April rEPPorter newsletter

April 2014 The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

Message from the President

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Members on the field

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The EU Budget and a plea for better spending

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Athens Summit: European Recovery, Local Solutions

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Focussing on youth for the EPP Study Visit

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Dublin Congress

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Summit of EPP regional and local politicians, Poznan, 25 April 2014

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Centre for European Studies renamed in honour of its founder Wilfried Martens

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Plenary Highlights

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For a Europe with regions and cities: the view of young people

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EPP values brochure

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EPP-led opinions

@EPP_CoR

Now, you can follow us on

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“Europe is about people! Therefore it is also about regions. For regions are closer to people than nation-states or the EU institutions. People are at home in their regions. That’s where they really live and work. That’s where they raise their children. That’s where they go to school.

That’s where they can be themselves.

So regions are absolutely crucial to our common future in continental unity and both in national and regional diversity.

And regions are also the place where sustainable growth becomes a reality. As Commission president, regions and regional policies will therefore be one of my political priorities. So I can assure you that I will work closely with the EPP Group in the too often underestimated Committee of Regions. Relaunching our regions is definitely part of my vision for Europe!”

JC Juncker, EPP Candidate for President of the European Commission

EPP Congress A delegation of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions, led

by President, Michael Schneider, and including Nikola Dobroslavić,

Michel Lebrun, Constance Hanniffy, Roberto Pella, Arnoldas Abramavičius, Anders Knape, and Ivan Žagar, actively participated

in the Dublin EPP Congress on 6-7 March.

Read more on page 6

Summit of EPP regional and local politicians Just one month ahead of the European Parliament elections, the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions has joined forces with the European

Athens Summit

People’s Party and Platforma Obywatelska to host a summit of EPP regional and local politicians as part of the official EPP 2014 campaign. The Under the title “European Recovery, Local Solutions”, Europe’s political leaders reviewed the challenges and solutions being undertaken by EU

objective is to demonstrate tangible benefits of EU membership, which are relevant to the daily lives of citizens.

Read more on page 7

regions and cities to promote growth and jobs and tackle the crisis.

Read more on page 4

On 7-8 March, more than 800 participants discuss the EU’s growth and jobs strategy, the upcoming European elections as well as the main challenges facing the Union at the 8th Summit of Regions and Cities in Athens.

6th EPP/CoR Study Visit Thirty European students enrolled in a Master’s degree programme related to European Affairs will visit the EU with the EPP Group in the CoR this

April 1-3. In addition to witnessing key opinions being adopted at the CoR Plenary Session, participants will learn about the pivotal role of

local and regional actors first-hand before casting their vote in the 2014 European Elections.

Read more on page 5

Message from the President With less than two months before Europe’s citizens head to the ballot box to elect the next European Parliament, we, in the CoR, are also stepping up our work for the election campaign. I am delighted to report our active involvement at the EPP Congress in Dublin where we elected Jean Claude Juncker as the EPP candidate for President of the European Commission and confirmed Joseph Daul as President of the EPP. What’s more, on the initiative of the EPP Group in the CoR, EU local and regional politicians will showcase tangible benefits of EU membership at an EPP Summit of local and regional authorities in Poznan, Poland, on 25 April.

This innovative event is an official part of EPP 2014 campaign and recognises the importance that the EPP places on its

local and regional authorities as the elected representatives closest to citizens.

I have also been following the situation in the Ukraine with great interest and growing concern. Following the fact finding mission led by our President, Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso, earlier this year, it seems the situation has continued to dominate our current affairs. The referendum on 16 March was illegal and I am glad that the EU Foreign Affairs Council and responded. The debate with Vladimir Groysman, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister, could not come at a better time and I hope we can offer a clear message of support to the local and regional authorities in the Ukraine.

The recent events in the Ukraine serve as a reminder of the importance of our

European values. A vote for the EPP in the May elections will be a vote for a Europe where commitment, responsibility and solidarity matter.

Members on the field President Van Rompuy invited the delegation to continue providing a contribution to the Europe 2020’s review process, which will be finalised in 2015.

In his capacity as rapporteur on enhanced good governance and more effective development outcomes, Hans Janssen participated in a conference for local authorities in The West African Economic and Monetary Union on 31 March.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe celebrated its 20th anniversary at the plenary session on 25-27 March, under the presidency of Herwig van Staa. Luc Van den Brande participated on behalf of the CoR and Anders Knape represented the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.

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On 24 March, ECOS members met in La Rioja, Spain, for a seminar hosted by Pedro Sanz Alonso on how policies at the local and regional level can be instrumental in the promotion of work-life balance. Fellow EPP member, Emilio Del Río Sanz, was a moderator.

Sirpa Hertell took part in a conference entitled “Clean energy for 2030 and beyond: cities and regions walk the talk” on 13 March in Brussels. She underlined how EU targets can support development and competiveness at the local level, in her capacity as rapporteur on the CoR’s 2030 opinion.

