the rEPPorter - May 2013

May 2013

Message from the President

2

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

European Parliament President reassures CoR of its independence and promises swift compromise on the MFF

Members on the field

The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz was faced with difficult questions from the Members of the Committee of the Regions while attending the 100th Plenary Session of the CoR in April. EPP CoR President Michael Schneider focused on the position of the CoR in the EU interinstitutional decision-making process and state of play in the agreement over Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020.

2-3 Farewell to Paul Willems (1956-2013) Opolskie voivodeship establishes ‘Special Demographic Zone’ with the support of the EU funds

4 Plenary Highlight: Interview with Commissioner Hahn

5 EPP opinions at Plenary

6-7

President Schneider asked Martin Schulz for words of assurance and clarification on the independence and autonomy of the CoR. Such worries arose from a note of the Parliament’s administration suggesting that absorption the Committee’s translation services by the European Parliament could be considered. The President of the Parliament assured Michael Schneider that the independence of the CoR would not be compromised and that that no initiative would be initiated against the CoR’s will.

Referring to the compromise on the Multiannual Financial Framework on which the Parliament is working on with the Council, Michael Schneider reminded Martin Schulz that the regions and local authorities need the agreement early enough to be able to carry out operational and budgetary planning. The structural funds are at the heart of this issue, because they are the EU’s most visible investment instrument, with an impact notably on job creation.

Ongoing Opinions Your Agenda

Debate with Johannes Hahn, EPP Vice-President and European Commissioner for Regional Policy

e es es enjoy joy e jo ssu urp prise ise e ha are ar rre e en e nssh jo joy oh ya ssuim u uim im mp m pi re re esssss ca eate ea te ssh hcr arrre

ur imp imp p s h a r e n jo p c r e sharr rriiisse enjoy e j y sursp pruris irspee es ss crea im mp m prre pre p ress ea sss sep pre re are ar re r sha ar are rn ejo a re r e e joy j oy o y enjo oyye eate ea a t e e n nj j jo oy o y crea attecre eatt surpr rprisse se im mpress press sha are enjjoy crre eate e u ha

graphic design, drawing, painting, diagram, cartoon, photo, etc.

cre c rpea ea attte e sh ha arre a re en njjjo oy oy crre cr eat ea ate

u

urpris ur iserp rise mp m prre es ess e ssssppre i m ha h arre esharr ss njo nj n jjo oyye o o ea ea attec a

rrp prisse pri p e impres es s aare re e oyy c eate

su s urpris se s e pris im mpresss mp ssurpr p e mpres sha hare e iim p s shaVisualize re COMPETITION enjoyBesCreative, Being a European p Citizen: ILLUSTRATION and Share ur u rp r pri pr p ri r ris i se s e e c r e ea at a t e how do you see it? ea e ate im im mpre mp pres p res rre es es ss s jjo oy sh harre y r re essss an iPadea Send us your: y ha win a trip sutourpoys sha ha are are crr e Brussels i i en e nwork nj jjoy oypublished Via: www.epp.cor.europa.eu oy get your Closing date:1 July 2013 cre rea eat e attte a e cre cr c rre eat ea ate im m s ssh hare e en njjoy crre eate

“Being a European Citizen: how do you see it?” is the theme of this year’s illustration competition addressed to Citizens of the EU and Croatia, launched by the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions (CoR).

Participants are encouraged to be creative and share their vision of EU citizenship in the form of a graphic design, a painting, a diagram, a cartoon, a photo or any other illustration. Entries can

be published in a book to be released by the EPP/CoR Group in October 2013 on “A vision of EU Citizenship for the year 2020”, and winners will be invited to the launch in Brussels, and win an iPad. We have launched this competition not only because 2013 is a European Year of Citizens but also to explore in what ways Europeans identify themselves with

facebook.com/EPPGroupCoR

European citizenship. Raising awareness on EU citizens’ rights should be a longterm objective beyond 2013; every year should be the year of citizens - explains Michael Schneider, President of the European People’s Party Group in the CoR – Indeed, for some it can mean a right to move or reside freely in any European Member State, for others it is a synonym for peace. What better way to illustrate these thoughts than an image?

©shutterstock.com/2013

p y rise impre ris ssate crerea e e share i impre ise e e eate o share oy r rprise imp presss

e cr

@EPP_CoR

“We need structural reforms as well as investment in growth and jobs. In this respect cohesion policy plays a crucial role and will do so even more in the next funding period as it is the main investment instrument for our regions and enterprises to get stronger and more competitive” - argues Johannes Hahn, read our exclusive interview with him on page 4.

s

Now, you can follow us on

8

Message from the President Last month, during the 100th plenary session of the Committee of the Regions I was glad to hear words of clarification from the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz on the importance of the CoR in the EU’s interinstitutional process. It is crucial for us to assure that our institution that represents the voice of regions and localities remains the guardian of the subsidiarity principle defined in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. The European Year of Citizens that we are celebrating now, and the European elections next year should be a good reminder of our responsibility to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen and that constant checks are made to verify that action at Union level is justified in light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local levels. Views of the local and regional authorities in the process of creation of the EU legislation are of essential value. Looking back on the decade of cooperation between the CoR and the EP that I have witnessed as a member of the CoR, I can see that substantial progress has been made to the benefit of both institutions and I believe that such fruitful cooperation should continue.

Members M b on th the fi field ld

On 13 May CoR President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso and Franz Schausberger, Delegate of the Region of Salzburg as well as EPP MEPs Elmar Brok and Jean-Paul Gauzès took part in the high level conference “Investing in Europe’s regions and cities. Maximising the impact of regional and local public expenditure and the EU budget 2014-2020” organised by the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank, with the support of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The conference that gathered keynote speakers including Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister and Minister of the Treasury of Luxembourg, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services as well as Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank provided a platform for regional and local authorities to present their views on trends in subnational public finances. They also discussed the impact of European economic governance on regional and local governments’ capacity to deliver on the Europe 2020 growth strategy, and built on experience and prospects of EIB financial instruments and future EU structural funds for ‘quality investments’ on the ground.

Linked to his rapporteurship on “The review of EU key waste targets”, Michel Lebrun, EPP-CoR 1st Vice-President and Member of the Parliament of the French-speaking Community delivered a closing speech at the High-Level Seminar “Too Many Waster Resources - Evaluating resource efficiency from EU households, producer responsibility and targets and the role of Municipalities” organised by the Municipal Waste Europe in Brussels on 14 May.

2

EPP Vice-President Arnoldas Abramavicius, Mayor of Zarasai District Municipality and rapporteur on “Active ageing: innovation – smart health – better lives” took part in the AGE General Assembly Conference “Toward an age-friendly EU” organised on the 17 May in Brussels. The conference was an opportunity for AGE members and other interested stakeholders to discuss what can be done to support active and healthy ageing and promote age-friendly environments across the EU.

Jelena Drenjanin, Member of the Municipal Assembly of Huddinge following an invitation from the Irish Presidency and the European Commission addressed the fourth meeting of the informal network of contact points on the administrative approach to prevent and fight organised crime, in Brussels on 23 May. This is a follow-up to her opinion on combatting the traffic of human beings which has been welcomed by the network, and confirms the wish of the Presidency to have local and regional authorities involved in the fight against organised crime.

Constance Hanniffy, Member of the Offaly County Council took part in the EPP Working Group 2 on Economic and social policy meeting on 22 April in Brussels to discuss the economic chapter of the EPP election document for the 2014 European Elections. Working Groups are the backbone of the EPP’s political work, where representatives from the EPP member parties develop common positions and strategies on major policy areas and submit specific recommendations to the Political Assembly for final approval.

Working Group 2 is focused on responding to the current economic and financial crisis, the Lisbon process, demographic issues, and research and development.

Anton Kokalj, the Member of the Municipal council of Vodice and the honorary President of the Association of Municipalities of Slovenia (AMS) received a delegation of mayors from Serbia during their study visit to Slovenia. It provided a possibility to exchange the best practices in combating corruption at a local level and to launch some concrete proposals strengthening the cooperation between Serbian and Slovenian Municipalities.

Ursula Männle, Member of the Bavarian State Assembly participated in the mission that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe together with the CoR conducted in Armenia in order to observe the elections for the Agavani – City Assembly of Yerevan on 5 May 2013. A delegation of the observers met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia and Minister for Territorial Administration as well with Mayor of Yerevan. This was a follow up to the previous mission organised in September 2012 to observe the local elections in Armenia where generally the conduct of voting was deemed free and fair.

Erwin Mohr, Member of the Local Council of Wolfurt and the Council of Europe spoke at the series of regional seminars organised for the mayors of Albanian municipalities and communes, and presidents of the regions on 3-5 April 2013 in Fieri, Elbasan and Lezha (Albania). The conferences were organised in the framework of the “Strengthening Local Government Structures and Cooperation of Local Elected Representatives in Albania (2012-2015)” project and focused on promoting local democracy and enhancing dialogue among local and regional authorities in Albania for the benefit and well-being of the citizens.

Franz Schausberger, Delegate of the Region of Salzburg addressed the Conference of European Confederation of Local Intermediate Authorities in Romania, Ploiesti City, on 16-17 May 2013.

The theme of “Decentralisation, resources and selfgovernment” gave him the occasion to underline that a coherent decentralisation process can only be successful if the transfer of powers to subnational authorities is matched by the corresponding allocation of financial resources. He also recalled that the CoR has a political interest and an obligation to keep track of the process of decentralisation and the division of competences in the EU. He also addressed a conference in Brussels on 10 April on “The Western Balkans and its progress towards the EU: the contribution of decentralized cooperation” in which he spoke on decentralization an enlargement. He stressed that the process of decentralization and distribution of government powers in the Western Balkans should not only be based on the criterion of ethnic origins.

On 20 March and 30 April, José Antonio Monago Terraza, President of the Governing Council of Extremadura held a press conference on his opinion on the Revision of the Tobacco Products Directive at the Committee of the Regions premises. He additionally took an opportunity to meet with the important stakeholders, including EP rapporteur on the subject MEP Linda McAvan (S&D, UK), MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP shadow rapporteur from ENVI committee) and the European Commission.

Adam Struzik, Marshal of Mazowieckie Voivodeship and Marek Woźniak, President of COTER and Marshal of Wielkopolskie Voivodeship took active part in „the 2nd European seminar on sustainable urban rural partnerships” organized by the European Commission, in col-

laboration with the Polish Mazovia region and the OECD in Warsaw on April 24-25. The event provided an important opportunity for policymakers and stakeholders at European, national, regional and local level to better understand the practical aspects of urban rural partnerships and influence their implementation in future EU Cohesion Policy and Rural Development policy. Marshal Struzik additionally participated in an event on “How to put the Polish economy on a low-emissions track?” organised by the European Commission as a part of its Climate Change Campaign “A world you like.

With a climate you like” on 17 May 2013 in Warsaw.

He delivered a speech alongside Commissioner Hedegaard and Polish Minister of Environment Marcin Korolec on how the EU funds can support Europe’s regions and cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy and resource efficiency presenting best practice projects from his region.

Following an invitation from the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, Luc Van den Brande, Chairman of the Flemish-European Liaison Agency and former President of the CoR delivered a speech on “A Multilevel Governance Charter for Europe” on 16 April 2013 at the Padua University in Italy. The public lecture was part of the Jean Monnet Course “EU Challenges in the process of globalisation”. Mr Van den Brande spoke of “partnership” and “subsidiarity” as key principles and crucial elements for constructing the strong Political Union as well as development of multi-level governance being essential in the process of further integration.

In view of International Roma Day on 8th of April, Herwig van Staa, President of the Tirol Regional Assembly and President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe underlined the responsibility of local and regional authorities to provide inclusive Roma policies. ‘’As local and regional authorities, we are also responsible for ensuring that the universal human rights of all our citizens, including the Roma, are equally respected, and that this community can fully participate in the life of their cities and regions. The Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion, which was launched on 20 March 2013, has been set up for this purpose’’, he stated.

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

3

Farewell to Paul Willems (1956-2013) On the night of 18th of April Paul Willems (56) lost his final battle against his terminal disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We are in deep pain and sorrow for the loss not only of a good colleague, but a great friend.

