Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-21-Speech-2-684"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100921.23.2-684"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, one might almost think that Europe was an alpine island. However, I am pleased that the European Parliament has an ongoing concern for the economic and social development of regions with special needs; special areas such as mountain regions, islands and sparsely populated areas.
The Treaty of Lisbon reinforces the importance of territorial cohesion. It is set out as one of the objectives of the Union in Article 174. For this reason, the Commission presented the Green Paper on territorial cohesion in order to initiate a comprehensive process of debate. One of the main results of this consultation was that it is not necessarily new and additional financial resources that are required, but rather we should emphasise the importance of integrated territorial development concepts and give greater consideration to the strengths of the various regions.
As far as I am concerned, the particular characteristics of a region can fundamentally be a strength. Such regional peculiarities – whether it is its status as an island, the fact that it is a mountain region or that it is a sparsely populated area – therefore do not automatically create problems or require greater assistance, especially since these areas are in no way uniform. There can therefore be no ‘one size fits all’ solution for these regions that might seem to belong together.
The Commission considers it of the utmost importance to ensure the harmonious common growth of the regions. I am therefore concerned that we implement our joint Europe 2020 strategy in all regions, rather than applying different strategies to differently structured regions – which might jeopardise our joint efforts rather than supporting them. We therefore feel that there is no need for a separate policy on regions with special circumstances; on the contrary, we must strengthen the integrated approach of our policy in conjunction with other policies, and the regions must try harder to create programmes tailored to their particular needs. We need to strengthen the way the territorial dimension is both designed and implemented in all policy areas.
This gives rise to four priority areas of action. The first is to take regional policy closer to the citizens and into the regions. In the interests of our objective of territorial cohesion, we need to strengthen the consistency of the policy areas at the various levels. That also means really taking the multi-level governance approach seriously and bringing in all the relevant stakeholders when we design and implement our policies. However, it also means making more intensive use of the existing opportunities for cooperation provided by interregional, multiregional and multinational partnerships in order to give greater consideration to the challenges shared by certain areas, such as large mountain regions like the Alps or the Pyrenees.
Secondly, we need to coordinate policies better for the regions. Territorial cohesion also means giving greater consideration to the complementarity and coherence of regional policy and sectoral policy. We need to be clear about how each policy will impact the regions. The Commission has therefore created the Inter-Service Group on Territorial Cohesion, which includes representatives of the various Directorates-General. Its principal task is to analyse the individual sectoral policies and their effects on the regions, and especially on regions facing particular geographical challenges.
Thirdly, we need territorial cooperation to strengthen European integration. Cooperation is of particular importance to regions with specific geographical challenges. It is a matter of finding cross-border solutions to shared challenges, whether in the form of macro-regional strategies such as the Baltic Sea strategy, interregional networks or the exchange of good practice.
Finally, we also need to make greater use of regional knowledge. If we are to achieve a goal-oriented regional development policy that is based on the principle of subsidiarity, thereby supporting the objectives of Europe 2020, we need to know more about the situation of the regions and the effects of political measures. We need an even better monitoring system that is also better able to process the existing data, and we need goal-oriented indicators to ensure our policies are correct. That can only be done jointly with the regions, with regional business and with citizens.
Honourable Members, we need a strong regional policy for all the regions that takes into consideration the differing needs and characteristics of all regions. I am pleased that I will soon be able to have a debate with the European Parliament on the future of regional policy, including these special areas, based on the Fifth Cohesion Report."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples