Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-21-Speech-4-008"
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"en.20080221.3.4-008"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this morning we are discussing two parliamentary initiative reports, but I feel both of them are extremely important for a number of reasons.
Firstly, we are considering the Commission’s Fourth Report on Social and Economic Cohesion. This is a truly remarkable document, much better than the previous versions, and it constitutes a firm basis for all manner of reflections on the future of cohesion within Europe. It is also important because the brand new Lisbon Treaty establishes territorial cohesion as one of the EU’s main objectives. As we know, new and formidable challenges are now looming together with those we are already aware of, and cohesion policy must make a major worthwhile contribution to their consideration, to allow us to move forward to the Europe we want to see: that is, an effective, solidarity-conscious Europe.
What does the Fourth Report show us? That social and economic convergence between the Member States is moving in the right direction, with a definite reduction in discrepancies in terms of income and jobs over the last decade, but also that there are still considerable disparities between regions, and occasionally within regions, with a frequent tendency to become more acute. Development is real enough, but is plagued by far too many imbalances. It is here that the new concept of territorial cohesion comes into its own, and this is where it must take centre stage in the continuation of regional development throughout the EU alongside economic and social cohesion. Implementing this will require an integrated approach among sectorial policies, and genuine multi-level governance.
Here we await with interest, and I must say with some impatience, the Commission’s Green Paper in September. There is an obvious need for a common language on this issue, as emerged from our discussions in the Committee on Regional Development.
The teachings of the Fourth Report project our thoughts to after 2013, since operational programmes for 2007-2013 are now in place at almost all locations. One of their main features is a credit earmarking system to channel the basic essentials of resources towards the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda. While we wish to stress the close relationship of priorities between the Lisbon Strategy and cohesion policy, we feel the latter must forge beyond this sphere and take up a position within a broader perspective.
Our report firmly states that convergence on different levels is a prior condition for long-term competitiveness in the regions, and that in years to come complementarity of the two policies will be necessary to reconcile effectiveness and solidarity. Periodic assessment over the 2007-2013 period, which we are calling for, must allow us to confirm the appropriateness of the process, or to implement any adjustments that may be necessary in a properly informed fashion. Questions must also be asked as to the dissociation implemented over the current scheduling period between rural development and regional policy. Its relevance does not appear to be well established on the ground, and we feel that maintaining this separation after 2013 may pose a problem.
Our report emphasises the new challenges to be faced by the EU and their substantial territorial impact. There are problems such as population ageing, climate change, energy, urban concentration etc. We feel that necessary and urgent convergence and an appropriate territorial approach for these challenges call for enhanced political and financial cohesion policies after 2013. In this perspective, Parliament will staunchly oppose, as it has always done, any attempt to renationalise the policy.
I wish to finish, Madam President, by thanking the shadow rapporteurs, who were of great assistance to me in this task, for the large number of compromises we were able to achieve. I also wish to emphasise coherence with Mrs Kallenbach’s report. I think it would be good if a fully coherent whole were presented in the House today."@en1
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