Paul has been an idealist, a keen promoter of our common European values and an advocate of a strong local and regional democracy.

Throughout the 13 years that he worked with us in the Committee of the Regions, Paul was known for his openness and generosity. He was friendly, diplomatic, skilful, and a very experienced political expert and an excellent adviser. He got along with everybody, and will always be remembered by EPP members, colleagues and friends as a man of great professionalism, but also of amazing strength and courage.

His attachment to life and the way he confronted his ALS disease is a source of inspiration for many of us.

He adjusted his life in an admirable way to the increasing difficulties it generated. For the past three years h bravely b l come to workk every dday in his wheelchair. Nothing could stop him from being with us. He liked his job and he liked his EPP team. we saw him He remained until his last days a strong pillar of our Group’s secretariat.

In was an honour to have had him as a colleague, here with us and for us until the very last moments. He will forever remain in our memory and in our hearts. Respecting his will we will not present a condolence book and we will commemorate his memory in our next EPP meeting not with a minute of silence but with a loud applause.

His sudden departure leaves a great emptiness that will never be filled. He will be deeply missed. Each of us not only grieves at the passing of Paul as a great individual, colleague and friend, but also for the loss his family suffers. Our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Learning of Paul Willems’ sudden departure made me deeply sorrowful. I pay an honour to him not only for being a great political advisor but also a very strong and dedicated man. I feel privileged that I had a chance not only to work with him since the year 2002 on several topics important for Europe and its regions but also to learn personally from his commitment, passion and struggle with which he approached his terminal ALS disease, that one should never give up on his dreams and that there are no boundaries to man’s will and dedication. I am happy that we could have him in the midst of our secretariat as long as it was possible for him, supported by the friendship of all those who were around him. I already do and will certainly miss Paul in the future, but I also remain certain that his legacy and spirit will remain influential on the work of both EPP Secretariat and our Members in the CoR. Farewell dear Friend and Colleague!

Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the CoR

Paul was a “Man for all European seasons”. He showed integrity, with sharp political analysis, while remaining gentle in his judgements and deeds. He kept everyone on their toes with his original ideas and critical questions. He would prepare issues thoroughly, with in-depth reflection and constant openness to dialogue, including with representatives of differing views. These values were appreciated by all political groups. Patience, perseverance and diplomacy were his recipe for success. Paul, I would like to thank you personally for the wise advice which I received from you as prime minister, as Committee of the Regions president, and at so many other times.

Luc Van den Brande, Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions

Opolskie voivodeship establishes ‘Special Demographic Zone’ with the support of the EU funds the main factor which dramatically influences the high level of demographic pessimism, i.e. increased willingness to emigrate and decreased willingness to have children. “Special Demographic Zone” is a pioneer project in Poland on how to face demographic problems. Its results and practices will therefore be shared and spread to other regions in Poland and perhaps to other parts of Europe.

One region in Poland is looking to tackle its demographic problems head-on – by creating a “Special Demographic Zone”, something like the special economic zones that several authorities establish in order to attract investors. The difference lies in the incentives of the Opolskie Voivodeship of south-western Poland. The programme encourages families to have more children.

“Special Demographic Zone” aims at

4

restoring the demographic potential through creation of new jobs as well as improvement of the standards of living.

Such a program is indispensable as the forecasted population decline in the region should reach around 12% by 2035.

This is comparable to the whole town of Opole, the capital of the region, disappearing.

“Our situation requires multidirectional policies instruments” says Józef Sebesta, Marshal of Opolskie Voivodeship and EPP member in the Committee of the Regions. The program is divided into 4 packages: 1. “Job is a safe family”, 2.

“Education and job market”, 3. “Crèches and kindergarten care”, 4. “Golden Autumn”.

Experts working on the programme underline that it is essential to discover

The labour market is of primordial importance among the activities planned

within the „Special Demographic Zone”. Experts agree that in order to enhance fertility rates, governments should focus particularly on the employment security. Projects proposed within the demographic zone aim at education development in the context of labour market requirements as well as at family friendly policies and actions to be promoted across the region. The fourth package of the programme contains solutions for an aging population.