Assemblée Régionale et Locale Euro-Méditerranéenne Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly

Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso and Michel Lebrun met with Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, on 14 March. They discussed how to address the widening gaps among EU regions.

The Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) met on 24th February in Tangiers, Morocco. Implementing a cohesion policy for the Mediterranean, the creation of

a macro regional strategy and strengthening the capacities of local and regional authorities were on the agenda.

Vladimir Kissiov joined more than 100 mayors and representatives of local authorities from around Europe for a discussion about challenges and opportunities around the free movement of citizens on 11 February, alongside Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso.

During the conference he stressed that free movement is a fundamental right in the EU and that EU citizens should not be considered immigrants when they move to another Member State.

Constance Hanniffy participated in an awareness raising event on childhood cancer organised by the European Society of Paediatric Oncology on 20 February. As she noted, “Acting on health inequalities requires intersectoral action across many areas that are the remits of local and regional authorities.”

The ENVE Commission debated circular economy, resource efficiency and waste policy with Commissioner Potocnik on 12 February. Cor Lamers asked the Commissioner for a multi-level approach to environmental policy and specifically when drafting and implementing air policy.

The EU Budget and a plea for better spending that “the implementation of projects on the ground is what matters… For those that are ready, I believe implementation could take place before the Summer holidays.”

Implementing the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 was the focus of debate between members of the Committee of the Region’s and budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski on 13 February. “Neither the shape of cohesion policy nor the MFF correspond exactly to our dreams.. the final result is a programme of less money for more Europe” said the Commissioner. However, he underlined

The debate on the execution of the EU Budget was opened by CoR rapporteur, Adam Struzik, who underlined the main difficulties for budget implementation: effectiveness of management systems, quality of national legal frameworks, availability of resources for co-financing interventions, administrative capacity, coordination among the involved governance levels, including between the concerned EU institutions. “EU citizens have a right to know how EU money is being spent. And we have to do our utmost to ensure these EU funds are spent efficiently and successfully “ he said before calling for smart objectives and suitable indicators.

Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group, addressed the Commissioner to praise his ambition and achievement under the MFF: “We are committed to taking up these new insturments and resources and translating them into new projects.” He also noted that the regions should not always be the first to get the blaim: “Before criticising the actors, perhaps we should look at the script and the stage directions to see where the problems arise.”

Luc Van den Brande added “ Even if there is less budget, citizens expect that it is well managed. For this we need good governance and appropriate, specific agreements, which will lead to better spending.”

Commissioner Lewandowski also proposed that there should be more cooperation with the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund in the future so that lending can be increased.

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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Athens Summit: European Recovery, Local Solutions

“The Committee constitutes the link between local and regional communities and the EU’s institutions responsible for adopting legislation affecting hundreds of millions of citizens. New jobs and sustainable growth are the key-words for the new era that Europe is entering.

We should implement specific policies for the two major issues we have to address: Firstly, we need to lay the foundation for a high competitiveness performance and Secondly, we have to make the best value-for-money allocation of the Cohesion funds.”

Kostis Hatzidakis, Minister of Development and Competitiveness, Greece.

The delivery of the Europe 2020 Strategy is being undermined by a lack of sufficient involvement from local and regional government, the CoR concluded during its European Summit of local and regional authorities in Athens on 7-8 March. On the eve of the Spring European Council and just months ahead of the European Parliament elections, the CoR warned against a “territorially blind” approach in the Athens Declaration, which sets out a seven-point plan for reform.

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Give the strategy a territorial dimension National Reform Programmes in partnership Making multi-level governance the standard approach Aligning the European Semester with genuine long-term investment 5. Using the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiatives for enhanced policy coordination 6. Mobilising funding for long-term investment, ensuring better spending 7. Strengthening administrative capacity for more effective implementation During his opening speech, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, said: “Although there are signs that growth is back in Europe, there are unacceptable disparities between regions. We need to reconsider our direction so that it is easier for our cities and regions to shape the strategy and take ownership. If we don’t want to fail again, the EU’s growth strategy needs regional targets, partnerships between all levels of government and sufficient funding to make recovery real for all our citizens”.

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The President of European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, joined the Committee of the Regions President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso in a debate on the future of Europe on the second day.

Recognising the sacrifices taken by Greece in recent years, President Barroso delivered a message of hope saying: “We are in a phase where growth is the centre of all our action. The priority is jobs, jobs and jobs. Nonetheless, we can’t forget that some of our countries were in a desperate situation when they asked the EU for support. The worse phase is now over but we must maintain our commitment against excessive public and private debt, since we cannot have growth without balance”.

Focussing on youth for the EPP Study Visit

The 6th EPP/CoR Study Visit of Masters students will take place alongside the CoR April Plenary. For many of these students, it will be the first time that they are eligible to vote in the European elections. During these three days, the students will debate such diverse topics as multilevel governance with Luc Van den Brande, smart specialisation with Markku Markkula and youth employment with Connie Hanniffy.

They will also meet with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, who will underline the tangible benefits of EU membership and they will share their views and hopes for the European elections with MEPs, Youth of the EPP and the European Democrat Students.

