EPP/CoR newsletter October 2013

October 2013

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

11th European Week of Regions and Cities

Message from the President

2 CoR Bureau and Europe 2020 Conference in Vilnius

The OPEN DAYS: European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.

Regions and cities are in the process of finalising preparations for the 2014-2020 cohesion policy, rural development and fisheries programmes. The OPEN DAYS therefore offers a chance to exchange and network on new approaches before the new operational programmes are implemented in 2014.

Regions and cities will also be able to present the results of their 2007-2013 EU-funded programmes and projects, showcasing the impact these have on regional development, i.e. contributing to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

2-3 OPEN DAYS 2013: European Week of Regions and Cities Citizen and business mobility across regions and cities

4 Plenary Highlights EPP-led opinions at Plenary Monthly Horizon: Your EPP/ CoR Video News Bulletin

5-9 EPP Group in the CoR Illustration Competition: Being a European Citizen: how do you see it?

10 Towards secure and affordable energy for all Winter University Act.React.Impact: European Elections 2014

11 Ongoing Opinions Upcoming meetings

“OPEN DAYS 2013 comes at a crunch moment for EU Regional Policy. Negotiations are at a final phase for the legislative package for the new period while regions are working very closely with Commission services to prepare the ground. The new – reformed – Cohesion Policy offers the opportunity to make support from the funds a real investment for the regions by targeting fewer priorities but at the same time building on the individual strengths of cities and regions. This year’s Open Days is the launching pad for the implementation of the new period. I look forward to our discussion on how Cohesion Policy can help transform our cities and regions, making them more competitive, generating growth and creating jobs.”

Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Vice President of the European People’s Party

@EPP_CoR

Now, you can follow us on

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Read more about the EPP workshop on page 4

Energy Security and the Lithuanian Presidency An interconnected, secure and efficient internal energy market is crucial both for the European economy and for the well-being of our citizens. Today Europe needs new drivers for competitiveness.

One of the biggest potential for growth lies in the energy sector. In order to ensure use of this potential, we all need to confront three related challenges in the energy sector today: the security of energy

supplies, the continuing failure to complete Europe’s internal energy market and a balanced climate policy. All require a response at the European level. Only decisive action, bigger solidarity and joint efforts of all EU member states and institutions can address the issue of high energy prices.

Read more about the EPP seminar on page 11

Message from the President Dear colleagues, dear friends, We are beginning our work in the last half-year before the European elections. I believe that the campaign leading to the new composition of the European Parliament should not only be of concern to candidates themselves, but rather that we should all take the responsibility to promote a higher voter turnout. Within our EPP political family, all of us - no matter which level we represent – should feel committed to support to our candidates. During the recent EPP Political Assembly, I heard that our party is on the right track in its preparations for the elections. We will have an election manifesto, through which we will comprehensively inform EU citizens about our principles and policy objectives. We will also present a candidate for the President of the European Commission, who should become the face of our political programme. Together, we share a common goal: for the EPP to become the strongest force in the European Parliament once again. It is only in this way that we can succeed in strengthening the European Union whilst fighting against the economic and financial crisis, in boosting economic growth in all its regions and combating dramatic youth unemployment. And we will only be able to secure the European Commission Presidency if the EPP is the largest Group. It is a goal worth fighting for, also for the members of our EPP/CoR Group. I’m convinced that the interests of the local and regional authorities are addressed by the EPP in the best possible way. No other political force in Europe stands for subsidiarity and multilevel governance as reliably as the EPP does. We, the representatives of the local and regional authorities, are fully respected partners of the national and European stakeholders in the EPP.

CoR Bureau and Europe 2020 Conference in Vilnius

Local and regional environmental issues and the Eastern Partnership were on the agenda for meetings of the Committee of the Regions at the Vilnius National Gallery of Art on 2-3 September. The first CoR event was the meeting of ENVE, which was chaired by Ugo Cappellacci.

A Europe 2020 Strategy development conference entitled “Resource-efficient Europe: the contribution of cities and regions” took place on 2-3 September at the National Gallery of Art. Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, President of the Committee of the Regions, stressed the importance of the EU’s energy

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market in tackling the crisis. Speaking in the presence of the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevičius, President Valcárcel argued that more was urgently needed to improve conditions for greater local and regional energy investment across Europe.

