Regions and cities ask European Council to reinforce territorial dimension of EU's growth strategy

Valcárcel to Van Rompuy: "Disparities are on the rise again, mobilize regions and cities to re-focus our efforts on economic, social and territorial cohesion."

A few days ahead of the Spring European Council, a delegation the Committee of the Regions (CoR) led by its President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso met on 14 March with the President of the European Council, Mr Herman Van Rompuy, to discuss how to address the widening gaps among member States and regions as well as to share the proposals drawn up as part of the CoR review of the EU's growth strategy.

The Committee's delegation presented to Van Rompuy the Athens Declaration adopted by the CoR on 7 March, calling for a stronger territorial dimension in the shaping and implementation of Europe 2020 as a key solution to address current shortcomings in the strategy's progress and the increasing gaps among EU member states and among regions.

According to the CoR, a shift of focus on the local dimension in the Europe 2020 strategy should be ensured through the establishment of regional indicators and targets. Furthermore, the current tools to coordinate member sates' macroeconomic policies under the European Semester should be much more oriented towards growth and job creation, providing an assessment of the measures proposed each year as well as of the governance model adopted by each member sate to deliver them. In this perspective, the contribution of regions and cities to the achievement of each member state's goals should also be better clarified and measured.

President Van Rompuy expressed his appreciation for the CoR commitment in revising EU's growth strategy and invited the delegation to make sure that the Committee will continue to provide its contribution along Europe 2020's review process that will be finalised in 2015. As regards the need to establish regional targets for the strategy implementation, Van Rompuy stressed that national governments as well national parliaments should be the key counterparts to improve the current governance model in each Member State.

Committee of the Regions' seven-point plan for Europe 2020

1.   Give the strategy a territorial dimension: Though the strategy has provided a framework for action, it ignores the strengths, weaknesses and development opportunities of European regions. There is a need to set territorially differentiated objectives and targets with updated and extended EU-wide regional data to measure progress locally.

2.   National Reform Programmes in partnership: There is limited involvement of local and regional authorities in preparing National Reform Programmes: they are consulted but not viewed as partners in setting goals and targets.

3.   Making multi-level governance the standard approach: Multi-level governance allows for coordination between different levels of government and is a precondition for the Europe 2020 Strategy to bring added value in terms of growth, jobs and cohesion. Territorial Pacts and multi-level arrangements involving public authorities at all levels can help deliver a renewed Europe 2020 Strategy.

4.   Aligning the European Semester with genuine long-term investment: The European Semester - the annual exercise of co-ordination of fiscal and structural policies by the EU's member states - must be more aligned with Europe 2020 goals covered by the Flagship Initiatives, including related need for long-term investments.

5.   Using the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiatives for enhanced policy coordination: The seven Flagship Initiatives should become a lever to enhance policy coordination at all levels in view of achieving the Europe 2020 targets.

6.   Mobilizing funding for long-term investment, ensuring better spending: the European Commission should publish a Green Paper on budget synergies between all levels of government which would allow them to 'do more with less'. The European Investment Bank should strengthen its support for local and regional authorities. Private funds should be mobilised through innovative financial instruments. The quality of public spending should improve, to make public investments more effective.

7.   Strengthening administrative capacity for more effective implementation: Benchmarking, exchange of experiences and peer learning between regions and cities should be supported by the EU and member states, also by using EU instruments such as the European Territorial Co-operation programmes. A Public Sector Innovation Platform, aiming at supporting and coordinating public sector innovation, should be established.

More information

·       Committee of the Regions’ Athens Declaration on the mid-term review of Europe 2020 – a Territorial Vision for Growth and Jobs
·       Committee of the Regions’ review of Europe 2020: Rethinking Europe’s growth and job strategy
·       Communication from the European Commission: Preparing a review of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

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