls for a common consolidated corporate tax base to fight tax fraud, tax avoidance and harmful tax competition.
The opinion considers that while the economic environment has become more globalised the current rules for corporate taxation still remain on the national level. Whilst small businesses suffer from this complexity, some large companies use the loopholes in order to avoid paying tax. In consequence, member states, regional and local authorities lose on potential tax revenue. Mr Vanraes said: “OECD studies show that multinational companies are using strategies that enable them to pay not more than 5% in corporate tax while smaller companies are paying more than 30%. This leads to an estimated annual loss of €1000 billion potential tax receipts in the European Union because of tax avoidance, tax fraud and aggressive tax planning, and harms public finances at all political levels. This is especially true for Belgium where regions and municipalities have extensive competences to levy taxes and where revenues from corporate tax have
DECEMBER 2015
a tangible impact on the budgets of regions and municipalities. Fighting tax evasion would lead to higher tax revenues, so that the general corporate tax rates could be lowered.” “The current lack of coordination in corporate taxation between member states creates obstacles for companies acting in the Single Market. Using a single set of tax rules instead of 28 would have positive effects on economic growth, employment and tax quality as well as on public finances, including those of local and regional authorities. We would welcome the quick implementation of a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). But we are aware that the required unanimous agreement of all member states is currently difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, we need to get things going. We therefore strongly support the implementation of a common tax base as a first step, and to introduce the consolidation at a later stage”, said Mr Vanraes.
Congress of European Liberals sees a large ALDE-CoR delegation for the third year running On 19-21 November the ALDE group in the CoR participated in the annual congress of the European liberal democrats in Budapest with a large delegation for the third year running. In attendance were ALDE-CoR President Bas Verkerk (NL/VVD), Jill Shortland (UK/ LibDems), Doreen Huddart (UK/LibDems), Jerry Lundy (IE/Fianna Fail), François Decoster (FR/UDI), Jean- François Barnier (FR/UDI), Bart Somers (BE/Open VLD), and Dainis Turlais (LV/GK Riga). The ALDE Party closed its 36th annual Congress, held this year in Budapest, with the election of the new President, replacing Sir Graham Watson who had served as President since 2011. Hans van Baalen MEP (NL/ VVD) was elected as the new President of the ALDE Party. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament for VVD since 2009. Before, he was a Member of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands from 1999 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2009. Before being elected, Hans van Baalen also engaged with the ALDE-CoR group by coming
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In addition, ALDE-CoR sponsored the congress welcome reception on Thursday the 19th of November at which the group also launched the LeaDeR Awards 2016, which recognise outstanding work of liberal and democrat politicians from the sub-state levels of government (e.g. municipal, county/ province, region). More information about the LeaDeR awards 2016 in upcoming ALDE activities.
to the October group meeting and outlining his priorities. The Congress also saw the adoption of a number of resolutions to which the ALDE group in the CoR proposed amendments in line with the subsidiarity principle and successfully amended points relating to EU labour market, TTIP agreement, migration and the refugee crisis, among others.
LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
ALDE-CoR launches Liberal Mayors Network at ALDE Party Congress in Budapest Responding to a growing demand to hear the voice of liberal mayors on matters of European relevance, the President of the ALDE Group in the European Committee of the Regions, Bas Verkerk, Mayor of Delft, convened a meeting of mayors during the ALDE Party Congress in Budapest to discuss migration, refugees and integration. The positive response from many liberal mayors to this initiative, including from those who could not attend, revealed a clear demand amongst the mayors themselves for this kind of initiative. President Verkerk therefore announced that this meeting would also mark the launch of a new Liberal Mayors Network, and a plan for future action was agreed. The mayors also met the two candidates for ALDE Party President, Hans van Baalen and Siim Kallas.
Speaking after the meeting, Bas Verkerk said: “The mayors all agreed that in this highly complex refugee crisis, politicians must view and treat refugees as individuals and not as groups. We also agreed that liberal mayors must speak out incessantly in our streets and neighbourhoods to defend Europe’s values which are under attack from within Europe and from the outside, and we will be sharing detailed conclusions with the rest of the Liberal Mayors Network to build upon today’s meeting.” The founding mayors of the network are: •
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Belgium – Bart SOMERS, Mayor of Mechelen, prospective CoR rapporteur on Radicalisation Czech Republic – Adriana KRNÁČOVÁ, Mayor of Prague France – François DECOSTER, Mayor of Saint-Omer, CoR rapporteur on Migration
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Kosovo – Mimoza KUSARI-LILA, Mayor of Gjakova
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Lithuania – Vytautas GRUBLIAUSKAS, Mayor of Klaipėda
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Macedonia – Andrej ŽERNOVSKI, Mayor of Centar Municipality of Skopje
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Moldova – Dorin CHIRTOACĂ, Mayor of Chișinău
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Netherlands – Bas VERKERK, Mayor of Delft
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Romania – Iulian TEODORESCU, Mayor of Ploiești
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United Kingdom – Keith HOUSE, Leader . of the Eastleigh Borough Council
Also attending were Delphine Bourgeois, Deputy Mayor of the Brussels district of Ixelles; Breda Kolar and Tadej Špilar, both deputy mayors of the Slovenian towns of Velenje and Trbovlje respectively.