Michel Lebrun, chairing the first session, encouraged local and regional authorities to manage waste sustainably. Adam Struzik and Ugo Cappellacci also took the floor.

The Eastern Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities Conference rounded off the events by adopting political recommendations ahead of the forthcoming

3rd Eastern Partnership Summit of Heads of State. Franz Schausberger called for enhanced cooperation between the EU and the Eastern Partnership and an exchange of good practices. The meeting was attended by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrius Krivas who said “The Eastern Partnership is one of the priorities of Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The valuable recommendations from this conference will make a real contribution in helping to successfully deliver the Eastern Partnership initiative.”

Members on the field which was held in Brussels on 22 July. He joined delegates from both the EU and the six Eastern Partnership countries.

Pauliina Haijanen took part in the 6th meeting of the ARLEM Commission for Economic, Social and Territorial Affairs (ECOTER) in Rabat, Morocco on 4th October to present the CoR perspective on the EU’s experience with macro- regional strategies. She also represented the CoR in the XII General Conference of the Union of the Baltic Cities in Mariehamn, on 2 October.

On 27 September Michel Lebrun met Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment, to speak about the CoR’s view on the review of the European Union’s Key Waste Targets. He also presented good practice from his region at the Sustainable Energy Finance and Investment Summit – CROENERGY2013 on 3-4 October in Tuheljske toplice in Croatia.

Johan Sauwens participated in the workshop “e-Health” organised by the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament, which was held in Brussels on 24 September.

The rapporteur presented the unanimously adopted COR opinion.

Witold Stepien, Marshal of the Lodzkie Region and EPP Task Force “Europe 2020”coordinator for the European platform against poverty and social exclusion invites CoR members to a series

Arnoldas Abramavicius represented the CoR in the preparation of the 8th Forum on the Rights of the Child, which will take place in Brussels on 17-18 December 2013.

During the Steering group meeting on 20th September, he proposed that the CoR/ local and regional authorities could make a valuable input to the forum: namely in terms of child protection systems and bullying.

Ahead of the State of the Union’s debate on 11 September, the President of the Committee of the Regions, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, met with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to voice the expectations and concerns of EU regions and cities. The urgent need for a true territorial dimension in the Europe 2020 Strategy and economic policy coordination were the main issues discussed. Ramon Luis Valcárcel Siso also shared concerns with the Vice-President and European Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, on the future implementation of the Transnational European Network (TEN-T) on 22 July.

Luc Van den Brande participated in the 4th meeting of the EU and the Eastern Partnership Countries’ Foreign Ministers,

of in-depth debates on the subject of social economy regarded as a contribution to a more efficient market competition, and a stimulus for solidarity and cohesion.

Several events will be held in Lodzkie: the

He also attended the NEXPO International Municipal Fair, in Rijeka - Croatia, on 25 September, and represented ARLEM at the 6th Euro Mediterranean Dialogue on Public Management in Marseille, on 7-9 October.

Andrius Kupčinskas hosted the NAT external seminar in Kaunas on July 18-19th.

Shortly after the agreement on the new Common Agricultural Policy, NAT argued that its future seems uncertain unless more financial investment is committed and Europe’s local authorities are more involved.

Anton Rombouts met with Commissioner Vassiliou on 18 July to discuss a follow-up to his opinion on cultural investments. It was an opportunity to work on cooperation for the 29 January 2014 conference and the 2013 edition of the European Culture Forum.

On 24 September Kadri Tillemann presented on “Restoring nature through green infrastructure” at the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.

2nd International Multi-Sector Conference of Social Enterprises in November 2013 and the International Conference on Poverty and Social Exclusion in March 2014.

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

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OPEN DAYS 2013: European Week of Regions and Cities Marking the new timeline towards the Europe 2020 strategy, the OPEN DAYS 2013 will be held under the slogan ‘Europe’s regions and cities taking off for 2020’.

Workshops will address one of the following themes:

national and regional policies and sources of funding • Challenges and solutions: practical solutions to common regional and urban challenges

• Synergies and cooperation: how to cooperate, coordinate and ensure synergies between different EU and

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, will join Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, President of the Committee of the Regions, and Lambert Van Nistelrooij, Member of the European Parliament, for the opening

Free movement across borders is at the very basis of a single market and one of the foundations of the European Union.

