Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-23-Speech-2-223"
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the concept of innovation is increasingly present in our objectives and policies at European and national level. However, we have a unique opportunity, within the framework of the Commission communication on innovative measures under Article 6 of the European Social Fund, to approach innovation in the strategy for employment, rather than solely within the bounds of the application of new technologies.
In fact, innovative measures under Article 6 of the European Social Fund can play a vital role in increasing employment and enhancing regional and social cohesion, the
to our strategic objectives, and we must not just make use of them, we must also take action to make up for lost time and lost resources, because the guidelines for innovative measures were only finally adopted a full year after the adoption of the structural fund regulations, which made delays in implementation unavoidable. And, apart from limited funding, resources totalling EUR 104 million have been cut from innovative measures and technical assistance in order to cover old liabilities from the previous programming period. Similarly, despite the swingeing cuts in these resources, the Commission failed to commit some EUR 31 million during the 2000 financial year and allowed these appropriations to be cancelled instead of transferring them to the following financial year.
Today, we wish to express our satisfaction at the fact that the European Commission has responded to the call by the European Parliament for a new plan on the content of innovation, how it is to be managed, how the measures implemented are to be evaluated and the strategy for disseminating the results. However, we also wish to express our concern as to the efficiency of this proposal, which is vaguely worded and riddled with weaknesses.
We understand, Commissioner, that innovation is a multidimensional, composite concept and, as such, hard to define and confine to specific sectors or lines of action. At the same time, we find that there has been no fundamental evaluation of previous innovative actions, which could have provided a basis for future planning. We also find that social partners and social agencies are lacking in experience and face difficulties in their attempt to approach this concept and design innovative measures.
That is why we propose that the European Commission should adopt fixed criteria to be taken into account in fixing support priorities for and selecting projects and to state them clearly in calls for proposals. These criteria are: the direct relevance of projects when it comes to increasing employment, really innovative features as regards the planning and implementation of the measure, the quality and viability of the measure and the potential for the circulation and dissemination of the results within the framework of the European Social Fund.
The European Commission is also vague on the question of complementarity. Complementarity in European policy is extremely important to the sound management of resources and their multiplier effect. The importance of complementarity is clear from this morning's debate. However, I believe, Commissioner, that complementarity should under no circumstances mean that innovative measures will lose their specific and distinctive character, nor should it mean the deletion of budget lines referring to related but separate sectors of activities.
The description of thematic fields is also vague, especially when it comes to the social partners. The social partners have an important role to play. We all support it but they themselves are ignorant of it. They themselves are ignorant both of the potential which European policy affords them and of the extent of their responsibility for creating a real European job market and increasing employment at local level. We need to help them, perhaps with some clearer guidelines and examples. It would be more helpful as regards the substance of innovative measures if, when defining the thematic fields for 2002 and subsequent years, the European Commission consulted the European Parliament and the Committee on the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee before announcing the thematic sectors.
We particularly welcome your reference, Commissioner, to equal opportunities and believe that this principle should distinguish not just how men and women are treated but also access to the policy on innovative measures by regions which lack innovation and face particular structural problems, such as mountain and island regions. If we believe that a quantum leap beyond our standard policies is needed in this sector of activity by the European Social Fund, then this also needs to be expressed in the policy for evaluating and disseminating results. We believe that the European Commission should design pioneering methods which are more penetrating and efficient than those applied to date. Setting up a special unit to manage innovative measures is a good move and we hope that it will be suitably staffed by officials who can help it carry out its duties.
Of course, your efforts alone will not suffice and the Member States must not be left out of this process. The dissemination of information and technical assistance for interested parties need to be promoted through specially staffed units operating in an optimum manner at regional level."@en1
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