LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
OCTOBER 2015
“In a knowledge-based economy, innovation is the major force behind economic dynamism,” says Mayor Adriana Krnáčová at ALDE Extraordinary Group meeting in Prague
IN THIS ISSUE
“In a knowledge-based economy, innovation is the major force behind economic dynamism,” says Mayor Adriana Krnáčová at ALDE Extraordinary Group meeting in Prague
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Integrating refugees and migrants: ALDECoR visits Calais and St Omer
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“More help needed for regions in EU migration crisis”, says François Decoster in the LIBE committee 2-3 Bas Verkerk keynote speaker at conference on sustainable and liveable urban futures ALDE Open Days workshop “Putting the ‘e’ in Government: Can ICT solutions deliver good governance?”
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Upcoming ALDE activities: Reception at ALDE Party Congress in Budapest; Launch of the LeaDeR awards 2016; Joint event with ELF on TTIP
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Ongoing ALDE opinions: European Agenda on Migration; A Fair and Efficient Corporate Tax System in the European Union: 5 Key Areas for Action
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Speaking about the role of knowledge and technology in driving productivity and economic growth, the host of the ALDE-CoR Extraordinary group meeting, Adriana Krnáčová, Mayor of the City of Prague, pointed out that “In a knowledge-based economy, innovation is the major force behind economic dynamism.” The ALDE meeting which took place on 17 October in Prague focussed on collaboration between universities, start-ups and municipalities – what is known as the regional knowledge triangle. Linking higher education, industry and municipalities in support of regional development goes to the heart of strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion. The Europe 2020 strategy highlights the key role of innovation in contributing to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Regions are important sites for innovation because of the opportunities they provide for interaction between businesses, public authorities and civil societies. Modern cities have to create stimulating environments that allow for spill-over of ideas in order to be attractive. This is why the ALDE group together with the Czech ANO party organised this meeting in Prague where strengthening research, technological development and innovation is a key strategic goal. Participants agreed that investing in a knowledge-driven economy is crucial if Europe wants to be able to compete with the rest of the world. Karel Havlíček, Chairman of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts pointed out that “we have to adapt our business models and public sector to compete with economic superpowers”. Cllr Malcolm Byrne, Fianna Fáil County
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The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
Councillor, Head of Communications with the Irish Higher Education Authority went even a step further by calling for “a new 5th European freedom: the free movement of ideas”, which he considers essential for Europe to retain its completive advantage. Smart specialisation was another topic that was discussed at length. Guest speaker Iskra Mihaylova, Chair of the REGI Committee in the European Parliament emphasised that regions and cities need to specialise in order to remain competitive and economically successful. She further under-
lined that partnerships between the public and private sectors, universities and an integrated approach of all financial support, such as European cohesion policy, is essential in order to achieve results. ALDE-CoR President and Mayor of the City of Delft Bas Verkerk concluded the meeting by calling on the public sector to assume its role in supporting innovative solutions. “With technology you can break the traditional chain and generate new forms of economy”! The other speakers focused on practical examples and experience from their areas, and included:
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Philippe Barras, Managing Director of the Science Park of the Université catholique de Louvain; Jan Hauser, Director of the EU fund department, City of Prague; Cees Loggen, Member of the Executive Council of the Province of Noord-Holland; and Petr Vokřál, Mayor of Brno. Completing the meeting was the study visit to the Extreme light Infrastructure Centre which creates the latest laser equipment in the world and conducts research projects covering the interaction of light with matter at intensity 10 times higher than currently achievable values.
EP REGI committee chair praises collaboration between CoR and EP on the Urban Agenda
ALDE-CoR delegation at the day-time reception centre in Calais
As European leaders continue to struggle to find solutions to the refugee crisis, a delegation from the ALDE Group in the European Committee of the Regions visited the reception centres in the French cities of Calais and St Omer on 18 September, invited by ALDE-CoR Vice-President François Decoster, Mayor of St Omer. With the objective of
coming up with concrete proposals for successful integration of refugees and migrants in municipalities throughout the whole of Europe, the delegation brought together local and regional politicians from all over Europe, as well as ALDE Party VicePresident, Angelika Mlinar MEP and Treasurer of the EDP Party, former MEP Jean-Marie Beaupuy.
During the visit, the delegation met with migrants, road hauliers, and the Deputy Mayor of Calais, Philippe Mignonet who explained that smugglers are becoming more organised and more powerful and acting with total impunity. He added that the situation risks destabilising public order as well as the local economy, in a city with very highunemployment which has to spend millions of euros managing the camps that migrants have built. Following the visit, ALDE-CoR Vice-President and host of the study visit, François Decoster said: “Calais is where we expect Europe to act and this is also where Europe can show it is the solution. It’s not by closing the borders that we find a solution.” ALDE-CoR Deputy Coordinator in the CoR’s Citizenship and Governance Commission, Jill Shortland (UK) added: “I’m shocked and stunned by what I’ve seen today. It’s astounding that there is not a massive presence by the charities of the world here in Calais. Why is the world not looking at Calais first? Why haven’t we learned the lesson here before the influx that we have witnessed in the rest of Europe? If we don’t act very swiftly then there will be an influx even greater than what we’ve seen so far.”