It includes actions supporting promotion of the life-long learning and investments in services for older people.

The programme is financed mostly from the EU funds, with an approximate budget of 30mln EUR for 2013-14. Its actions are to be cofinanced within the Human Capital Operational Programme or national budget reserves.

Plenary Highlights – Debate with Commissioner Hahn The 101st Plenary Session of the CoR that will take place on the 30th of May is going to be marked by a debate with the Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn, who is also a Vice President of the European People’s Party. We took this opportunity to ask our Commissioner a few questions:

Above all, we need to ensure that our investments are well targeted, but this entails basic pre-conditions in terms of the regulatory or physical regional or urban contexts. This also goes hand in hand with regions identifying their own development needs and the bases they need to start from in order to achieve their full potential.

How do you see implementation of the future cohesion legislative package for years 2014-2020?

Criticisms have sometimes been levelled at Regional Policy that it lacks punch and is not delivering results. Some have accused it of lacking focus and of simply redistributing resources from rich to poor. We’ve taken these comments on board in our proposals for 2014-2020, striving for a more effective policy, with a multi-pronged approach to achieve our joint goals. We want Member States and regions to make strategic choices, using Cohesion policy to implement the EU’s 2020 growth agenda. This means concentrating investment in fewer, important sectors to maximise impact. We have indicated what these broad priorities should be, but it is up to our partners on the ground to select the best policy mix to meet the individual needs of their regions and cities.

Focus and flexibility has always been my motto.

We also insist on the need to monitor and measure results. Our partnership agreements with Member States and regions have to clearly explain what they intend to achieve with the resources available, and identify a credible set of indicators. This could be a target for access to next generation broadband by 2020 or a decrease in early school leaving, for example.

What is the state of play of the current financial perspective 20072013 in relation to the cohesion policy?

In light of data received by the Member States at the end of 2012 - and as presented in our Strategic Report on Cohesion Policy published this April, I believe we have evidence to suggest that things are moving in the right direction for the future. The results so far are very encouraging in many areas of life: 1.9 million more people have broadband access, 2.6 more people are served by a good water supply. Since 2007, Cohesion Policy has supported over 53,000 Research and Technical Development projects, and more than 53,000 start-up companies have received investment. As new projects come on stream we expect even better results.

This is a good base for us to build on in the 2014-2020 funding period. We want a ‘smart’ future, where our scarcer resources are better used to support growth-enhancing sectors of activity. We request the Member States and regions invest a set amount of their European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocation in the competitiveness of our SMEs – possibly up to a half of the Fund in some regions. We need to support our SMEs to create jobs and to invest in research and innovation so as to be able to compete on global markets.

We also want a ‘green’ future and I am heartened again with the results received thus far – we have strengthened the Union’s internal market by investing in the strategic

transport network – TEN-T, which serves to eliminate the bottlenecks in European’s transport routes, and indeed, in its growth.

Some 460km of these vital road connections have been built through cohesion policy investment, and 334km of TEN-T rail, improving the accessibility of all EU regions and linking its citizens.

These and all the other results we have presented on 18th April are a testimony to the joint will of the Commission and its Cohesion Policy partners on the ground across Europe to use our Policy as the EU’s main investment tool to bring about sustainable growth. Our policy is completely aligned with the objectives of the EU’s longterm growth agenda- the Europe 2020 Strategy; and while we acknowledge that work still needs to be done in some sectors, I am confident that it bodes well for the results we will agree to achieve from future Cohesion Policy investment

What will be EPP’s future political actions ahead of the European Elections 2014? Can investments through structural funds have an impact on the European Elections?

The EPP has a clear political message: we need structural reforms as well as investment in growth and jobs. In this respect cohesion policy plays a crucial role and will do so even more in the next funding period as it is the main investment instrument for our regions and enterprises to get stronger and more competitive. If we want to tackle unemployment in a sustainable way we need to create jobs. Therefore investment in innovation and SMEs is of foremost importance but only if the right conditions are created. I’m sure that this balance between reforms and investment will be one of the most important issues in next year’s election campaigns.

