Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-13-Speech-4-016"
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"en.20051013.3.4-016"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our group gives this own-initiative report a warm welcome and is grateful for the good cooperation.
Much of what has been taken up into this report reflects the work of the urban planning Intergroup, of which the rapporteur is the chairman. Not only towns and regions, but also civil society, face both a major challenge and an excellent opportunity to communicate European policy and its objectives. In Leipzig, from which I come, programmes such as ‘Urban II’ have produced outstanding results, not least by getting the public involved. Direct participation makes possible a European perspective at the local level.
If we squander this potential, we cannot be surprised when many people in Europe see the decisions taken in Brussels or Strasbourg more as interference in their internal affairs than as forward-looking action. What is needed today is an all-embracing approach to urban planning, involving jobs no less than issues around suitability for children and senior citizens, the supply of affordable housing or the development of transport connections.
The urban dimension must, though, also become a horizontal task for the Commission’s Directorates-General, enabling it to be reflected in all policy areas. Whether with regard to the structural funds or to the Lisbon/Gothenburg Strategy, European policy cannot really be successful unless the cities and regions are involved.
My ears pricked up at a recent survey according to which 75% of the cities and municipalities have no concept of what the Lisbon Strategy is. Particularly after what the Commissioner reported today, that should provide food for thought for our Member States, who may be willing to implement the partnership principle on a voluntary basis, but are not prepared to be bound by it. They are probably less inclined to share power.
I therefore look forward with a great deal of eager anticipation to the analysis and the proposals on sustainable urban development that the Commissioner announced this afternoon. This is the way to really get European cohesion policy to work, and I look forward to continued good cooperation between the Commission, Parliament and, eventually, the Council too."@en1
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