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LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
ALDE-CoR and ELF join forces on debating about public procurement in TTIP On 4 December a roundtable discussion “Facing facts: public procurement in TTIP” took place, organised by the ALDE Group of the Committee of the Regions together with the European Liberal Forum (ELF). Stakeholders in local and regional authorities across the European Union have been following TTIP negotiations in the media. The intense public discourse on trade negotiations with the US is also mirrored in the debates taking place in municipal and regional councils these days. In this respect, public services and public procurement are of great relevance. At this roundtable we discussed the scope of what is negotiated and, mºreover, what opportunities and challenges there are for EU citizens, smaller or medium sized suppliers and for the EU as such. Felicita Medved, President on the ELF and Bas Verkerk, President of the ALDE group in their welcome speeches emphasised the importance of informing the public and having an interactive discussion on TTIP. The moderator, Susanne Hartig, Executive director of the ELF also underpinned the necessity to discuss the challenges and opportunities TTIP could bring, therefore welcomed the current discussion. Michiel Scheffer (NL/D66), Deputy Governor for Gelderland started the panel discussion explaining why the US market is very hard to access, especially for SMEs. He nevertheless pointed out that there are
major gains to be made for SMEs once the agreement is concluded.
show up gradually by taking in a lot of local knowledge.
Some other points that were made revolved around the current state of public procurement markets and challenges of opening them; and the price Europe will have to pay for opening the markets. Diego Zuluaga, the deputy director of EPICENTER concluded the panel discussion by underlining that many things we envisage now about TTIP will be executed only in a long-run and the benefits will
“Emotions are running high” – reminded Felicita Medved in the conclusion of the answers and questions session, nevertheless it will be the political situation that in the end will close the deal. Other speakers included Anders Jessen, the head of Public Procurement Unit, DG Trade and Gerhard Huemer, director of Economic and Fiscal policy and Study Unit of UEAPME.
ALDE secures two key own-initiative opinions for 2016 In our priorities for the mandate 20152019, the ALDE-CoR group has put a strong emphasis on the key role local and regional authorities play in preventing and reversing radicalisation. The local level is the level best fit for this important task. Local authorities are already starting to collaborate across borders exchanging information and ideas. The ALDE group presented a proposal for an own-initiative opinion on this important
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topic at the last CIVEX commission meeting. CIVEX members from all political groups backed the decision. The rapporteur is ALDE Vice-President Bart Somers (BE/ Open VLD). Mr Somers said: “As rapporteur, I will invite those cities with successful policies to contact me so we can build upon good practices that already exist in several places in Europe.” The first discussion will be taking place on 5 February 2016.
ALDE also calls for effective recycling in a circular economy and has therefore presented a proposal for an own-initiative opinion on reduction of food waste. The NAT commission adopted this proposal at its last meeting and elected ALDE Coordinator Mr Ossi Martikainen (FI/ Keskusta) to be the rapporteur.
LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
Bas Verkerk (NL) keynote speaker at conference on connecting Regions and Cities via Digital Single Market: “We need leaders with courage to question!” On 2 December 2015, the European Committee of the Regions organised an event on ‘Connecting Regions and Cities: Making the Digital Single Market work for Europe’. Digital technology is expected to be one of the main drivers in the next decade for delivering economic growth and creating new jobs. Implementing the Digital Agenda for Europe and taking forward the Digital Single Market are key priorities of the EU political agenda and crucial components of the new “Investment Plan for Europe”. As Mayor of the City of Delft, ALDE-CoR President Bas Verkerk was invited to be a keynote speaker at the workshop on ‘Digital start-ups and ecosystems: creating growth through innovation’. In his intervention he spoke at length about the changing role of the citizens and the new relationship between governments and citizens, saying that “we need leaders
with courage to question the established norms.” In this respect he stressed the importance of cities in their capacity to exert economic power for the purpose of strengthening Europe.The concept of multilevel governance is key in this respect, since it facilitates delivering a single digital market
and helps to shift to renewable energy and smart infrastructure. Other speakers included Bror Salmelin from DG Connect and Lisa Schneider from European Startup Monitor.