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

5

EPP opinions at Plenary Revision of the EIA directive Rapporteur: Marek Sowa (Marshal of the Małopolska Voivodeship, Poland/EPP) CDR591-2013 – ENVE-V-031

“The EIA Directive will have a significant impact on local and regional authorities, which will have a central role in the implementation of the proposed actions. Contrary to the European Commission’s expectation, the CoR believes that many of the proposed amendments of the EIA Directive will lead to an increased administrative burden for local and rregional authorities in terms of the organisation of management and expenditure. Within this context, the CoR urges that any shift of responsibilities from the developer to the competent authority should be avoided” An Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a procedure that ensures that the environmental implications of decisions are taken into account before the decisions are made. It can be undertaken for individual projects, such as a dam, motorway, airport or factory. Marek Sowa in his opinion underlines that EIAs are a vital environmental tool, which should be developed and improved. Using this tool at the earliest possible stage of a project enables it to reflect environmental issues during construction and future operation of the completed project.

Sowa acknowledges that the main purpose of Directive 2011/92/EU is to ensure that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is carried out for public and private projects that may have a significant effect on the environment, before their authorisation is granted. The principles of environmental assessment have been harmonised throughout the EU and the Directive has become a key instrument of environmental integration and has also brought environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Referring to the European Commission’s proposal for its revision, Sowa welcomes most of the changes as necessary. However, the rapporteur threatens that they should not lead to overextended procedures. Lengthy development consent procedures could undermine the Member States’ economic and social interests, besides threatening the competitiveness of the EU as a whole. In this context he raises concerns over the introduction of an EIA ‘one-stop shop’, and referral to accredited experts.

Marek Sowa also believes that EIA Directive will have a significant impact on local and regional authorities, which will have a central role in the implementation of the proposed actions. Contrary to the European Commission’s expectation, he suggests that many of the proposed amendments of the EIA Directive will lead to an increased administrative burden for local and regional authorities in terms of the organisation of management and expenditure. Within this context, the he urges that any shift of responsibilities from the developer to the competent authority should be avoided.

Additionally, Sowa asks to limit the obligation to carry out an EIA when carrying out demolition work in order to avoid a substantial additional administrative burden. He also considers that coordinated or joint procedures (‘one-stop-shop’) should be voluntary instead of obligatory and is critical of certain new provisions of the so-called screening procedure which give the impression that the screening becomes a “mini EIA”. On the other hand, the rapporteur notes with satisfaction that the Commission’s proposal follows the previous CoR recommendation to introduce mandatory scoping.

7th Environment Action Programme Rapporteur: José M. Correia (Mayor of Faro, Portugal/EPP) CDR593-2013 – ENVE-V-032

“The principle of multilevel governance in relation to the environment should be recognised and put into practice at local and regional level, given the important role local and regional authorities play in the application of environmental ppolicies and the responsibility and commitment they must show regarding the objectives and actions of the 7th EAP”

José Macário Correia in his opinion evaluates the 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP) presented by the European Commission under the title “Living well, within the limits of our planet”. It aims to set guidelines for EU environmental policy up to year 2020 by presenting nine priority objectives to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth protecting at the same time natural environment. Among them there are proposals of phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies, shifting taxation from labour to pollution, drawing up partnership agreements between Member States and the Commission on implementation of EU environmental law, and developing a system for tracking environment-related expenditure in the EU budget.

The rapporteur asks for the 7th EAP to ensure that the EU’s environmental choices remain sufficiently clear and predictable for local and regional administrations. He suggests that the environmental challenges the EU faces, including accelerating climate change, deterioration of our ecosystem and the increasing overuse of natural resources should be better stated in the programme and exposed in a clear manner. The rapporteur calls for the priorities of the 7th EAP to be based on the fundamental principles of environmental law – the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle, the preventive principle and the rectification at source principle and calls to provide the appropriate framework for guaranteeing sufficient funding, in particular for innovation, research and development, through the mobilisation of market instruments and payments for ecosystem services.

Besides, Correia suggests better use of the Technical Platform for Cooperation on the Environment set up together by the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions to facilitate dialogue and exchange of information and to improve practical application on the ground. He also calls for increased local and regional participation in the process of formulating, transposing and evaluating EU legislation, so as to improve implementation of the legislation and facilitate greater ownership.