However, practical and legal barriers to the mobility of citizens, business activities and investment still persist. The EPP Group workshop at 14.30 on 9 October will focus on

the benefits that citizens gain from the single market, including through the use of various EU programmes for investment in growth and jobs. Citizen and business mobility is an essential element of the Single Market Act II. This renewed call for reduced administrative burden when crossing borders, easier access

• Managing change 2014-2020: innovative approaches to the implementation of the 2014-2020 thematic priorities

session on 7 October. This will be followed by a debate on the implementation of 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, will participate via video message.

Twitter users will be able to exchange information and views during the 2013 OPEN DAYS by using the hashtag #euopendays. The EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions will be tweeting about the OPEN DAYS and the #corplenary from the @EPP_CoR account.

to finance for entrepreneurs and the role of the EURES portal will be addressed at the workshop. The debate takes place in the context of the European Year of Citizenship, the implementation of the Single Market Act II and the Europe 2020 strategy.

EPP members at OPEN DAYS Monthly Horizon: Your EPP/CoR Video News Bulletin Maria Victoria Palau Tarrega will share good examples of creating green jobs for young people in the region of Valencia at the OPEN DAYS workshop on “Green Youth Jobs” coorganised by the UNEP and the Committee of the Regions on 8 October.

Erwin Mohr will present the implementation of the Pay-as-you-throw scheme in his state of Vorarlberg on 9 October. It is an important economic instrument for local and regional authorities in the waste management process during the second meeting of the CoR/EC Technical Platform for Cooperation on the Environment.

Michel Lebrun is the moderator at the same workshop.

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‘Monthly Horizon’ is a new monthly news programme from the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions. Each bulletin will highlight the upcoming events and priorities for the EPP /CoR. It is available on our website and on our dedicated YouTube Channel where you will also be able to find in-depth interviews with EPP Group rapporteurs.

Plenary Highlights Danuta Hübner, Chair of the European Parliament’s REGI Committee, will make a statement to the Plenary Session on 8 October on the implementation of 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes. The following day, Rimantas Sadzius, Finance Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, will present the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency.

Ahead of the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 11 to 22 November in Warsaw, the Committee of the Regions will adopt a resolution entitled “advancing the international climate change agenda”.

Konstantinos Kyranakis, President of youth organisation of the European People’s Party (YEPP) will participate in the EPP Group meeting on 8 October. Following a fruitful meeting with Michael Schneider last month, the EPP Group is looking for ways to further collaborate with YEPP and to further its commitment and involvement with young people.

EPP-led opinions at Plenary The Annual EU Budgetary Procedure 2014 Luc Van den Brande, Chairman of the Flemish-European Liaison, Belgium BUDG-V-006

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ocal and regional authorities are among the main beneficiaries of EU funds. They are involved, directly or indirectly, in managing or spending more than 75% of the EU budget. In his opinion, Luc Van den Brande proposes that the CoR becomes more involved in the EU’s inter-institutional annual budget procedures and implementation.

More specifically, he proposes that the Budgetary Authorities formally consult the CoR on future years’ budgets. The rapporteur also underlines the CoR’s firm opposition to any form of macroeconomic conditionality, especially its extension to all budget headings as it risks heavy penalization of regional and local authorities. Furthermore he calls for close

monitoring of the new programming so as to avoid any negative impact on the mid-term review of the MFF (planned for 2016). Concern is expressed that the MFF 2014-2020 introduces an additional structural deficit in the European budget of EUR 52 billion. Equally important, the opinion states that it is unacceptable that payments are delayed and urges that the payment deadline of 60 days for programmes under shared management to be binding and that legal or financial penalty should be imposed if the deadlines were missed. Despite welcoming the European Commission’s effort to increase transparency by providing information on beneficiaries of EU funding, Luc Van den Brande

criticizes believes this is inadequate and too sketchy to get an accurate overall picture of the European funds spent and managed by regional and local authorities.

Hence, he requests the European Commission to provide, as from 2014, the following information: consolidated data on the amounts of funds received per budget line and type of beneficiary, notably subnational public authorities; the breakdown of outstanding payment claims not only by country but also by category of beneficiary and the amount of funds raised by national/subnational authorities for co-financing EU projects under shared management.