“More help needed for regions in EU migration crisis”, says François Decoster in the LIBE committee Local and regional authorities across the European Union need more financial support from the EU in order to cope with the challenges of hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants, François Decoster, ALDE Vice-President and the CoR rapporteur on migration, told the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on 23 September. Mayor Decoster was speaking at an inter-parliamentary meeting of the LIBE committee, which had invited local political leaders and members of
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François Decoster speaking in the LIBE committee
LeaDeRs
The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
national parliaments to Brussels for an exchange of opinions on migration. The LIBE committee is currently preparing a report on the situation in the Mediterranean and the EU’s approach to migration. Cities and regions that “just happen to lie on migratory routes” are having to respond to the crisis at their own expense, said Mr Decoster, who is mayor of St-Omer in north-western France. “Our fellow
citizens did not elect us to exercise such a competence because these are tasks that really belong to higher levels of government, but we do so because it is our moral duty to provide humanitarian support,” he said. He also voiced his support for the European Union’s efforts to find a long-term sustainable asylum and migration system for Europe.
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Mr Decoster welcomed the European Commission’s provision of emergency support to some areas, including his region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. He said, however, that EU national leaders should dedicate far greater sums to the challenges posed by the large number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe.
Bas Verkerk keynote speaker at conference on sustainable and liveable urban futures Speaking on behalf of the European Committee of the Regions at the seminar on “Transition towards Sustainable and Liveable Urban Futures”, ALDE-CoR President Bas Verkerk (Mayor of Delft) delivered a clear message about the need to apply multilevel governance principles in every policy with an urban dimension. The seminar, held on 29 September, was co-organised by the JPI Urban Europe, the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation), the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) and the Urban Intergroup of the European Parliament. It was part of the twoday European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) launch event by the JPI Urban Europe and served to present and discuss the JPI Urban Europe SRIA and its research and innovation approach in order to raise commitment of the relevant stakeholders in policy. During the panel discussion with representatives from the European Institutions and city associations, Mr Verkerk underlined some key aspects of the future EU urban agenda saying that “the goal is better coordination of existing policies but also impact assessment of future EU initiatives”. He further pointed out that an urban agenda should also involve rural areas and smaller cities: “You need rural elements to build a good city.”
Bas Verkerk speaking at Urban Europe conference
One of the main conclusions of the event was that the JPI Urban Europe Agenda arrives at a key moment because the EU institutions are currently discussing the adoption of an EU Urban Agenda. It was also noted that all these initiatives should reach the “Pact of Amsterdam” to be adopted next year under the Dutch presidency of the EU. Overall, there is a broad consensus on the
relevance of data and findings to support urban policy at EU level. Other speakers at the event included Jan Olbrycht (MEP), Lambert Van Nilstelrroij (MEP), Kurt Vandenberghe, Director, European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Frédéric Saliez, Human Settlements Officer at UNHABITAT Brussels Liaison, among others.
ALDE Open Days workshop: “Putting the ‘e’ in Government: Can ICT solutions deliver good governance?” As part of the European Week of Cities and Regions, the EU Open Days, the ALDE group in the Committee of the Regions held on 13 October a workshop on eGovernment. The moderator, François Decoster, Vice-President of the ALDE-CoR group and Mayor of St-Omer, reminded the audience that eGovernment aims to facilitate the interaction between citizens and central as well as local administration. Indeed, he used the French example – large num-
ber of cities needing to coordinate their work – to illustrate the benefits of eGovernment. The three guest speakers respectively presented the European, the Belgian and the Latvian point of view as well as specific practices on eGovernment and ICT solutions. They all agreed that although eGovernment is a high-risk matter, it is also an opportunity to be seized. Maximilian Strotmann, member of Andrus Ansip’s Cabinet, outlined that government should be
digital, open, and interoperable, which is also why the European Interoperability Framework was created. However, he regretted that the rules set by this framework do not apply to the European institutions. Frank Leyman, International Relations manager at Fedict, presented the Digital Belgium project based on digital infrastructure, economy, skills, jobs, trust, security, and government. Eriks Zegelis, Director of IT Centre of the Riga City Council, addressed the more
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The newsletter of Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians
practical solutions and explained the objective of the ICT center in Riga – providing a data center with one cloud for employees and one for clients that adapts new e-services to citizens’ life cycle.
In a nutshell, the workshop explored successful case studies where ICT solutions have empowered citizens and proven to be an effective platform to generate benefits in terms of employment, health
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and education. What better way to conclude than with a quote from one of the speakers: “Why invest in ICT? The answer is simple; it is investing in good governance”.
ALDE Open days seminar on eGovernance
Upcoming ALDE activities: Reception at ALDE Party Congress in Budapest; Launch of the LeaDeR awards 2016; Joint event with ELF on TTIP
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ALDE-CoR will be participating in the ALDE Party congress to be held in Budapest, Hungary on 19-21 November. In addition to participating in the Congress working groups, ALDE-CoR will also host the welcome reception taking place on the evening of the 19th of November.
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Opinion on European Agenda on Migration by François Decoster (FR) Adoption at CoR plenary session on 3-4 December 2015
The reception at the ALDE Party Congress will also serve as the launch of LeaDeR awards 2016. Building on the success of the past four editions, we will be launching the fifth edition for key liberal players at regional and local level on 19 November. There will be 7 categories of awards and the nominations must reach the ALDECoR secretariat by 31st of January 2016. More information will be available as of 19 November on our website www.alde.eu/cor
Ongoing ALDE opinions
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Opinion on A Fair and Efficient Corporate Tax System in the European Union: 5 Key Areas for Action by Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE) Adoption at CoR plenary session on 3-4 December 2015
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ALDE-CoR will be jointly organising a roundtable with the European Liberal Forum on 4 December titled “Facing facts: Public procurement in TTIP”. 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 wish to discuss 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.
Outlook Opinion on EU environment law: improving reporting and compliance by Andres Jaadla (EE) Adoption at CoR plenary session in 2016
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