Satu Tietari (FI/Keskusta) speaker at event on opportunities for Europe in Valencia – the European Entrepreneurial Region of the year 2015: “SMEs are the backbone of our economy” On 2 December 2015, the European Each year, the European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) label is awarded to three EU territories that commit themselves to implementing a cutting-edge strategy aimed at mainstreaming the principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA). Through the EER award, the CoR presents cities and regions with the challenge to develop a forward-looking political vision to boost SMEs and entrepreneurship in their territory, as well as a credible action plan to bring this vision into reality. One of the winners of EER award 2015 is the Spanish Region of Valencia. To celebrate it as European Entrepreneurial Region of the year 2015, an event on “The opportunities for Europe” was held on 4 November in Valencia. Satu Tietari (FI/Keskusta) was speaking on behalf of the ALDE group on European policies in support of innovation and SMEs. In her intervention she stressed that “SMEs are the backbone of our
economy. After all, they are Europe’s main engine for creating growth and jobs. SMEs provide two out of every three jobs
in the private sector and contribute more than half of the value added created by businesses in the EU.”
Satu Tietari (FI/Keskusta)
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LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
Michiel Rijsberman (NL/D66) panellist at ALDE-EP seminar on “Simplifying Cohesion Policy to boost results” Invited to speak at the ALDE seminar on simplifying cohesion policy on 2 December as part of the technical panel of experts, ALDE member Michiel Rijsberman (NL/ D66) presented his work in the field of newly launched INTERREG programmes for the programming period 2014-2020. From his own experience he identified some administrative bottlenecks when it comes to accessing the European Structural and Investment Funds. This applies particularly to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). As the main problem he recognised the increased controls. He noted that “A small business owner gets a whopping six audits on the same project. More and more entrepreneurs are therefore deciding to not apply for European funding.” Chaired by ALDE MEP Iskra Mihaylova, Chair of the EP REGI committee, the seminar consisted of both a political and technical discussion on how to simplify cohesion policy
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in the context of the initiative of the High Level Group on Simplification of European Structural and Investment Funds. The Chair of the High Level Group, Mr Siim Kallas, provided feedback of its work, followed by the DG Regio. The European Investment Bank focused on the potential of financial instruments within cohesion policy. Moreover, other speakers presented the ways smart specialising and auditing could support simplification.
DECEMBER 2015
LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
CoR Territorial Impact Assessment workshop: assessing how urban areas are influenced by EC directives The Committee of the Regions has been testing different territorial impact assessment (TIA) methodologies over the past two years in order to determine the best ones to suit the needs of the CoR and other EU institutions. During this time, the CoR observed a lack of data below NUTS 2 level , making the assessment of EU policies at regional level rather challenging. As the large majority of EU citizens live in urban areas, this means that it is necessary to assess the effects of EU policies on these areas. Without knowing the exact impacts on urban areas, it is difficult to design policies that are adapted to the needs and specific characteristics of the EU’s urban areas, and it is therefore challenging for any EU policy to reach its full potential. To address this problem, the CoR in cooperation with the European Commission, ESPON
, Eurocities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), has organised the first test of an urban impact assessment, gathering a peer-group of 11 carefully selected cities. As the European Commission is currently evaluating the “Energy performance of buildings” Directive, it was this Directive that was chosen for the first test.
last year. An integrated European urban agenda would improve the integration of the urban dimension in EU policy making and thereby also facilitate policy impact assessment. The TIA report will be shared with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy to contribute to their evaluation of this Directive and a possible revision.
The cities selected were invited to send their experts on energy efficiency so that they could discuss the effects that this Directive has had on their cities. The experts represented different Member States and types of cities which allowed the CoR and the EC to gather valuable information and draft a TIA report. One of the participating cities was Delft, whose mayor Bas Verkerk, is the ALDE-CoR President, who has been calling upon the European Commission to present an integrated Urban Agenda for the EU since the adoption of his opinion on the topic by the CoR plenary
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LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
DECEMBER 2015
Upcoming ALDE activities: LeaDeR Awards
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LeaDeR Awards recognise outstanding work of liberal and democrat politicians from the sub-state levels of government (e.g. municipal, county/province, and region). Building on the success of the past four editions, the ALDE Group in the European Committee of the Regions launched another edition of the awards at the ALDE Party Congress in Budapest. The awards ceremony for this 5th edition will be held in Brussels in spring 2016. Winners and finalists will be invited to Brussels for the ceremony. The nominations must reach the ALDE-CoR secretariat by 31st of January 2016. Please visit the ALDECoR website to submit nominations and to find out more information: http://goo.gl/nXUKJi
Ongoing ALDE opinions
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Outlook Opinion on EU environment law: improving reporting and compliance by Andres Jaadla (EE/Keskerakond). Adoption at CoR plenary session 15-16 June 2016.
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Own-initiative opinion on Reduction of food waste by Ossi Martikainen (FI/Keskusta). Adoption at CoR plenary session in 2016.
Own-initiative opinion on Combatting radicalisation and violent extremism: prevention mechanisms at local and regional level by Bart Somers (BE/Open VLD). Adoption foreseen at CoR plenary session 1516 June 2016.
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