Jean-Luc Dehaene, European Parliament co-rapporteur on the Multiannual Financial Framework and rapporteur on own resources for the EU “In times national budget cuts, it is logical that Member States also put on the brakes when it concerns their contributions to the EU budget. The only way out of this situation is to eventually finance the EU with own financial resources and to lower national contributions. In the short term, the European Parliament insists that the MFF should be a real ‘investment’ budget which can help to generate economic growth in the EU. To achieve this we insist on maximum flexibility.”

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Recommendations for better spending Núñez Feijóo, President of the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain COTER-V-040 Lithuanian Presidency Referral

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fter months of tough negotiations, the leaders of Parliament, the Council and the Commission are very close to reaching a political deal on the EU’s next long-term budget for 2014–2020. The MFF directly affects local and regional authorities’ legal competences when setting up and financing projects related to the Europe 2020 goals. Local and regional budgets also represent a high proportion of public spending in the European Union.

It is for this reason that Lithuanian Presidency of the European Union has asked for the opinion of the Committee of thee Regions. According to the rapporteur, th rapport teur,

better spending is a broad and complex concept which does not automatically mean less spending. Positive developments within regions, as well as the attainment of cohesion objectives, should be taken into account as should the diverse specificities.

This opinion aims to cover simplification and the reduction of administrative burden as well as the creation of positive incentives for growth. It also proposes a stronger focus on knowledge, education, research and innovation.

of administrative burden for the beneficiaries. In this sense, the CoR’s opinion proposes some concrete solutions: the standardisation of procedures and documents, the use of common IT tools and the effective establishment of one-stop shops. In particular, e-administration has proven to play a positive role in the deployment of resources and relations between beneficiaries, the real promoters of wealth creation, and authorities and managers of various activities.

Firstly, we need to concentrate on p cation and the reduction real simplifi

Ingeborg Grässle, MEP, EPP coordinator in budget Control committee “Having done ten years of budgetary control in the European Parliament, these are my “lessons learnt” about better spending at regional and local level: 1. Spend most of the money on the creation of sustainable jobs and growth. Develop your region for the 21st century.

2. Spend it on well-designed projects which will ultimately be able to sustain themselves, and not on projects which require an eternal influx of taxpayers’ money.

3. Train your administration: managing European projects on the spot without an in-depth knowledge of European procurement rules can be a death-trap.

4. Only realise the projects which have an added value for your city and your region. If you don’t have any good project ideas, don’t just spend the money for the sake of spending it.”

4th Rail Package Pascal Mangin, Member of Alsace Regional Council, France COTER-V-036

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he fourth railway package is one of the most important legislative initiatives, which aims to improve train services in Europe before the end of the period in office of the Barroso II Commission and the current European Parliament. The main

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orientations on governance raised so far are the following: rail infrastructure managers should be granted more extensive responsibilities, including for maintenance, traffic management and investment. The establishment of coordinating committees to monitor

their activities is welcome. Within this context, the rapporteur insists that the new package should allow constant monitoring of application of the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity. He stressed that one of the most crucial points of his opinion would

be providing regional authorities - while selecting rail services providers - with a choice between competitive tendering and direct award.. Furthermore, Mangin stressed that effective crossborder cooperation between the relevant authorities must be fostered and guaranteed, so that they can coordinate their transport plans for the different modes, while the European network of infrastructure infra frastru tructuree managers m could facilitate

such coordination and should be set up.

He additionally underlined importance of data sharing since pblic transport plans require accurate data on the market evolution of different transport modes.

Market operators are the main source of information and must share data with the public authorities. He also believes that the regulatory body should fill any gap that may allow discrimination to market access. acccess. Pascal Mangins Mangin’s main n objective o

for the opinion is to avoid social dumping while requiring greater competitiveness of rail transport. The opinion also suggestions that a CoR representative could sit on the management body of the ERA and that a regular report should be drawn up for the CoR on the monitoring of national safety and interoperability rules and the work of the ERA more generally.

Mathieu Grosch MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the European Parliament’s Transport Committee “To achieve a well-functioning European rail sector Member States must commit to investing in rail infrastructure, in line with the commitments made in the negotiations on the Trans-European Networks and Connecting Europe Facilities. While there is likely to be controversy over some of the concrete proposals, for us, ultimately, the goal is to create sustainable jobs in the railway sector and improve public service. This should be achieved via enhanced efficiency, new investments in rail and through a more efficient service to passengers travelling by train or to companies transporting freight by rail”.

Cars 2020: action plan for a competitive and sustainable automotive industry in Europe Christian Buchmann, Styrian regional government minister, Austria ECOS-V-038

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he automotive industry is of strategic importance to the European economy. It is also the biggest private investor in research and innovation.

This Action Plan aims to promote investment in advanced technologies and innovation for clean vehicles, improve market conditions, help access the global market and make improvements to skills and training. The rapporteur broadly welcomes the communication, but states that environmental, climate and road safety measures will all be very

important. Minister Buchmann adds that the industry must work towards climate goals, make economic use of technological advances and promote the use of old vehicles as resources. He also calls for the development of European guidelines on financial incentives to promote clean vehicles. Turning to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Austrian Minister expresses concern at the lack of consistency in the European Commission’s proposals. As far as skills are concerned, the rapporteur supports

the European Parliament’s request for a directive on information and consultation of workers, anticipation and management of restructuring. At the same time, he points to positive experiences from the twin-track training system, in which businesses train workers in the skills they need, and welcomes the creation of skilled jobs from process-oriented recycling.

In his view, demographic change also accentuates the need for more significant investment in research and development.

Amalia Sartori MEP, Chairwoman of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee of the European Parliament “The Action Plan is focused on internal and external issues, with particular attention paid to innovation and investments needed in advanced technologies, to trade, harmonisation and internationalisation aspects and to the smart regulation we need to promote the recovery and relaunch of this crucial sector which provides over 12 million jobs. These four key actions will certainly be followed up in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee in the European Parliament. We have asked and pushed for this Action Plan and we want to see it implemented as soon as possible.”

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

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Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan Paweł Adamowicz, President of the City of Gdańsk, Poland ECOS-V-043

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urope needs more entrepreneurs.

New companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), create more than 4 million new jobs every year – the biggest source of new jobs in Europe. The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, which is broadly supported by the rapporteur, aims to create and support new business. In view of creating an entrepreneurship culture, the rapporteur thinks that Europe has to present entrepreneurship as a viable and promising future career path. Older entrepreneurs cannot be forgotten either in the context of demographic change.

In his opinion, Paweł Adamowicz states disappointment that the role of local and regional has regg ional authorities autho horiti ties es h as not been given n thee

recognition it deserves in the Action Plan.

Not only are the diverse entrepreneurial cultures and ecosystems not taken into account, their responsibility in policies for entrepreneurship, education and training, the labour market and business infrastructure are also underestimated.

The President of Gdańsk would like the European Commission to look into the possibility of creating a new category of mid-sized enterprise between SMEs and large enterprises and for selfemployment and business development to be given a stronger emphasis. He also stresses that local and regional business support providers should ensure that SMEs can benefit from the EU’s Single Market and that economy tha hat the green g e

offers considerable innovation potential.

The Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME) is described as an essential tool for encouraging the competitiveness of European enterprises, but the rapporteur also calls for complementarity between the different EU funding programmes.

Moreover, given the role of local and regional authorities in this area, the rapporteur demands that the Committee of the Regions be invited to future COSME Management Committee meetings. He adds that there is scope for further development of the “European Entrepreneurial Region network” through COSME.

Paul Rübig, European Parliament rapporteur on the Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan “Europe needs more entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial spirit does not just fall from the sky, but must be learned, taught, promoted and set free by the right framework conditions. Much more needs to be done here. We urgently need ground-breaking and effective measures, not well-intentioned announcements.”

Empowering Local Authorities in partner countries for enhanced governance and more effective development outcomes Hans Janssen, Mayor of Oisterwijk, the Netherlands CIVEX-V-041

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ans Janssen welcomes the new European Commission communication on local authorities for development and finds it to be an important step in the explicit recognition of LRAs’ political role as policy-makers and decision-makers in development policy, requiring an adequate level of autonomy, capacity development and financial resources. He agrees with the Commission that centrally-led, top-

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down policies and programmes cannot on their own succeed in addressing the complexities of sustainable development and fighting poverty, and that public and private actors have their role to play, especially at local level. He thus urges the Commission to translate these observations into the priorities and suggests that LRAs should be fully involved in the preparation and implementation of such cooperation

programmes. Janssen believes that European LRAs possess a wealth of experience in many areas in which LRAs in partner countries need to build capacity. These experiences can be transferred, inter alia through peerto-peer knowledge-sharing, and applied to local circumstances. There is a key role for the CoR in stimulating and coordinating LRAs’ development efforts and the rapporteur offers the CoR’s

continued cooperation in the further shaping and implementation of EU development policy. Janssen also believes that political will is a condition for successful decentralisation. He suggests there is a need for increased financial allocations to activities in support of decentralisation and the empowerment of LRAs and their associations.

