Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-17-Speech-4-033"
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"en.20091217.3.4-033"2
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"Mr President, the questions put forward are very pertinent. They underline the importance you attach to cohesion policy as well as your dedication to keep the policy at the heart of European integration.
The Commission has not yet developed a position on what role cohesion policy will play in the delivery of the EU 2020 strategy. But the cohesion policy has the capacity to mobilise regional or local actors across all boundaries in pursuit of European objectives.
In relation to your question whether the Commission intends to publish a White Paper on Territorial Cohesion, at the current stage, a separate White Paper on Territorial Cohesion is not foreseen. Policy conclusions resulting from the public debate on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion will instead be incorporated in the comprehensive cohesion policy legislative package for post-2013 prepared in the context of the Fifth Cohesion Report which, according to the new treaty, is due for submission in 2010.
On your question concerning the role of the European Social Fund in cohesion policy, in pursuing the objective of balanced and sustainable development, cohesion policy plays a crucial role in the delivery of European priorities. This is also the case for the European Social Fund, which will continue to pursue its objectives as defined by Title XI of the new treaty.
Achieving social, economic and territorial cohesion requires appropriate policies and a mix of investments from various levels. Human capital investments financed by the ESF form an essential component of this policy mix in the context of the global knowledge-based economy.
With regard to your question on the role of cohesion policy in relation to other EU policies, cohesion policy provides the EU with its largest source of investment in the real economy. The December 2008 communication of the Commission on ‘Cohesion policy: investing in real economy’, underlined the importance of the policy for focusing on the EU Lisbon Agenda delivery, investing in people, business, research and innovation, priority infrastructures and energy.
The Commission’s current focus is on ensuring that the implementation of the planned investments can be delivered in partnership with national and regional authorities as effectively as possible. This effort involves close cooperation between relevant Commission services and between the Commission and relevant regional and local authorities.
A practical example of cooperation between the Commission services is the ‘Practical Guide to EU funding opportunities for research and innovation’ published in 2007, which was conceived to help potential beneficiaries to find their way through the three funding Community instruments and provides policy makers with advice on coordinated access to those instruments.
As far as the ESF is concerned, the close alignment of its priorities with the Employment Guidelines provides for a direct link between EU employment policy priorities and EU financial support.
Complementarity also exists between actions supported by the cohesion policy and by the rural development policy as clearly set out in the Community Strategic Guidelines of both policies.
I hope that I have responded to some of your questions and I look forward to an interesting debate.
As regards your question on multi-level governance, multi-level governance has been recognised as a fundamental mechanism in delivering EU policy priorities. The growing interdependence between different levels of government in the Union was stressed by the consultation paper launched by the Commission on the EU 2020 strategy.
Cohesion policy is a good example of multi-level governance. It offers a governance system which values and exploits local and regional knowledge, combines it with strategic direction from the Community level, and coordinates interventions between levels of government.
The strengths of multi-level governance were also stressed by the Committee of the Regions in its White Paper of June 2009, where it called on the Union to strengthen mechanisms of multi-level governance and pointed to the leverage effects generated by cohesion policy, which contributed to the implementation of other Community policies as well.
On your two questions concerning the eventual abandonment of Objective 2 and the eligibility of all European regions, in the period 2007-2013, all regions are eligible for structural funds support. Concerning the period post-2013, there is no official Commission position at this stage.
As regards your third question on the weakening of the principle of additionality, additionality is one of the basic principles of cohesion policy. It ensures that the structural funds do not replace the public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State. Thus, it guarantees the genuine economic impact of EU interventions and provides cohesion policy with an important European added value.
As to your question on the regional dimension of cohesion policy after 2013, the Lisbon Treaty maintains the objective of reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least-favoured regions as part of the Union’s remit on economic, social and territorial cohesion under Article 174.
In addition, Article 176 points out that the European Regional Development Fund is intended to help to redress the main regional imbalances in the Union through participation in the development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind and in the conversion of declining industrial regions.
As regards your question on the involvement of regional and local levels of governance in the pursuit of European objectives within the framework of post-2013 cohesion policy, once again, I would like to draw your attention to the Commission’s consultation paper on the EU 2020 strategy, which looks for the active support of stakeholders, such as the social partners and civil society, and recognises that the take-up of the EU 2020 vision across all the regions of the EU will also be crucial to its success."@en1
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