Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-27-Speech-2-129"
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"en.20050927.18.2-129"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to spend a few minutes presenting my report on the role of territorial cohesion in regional development.
It is worth pointing out that there have been repeated and insistent calls from a large number of European regions over many years for this concept to be taken into account in EU policies. The accession of 10 new Member States, which has manifested itself in a worsening of regional disparities and the emergence of new territorial inequalities, has singularly amplified the calls for this major necessity. The draftsmen of the draft Constitution for Europe were well aware of this, since Article 3 of the draft Treaty refers to economic, social and territorial cohesion among the essential objectives of the EU.
The problematic fate of the Treaty could lead some of those responsible for regional policy, particularly within the European Commission, to show extreme caution against even referring to the necessity for territorial cohesion. We do not consider this attitude to be justified and I hope, Commissioner, that you will share our viewpoint. Indeed, the tremendous geographical, human and cultural diversity of the territory of the EU, within what is, when all is said and done, a relatively limited area, represents a unique asset on this planet, but, if we are not careful, it contains the seeds for major imbalances that are unbearable for those who view themselves as the victims. This was demonstrated beyond all our fears, unfortunately, during the referenda in France and the Netherlands on the draft European Constitution.
It is probable that popular referenda organised on the same basis would have produced the same result in several other Member States. That is why I wanted my report to contribute to finding answers to the questions raised. How can we reconcile the citizens to the European project? What is the future for Europe? For our Europe.
One of the answers is provided by the cohesion policy, this policy of solidarity that is the original model for the EU and that sets it apart from a simple free-trade area. Besides ensuring that it has the necessary resources, which assumes that it will be taken properly into account in the financial perspective 2007-2013, it is important for it to integrate the territorial dimension into all its aspects. That is how territorial cohesion will come to represent a clear basis that all Europeans can understand for increasing cohesion within the territory of the EU. More particularly in relation to the realisation of territorial cohesion, I will mention a few specific principles and measures.
The principles are as follows: the principle of equality between citizens throughout the territory, which in particular implies appropriate accessibility of services of general interest and services of general economic interest; integration of the territorial aspect into the Lisbon and Gothenburg strategies; multicentric development of the European territory; the role of small and medium-sized towns and their connection with rural areas; strengthening all aspects of territorial cooperation; supported decentralisation to the regions, which are best acquainted with the needs and potential of their territories; multilevel governance, and the participation of non-public partners.
One of the concrete proposals that we are presenting to the Commission relates to the implementation of three instruments. First of all, we are proposing a mechanism for cross-fertilisation between sector-specific policies with a major impact on the development of the EU’s territories and regional development policy. Next, new territorial indicators, in addition to gross domestic product, are needed to measure the development of a region and to assess objectively the obstacles to this development. Finally, we need a system for assessing the impact that various Community policies have on territorial cohesion.
Another proposal relates to the drafting of a White Paper on the objective of territorial cohesion and in particular on how this objective is to be incorporated into the national strategic plans that the Member States are currently in the process of drawing up. I hope, for my part, that tomorrow’s vote will translate Parliament’s broad support into an ambitious territorial cohesion policy."@en1
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