This is particularly important since Commission’s direct contributions to decentralisation have diminished over the past years. In the context of budget support, Janssen’s opinion suggests that the EU should also support systems to monitor financial transfers from central government to LRAs. At the same time he points out that the requirement for

co-financing prevents the participation of certain actors in both EU Member States and Partner Countries. To avoid this situation, he encourages the Commission to adopt the rules (Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulations) for full financing “where it is in the interests of the Community to be the sole donor to an action”.

EU space industrial policy Adam Struzik, Marshal of the Mazovia Region, Poland ENVE-V-030

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obile phones, the Internet, credit cards, road tolls, television broadcasts and weather forecasts are a few examples of everyday life functions which partially or wholly rely on satellites.

Other more strategic functions include for example farming, monitoring of ocean and wind currents, navigation for ships and aircraft, monitoring of emergencies, pollution, climate and the environment.

Adam Struzik, Marshal of the Mazovia Region, outlines the growing impact of the space sector and the need for the EU to be more active and efficient in that field. Struzik stresses that the space sector as a key element of the Europe 2020 Strategy and its Flagship Initiatives is crucially important to the knowledgebased economy, influencing Europe’s future economic competitiveness. The EU’s stronger presence in coordination and funding of research in this area is needed especially as contrary to other

space advanced countries of the world, the European defense industries do not set initial standards and activities.

Struzik suggests that a joint European defense policy decision could facilitate cooperation among national military sectors, from which the civil space sector would also benefit. Struzik acknowledges that EU space industry has a major impact on Europe’s scientific and technological standing as well as broader economy. He considers the participation of SMEs in the supply chain as an essential component of its competitiveness. Consequently, he calls the Commission to further assess the need for new innovative financial instruments. The Marshal of the Mazovia Region underlines that it is absolutely crucial for the European Union and its Member States, in concert with the European Space Agency, to take the necessary political, legal and technical

decisions to provide for the requisite financial resources. Struzik suggests that services and applications developed on the basis of space technologies could be co-financed from the Structural Funds, provided that there is enough political will and awareness on the part of those managing the funds.

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EPP Group in the CoR Illustration Competition Being a European Citizen: how do you see it?

Laura Gaynor, the eighteen year old filmmaker from Sligo, Ireland has won the first prize in the EPP Group’s illustration competition, which will be presented in the EPP Group meeting on 8 October. Her artwork won the contest just ahead of an

illustration from Tiago Veras, architect and urban planner from Lisbon, Portugal, who will receive the second prize. Laura’s winning illustration “Because I’m an EU citizen I have the freedom to study all over Europe” captures two students in similar position

behind their desks, with different views behind their windows: one with the Irish fields and other with the famous Eiffel tower in Paris.

1st prize photo Laura Gaynor (Ireland) “Because I’m an EU citizen I have the freedom to study all over Europe” We asked a very difficult question and Laura provided us with quite a straightforward answer. Simple can also be beautiful and that is what has made this illustration a winning one. Erasmus is a cornerstone project of the European Union. It lets not only young people discover, learn, study the complexity of our European lifestyles, traditions, habits.

It lets people discover differences and commonalities we share on the continent.

And the learning process portrayed on this picture seems to be of crucial importance to understand what really hides behind the European identity and perhaps to its creation too.

Michael Schneider, Head of the Jury

2nd prize photo Tiago Veras (Portugal)

“Being a European Citizen means to have a word to say, tomove the community, to do the path”

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The Jury also awarded the two following illustrations with an honorary mention:

Illya Rozenbaum (Belgium)

Miroslav Hajnos (Slovakia)

“Europe. Ageing and Proud of It”

“United in diversity is the motto of EU, but also motto of me as European citizen!”

Towards secure and affordable energy for all A secure energy supply is a precondition to smart, sustainable and economic development. It gives people the means to communicate, work, travel and live. However, energy security remains a major challenge in Europe and beyond. On 18 October, the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions will gather in Kaunas, on the invitation of Mayor Andrius Kupčinskas, to consider the most critical energy challenges. The meeting will take place one day after the World Energy Congress concludes its debates on the Energy Trilemma in Korea. Andrius Kubilius, leader of the Homeland Union –Lithuania Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) and former Prime Minister of Lithuania is also set to attend.