Finally, he proposes that EAP should require EU cities to implement policies for sustainable urban planning and design by 2020. He believes that in order to achieve that, sustainability indicators should be developed and implemented in close cooperation with local and regional authorities taking into account not only economic, social but also territorial challenges to make sure urban communities are sustainable and healthy places to live and work. Consequently, cities should have easy access to information about and access to financing for measures to improve urban sustainability.

6

Cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs Rapporteur: Anton Rombouts (Mayor of ‘s Hertogenbosch, Netherlands/EPP) CDR2391-2012 – EDUC-V-029

“Limitations lead to creativity. In turn creativity stimulates innovation and economic development and eventually economic growth and wealth. The EU’s international influence is based on imagination, creativity and innovation by ppursuing new ideas, new concepts and new projects. Creative and cultural sectors make a major contribution in this rregard” In his opinion on the “Cultural and Creative Sectors for Growth and Jobs” Anton Rombouts recalls that at a time of financial and economic crisis, culture can play a role in creatively meeting social policy objectives by fostering innovation as a way to achieve social outcomes while contributing to growth. The EDUC Commission chairman urges for culture and creativity to become better integrated in the Europe 2020 strategy, particularly through the Digital Agenda and Innovation Union flagship initiatives. He argues that not only “enterprises” but a complete knowledge system and healthy cultural ecosystem are necessary to support smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Indeed, companies and other organisations active in architecture, artistic crafts, cultural heritage, design, festivals, film and television, music, performing and visual arts, archives and libraries, publishing and radio account for between 3.3% and 4.5% of GDP and employ between 7 and 8.5 million people in the European Union. Despite the evidence collected at European, national, regional and local levels confirming the economic importance of the cultural and creative sectors in the EU, they face major challenges alike: digital shift, globalisation or high fragmentation of markets. Anton Rombouts therefore welcomes the European Commission’s communication on “Promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs in the EU” as a timely strategy that aims at fully using the potential of these sectors for socio-economic development. The opinion praises the high degree of synergy between the positions of the European Commission and the CoR in their approach to culture and creativity as well as respect of subsidiarity principles.

In a globalising world, culture becomes an essential quality of place, that determines attractiveness and thereby competitiveness. In his opinion Rombouts suggests that attractive places with good cultural facilities and a lively and diverse creative climate are more attractive for business and creative and enterprising individuals.

In this context he calls for issues of diversity and identity to be organized at local and regional level, where authorities are best placed to link diversity and identities to development programmes.

Rombouts believes that a community that invests in culture, education and sport is growing wealthier and safer: “This simple fact holds true for a city or a village, its region, an entire state and the whole European Union. There is a powerful story to tell the young Europeans, the fact that we can again build a leading continent”. In this context he underlines that the Commission’s proposal should place emphasis on the five key policy drivers: developing skills; improving access to finance; promoting new business models and enlarging audiences; facilitating cooperation with other sectors and policies; and expanding international reach.

Closing the innovation divide Rapporteur: Markku Markkula (Member of the Espoo City Council, Finland/EPP) CDR2414-2012 – EDUC-V-031

“Discussions about the major societal challenges often seem too abstract and far removed from the practical concerns of kkey stakeholders across Europe - local government officials, SMEs and ordinary citizens. Yet this is where the innovative ppower of Europe lies. Big challenges must be explicitly linked to challenging issues at local and regional level and dealt with there. This will enhance local innovativeness and bring significant amounts of unused potential and collective intelligence into play. Citizens are not simply the beneficiaries of innovation, but actors at the heart of the innovation process” Markku Markkula’s opinion comes as a response to the general request of the Irish presidency for the Committee of the Regions to draw up informed and wellgrounded proposals on how to increase innovativeness and close innovation gaps. Markkula notices that action in the EU and most of its Member States, as well as the regions, in recent years has been marked by the production of numerous high-quality reports and plans. “The EU flagship programmes and plans from various Directorates-General are unquestionably good in themselves, but they are still no more than plans, and they fail to guarantee the change in intellectual approach needed at a practical level in the regions across Europe” – he argues. His opinion is about increasing innovativeness and narrowing innovation gaps, with the help of EU programmes in particular. Markkula stresses that it is essential to move the focus of EU funding and programmes to practical action at local and regional level.

He calls for closer cooperation between R&D projects and programmes relating to the creation, performance and effectiveness of local innovation ecosystems which would form new types of European research partnerships.

Markkula believes that it is digitization that has become recently a driver of change and that convergence towards digital services is speeding up. However, while digitisation is making service development more global than ever, Markkula sees Europe’s position is not optimal: we are not the ones leading the way in this global race – he suggests. Markkula also sees discussions about the major societal challenges as too abstract and far removed from the practical concerns of key stakeholders across Europe - local government officials, SMEs and ordinary citizens - Citizens are not simply the beneficiaries of innovation, but actors at the heart of the innovation process – he explains.

Consequently, Markkula urges the Commission to set up programmes for translating what he calls “grand societal challenges” at national, regional, local levels. They should allow citizens and small business to tell the Commission what their challenges are and provide facilities for translating these local challenges into innovative programmes at the appropriate level. Hence, he proposes so called “rapid prototyping” as an essential methodology for such purpose. Likewise, Markkula stresses that the key success factor in regional innovation strategies is effectiveness in bridging the gap between existing global research knowledge and actual regional practice. In this sense, he sees that EU funding programmes should be aimed at discovering new forms of collaboration and strengthening the connection between existing partnerships. Ultimately they become more open to innovative discovery, and are more clearly based on using the global knowledge resources and on learning from each other. Markkula believes that powerful regional diversity should be central to Europe’s new collaborative advantage.

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

7

Ongoing Opinions Comission

Opinion

Rapporteur

Expected Adoption

BUDGET

Annual EU Budgetary Procedure 2014

Luc Van den Brande (Flanders, Belgium)

October 2013

CIVEX

Local Authorities in Development Cooperation

Hans Janssen (Oisterwijk, Netherlands)

October 2013

CIVEX

Migrant researchers, students, volunteers and other groups

Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos (Egaleo, Greece)

November 2013

COTER

Territorial Impact Assessment

Michael Schneider (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany)

July 2013

COTER

4th Rail Package

Pascal Mangin (Alsace, France)

October 2013

ECOS

Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe

Paweł Adamowicz (Gdańsk, Poland)

October 2013

ECOS

CARS 2020: Action Plan for automotive industry

Christian Buchmann (Styria, Austria)

October 2013

ENVE

EU Space Industrial Policy: Releasing the Potential for Growth in the Space Sector

Adam Struzik (Mazowieckie, Poland)

January 2014

ENVE

Review of EU key waste targets

Michel Lebrun (Wallonie, Belgium)

July 2013

NAT

Tobacco Products Directive

José Antonio Monago Terraza (Extremadura, Spain)

July 2013

NAT

eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 – Innovative Healthcare for the 21st Century

Johan Sauwens (Flanders, Belgium)

July 2013

NAT

Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture

Roberto Ruocco (Cerignola, Italy)

November 2013

JCC Montenegro

Increasing absorption capacity of EU preaccession funds and improving administrative capacity at the local level in Montenegro

Witold Stępień (Łódzkie, Poland) & Aleksandar Bogdanović (Cetinje, Montenegro)

November 2013

Your Agenda 4 June

JCC EU-Montenegro

Podgorica, Montenegro

7 June

ENVE external seminar

Lodz, Poland

12 June

CAFA

Brussels

15 June

SUDEV meeting of ARLEM

Bethlehem

17 June

CIVEX external seminar

Iasi, Romania

19 June

ENVE

Brussels

20 June

Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure

Brussels

21 June

Working Group Turkey

Ankara, Turkey

26 June

Working Group Western Balkans

Novi Sad, Serbia

ECOS external meeting

Graz, Austria

27-28 June

Secretary General: Heinz-Peter Knapp Press Officer: Dominik Krakowiak, dominik.krakowiak@cor.europa.eu, +32 2 282 2539 This issue is also available at www.epp.cor.europa.eu | Join us on

/EPPGroupCoR | follow us on

/EPP_CoR