The EPP Group is convinced that any successful EU policy for energy must take the interests of both producers and consumers into account. The environmental and climatic impacts must also be duly considered.

“Government has a difficult task in striking the right balance between securing energy

supplies, providing universal energy access and promoting environmental protection” according to Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions. “Addressing this task requires a long-term vision, well-defined milestones and proper analysis of the real costs. Given that 70% of EU energy is used in urban areas and against the backdrop of the global economic downturn, we are calling for improved cooperation between the different levels of government.”

The important role of regions and municipalities in terms of coordinating local energy development is well founded. The meeting will therefore be an opportunity to hear how investment in local sustainable energy projects contribute to the achievement of the EU energy and climate objectives while boosting local economies, creating local jobs and improving the EU’s energy security.

Energy efficiency and alternative low-carbon energy technologies will also be addressed.

Act.React.Impact:

Winter University The 8th edition of the EPP Winter University for local and regional media will take place on 5-7 November 2013 under the title Act. React. Impact: Communicating with local and regional voters. This event aims to give journalists the opportunity to discuss their role in communicating on Europe whilst also providing them with the necessary tools and contacts to talk more about Europe.

This is particularly relevant in view of the forthcoming 2014 European Elections. In today’s European Union of 28 Member States, regions and cities have major powers in key sectors such as education, the environment, transport and economic development. Despite these competences, citizens are unaware of the impact local and

regional authorities can have on EU policy making. There has also been a call for more decentralised communication in Europe. The Winter University will cover topics including local and regional storytelling in the EU, the role of local media in the European elections, reporting the financial and economic crisis on the ground and how social media can play a role in making news local.

European Elections 2014 The official run-up to the 2014 European elections began on 10 September, when the European Parliament launched its awareness and information campaign.

This campaign will continue beyond the elections themselves, until the newly-elected Parliament in turn elects the next European Commission President.

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

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Ongoing Opinions Comission

Opinion

Rapporteur

Expected Adoption

CIVEX

Enlargement Strategy 2013

Arnoldas Abramavicius, Mayor of Zarasai municipality, Lithuania.

tbc

COTER

Evaluation of Macro-Regional Strategies

Pauliina Haijanen, Member of the Executive Board of Laitila City Council

November 2013

ECOS

Opinion on the Directive on E-Invoicing And On End-to-End E-Procurement

Catarina Segersten Larsson, Member of the Assembly of Värmland County Council

November 2013

EDUC

Disability, Sport and Leisure: A Major Element Of The Sport For All Project, Part Of The Europe 2020 Strategy

Jacques Blanc, Mayor of La Canourgue, France

November 2013

EDUC

European higher education in the world

Csaba Borboly, President of Harghita County Council, Romania

February 2014

NAT

Strategic Guidelines for the Sustainable Development of EU Aquaculture

Marialuisa Coppola, Councillor of the Veneto Region, Italy

November 2013

NAT

Health Inequalities in the European Union

Constance Hanniffy, Offally County Councillor, Ireland

tbc

NAT

EU Forest Strategy

Spyros Spyridon, Councillor of the Region of Attica, Greece

tbc

JCC Montenegro

Increasing Absorption Capacity of EU Pre-Accession Funds and improving Administrative Capacity at the Local Level in Montenegro

Witold Stepien, President of the Łódzkie voivodeship, Poland (and Aleksandar Bogdanović, Cetinje, Montenegro)

November 2013

Upcoming meetings 18 October

EPP Group seminar

Kaunas

EPP Winter University

Brussels

7 November

CAFA

Brussels

8 November

PMG (CoR & EESC)

Brussels

13 November

EDUC

Brussels

14 November

Ad Hoc Budget

Brussels

25 November

CIVEX

Brussels

14 November

WG Western Balkans

Brussels

20 November

JCC Montenegro

Brussels

21 November

WG Turkey

Ankara

5-7 November

Secretary General: Heinz-Peter Knapp Editor in chief: Kathryn Owens, kathryn.owens@cor.europa.eu, +32 2 282 2400 | Press Officer: Dominik Krakowiak This issue is also available at www.epp.cor.europa.eu | Join us on

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