The crisis has hit young people harder than anyone else: today more than 5 million Europeans under 25 are unemployed in the

28 countries of the European Union. Young people are not only faced with the difficulty of searching for a first job without previous working experience; they also have to face a rapidly-changing job market and a struggling economy that is striving for growth. There have been several EU-level initiatives to tackle this issue with which the CoR has been actively involved. For example, the EPP Group has supported the Youth Employment Initiative whereby EUR 6 billion of funding has been made available to regions with high youth unemployment. This initiative is one of a series of practical measures to assist Member States in addressing unacceptably high levels of youth unemployment and the resulting social exclusion. The Committee of the Regions has also stressed the key role that local and regional authorities play in framing and implementing measures to combat unemployment, providing young people with opportunities and support, and exchanging good practice. Despite this praise, concerns have been raised surrounding the absorption of these funds into the regions that need it most.

The Youth Guarantee seeks to ensure that a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship is offered to all young people within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving

formal education. In its Resolution on the Youth Guarantee, the CoR expressed the need to involve local and regional authorities to achieve this ambitious goal, given their key competences in employment, training and education. The state of play of the Guarantee’s implementation and the role of local government still needs to be clarified.

Overcoming regional disparities EU-level employment figures mask substantial variations among both Member States and regions. For example, youth unemployment figures in 2012 were 8.7% in Austria and 53.2% in Spain, and similarly, 4.2% in Oberbayern (DE) and 72.5% in Dytiki Makedonia (EL). Addressing youth unemployment requires coordinated action at all levels of government. Members may therefore be interested in potential initiatives by the European Commission to showcase the best practices of regions that have successfully addressed youth unemployment.

In addition, the issue of a decision-making structure and whether the level of autonomy of a region affects its performance could be worthy of further investigation.

This will also be a topic of debate with László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion during the Plenary Session.

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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Dublin Congress account.” MEPs Elmar Brok, Doris Pack and Nadezhda Neynsky joined the debate.

On the second day, the Congress elected JeanClaude Juncker, the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, as the EPP candidate for President of the European Commission. He will spearhead the EPP’s EU-wide campaign leading up to the European elections from 22 to 25 May. The Congress also adopted the EPP Electoral Manifesto and EPP Action Programme 2014-2019, which are both available on the website of the Congress at http://dublin2014.epp.eu.

Nearly 3,000 delegates, guests and journalists took part in the European People’s Party 2014 Elections Congress in Dublin on 6-7 March, which confirmed Joseph Daul as EPP President.

During a panel debate on the future of European policies, Michael Schneider underlined the added value of local and regional authorities’ proximity to citizens and their needs:

“We work hard on a daily basis to

address the problems facing our regions – for example creating jobs and boosting investment. Such things can only be solved if we involve local citizens because they are the people most affected. Being the closest link to European matters on the ground, we, in the Committee of the Regions, work hard to influence European decision making and ensure that it takes their needs into

The EPP Merit Award was given to the late EPP President Wilfried Martens in memoriam. In a powerful tribute, EPP President Joseph Daul underlined the invaluable contributions of President Martens to the party and to the European project. In the week that followed, the Bureau of the European Parliament announced that the new European Parliament building will be named the Wilfried Martens Building. With this decision, the European Parliament is paying tribute to the achievements of the former EPP President who passed away in October last year.

Ongoing cooperation with EPP and the EPP Group in the European Parliament Constance Hanniffy participated in the EPP’s Working Group 2 dedicated to economic and social affairs on 10 February.

She contributed to the EPP Resolution on priorities for reducing bureaucracy and cutting red tape while highlighting the importance of this issue in Europe’s regions and cities.

On 27 January, Michel Lebrun attended the EPP Political Assembly on behalf of EPP/ CoR President Michael Schneider and made

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an invitation to the summit of EPP regional and local political leaders in Poznan on 25 April.

Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso and Marek Sowa, Marshal of the Małopolska Region, took part in a debate on optimising EU funds to get out of the crisis in Krakow on 21 February, as part of the EPP Group in the European Parliament Bureau Meeting.

Addressing participants, the President of the CoR said: “We have a political responsibility

to create a Europe of solutions. Europe is not the problem, it is the solution. That is why we have to ensure that public spending responds to the challenges that citizens are facing”.

Summit of EPP regional and local politicians, Poznan, 25 April 2014 It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Poznan: the capital city of the Wielkopolska region. The Summit of the European People’s Party’s regional and local political leaders of 25 April 2014 is an important part of the EPP and Platforma Obywatelska’s election campaigns for the European Parliament.

As the President of the host region, I am proud that Wielkopolska will showcase how to invest European funds in a smart way, bringing growth and jobs to our regions and cities, respecting the environment around us and making people’s lives better!

will join us in Poznań to present his electoral programme.

Joseph Daul, President of the EPP and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament

I look forward to welcoming you to Poznań,

Economic recovery and job creation are two objectives that cannot be reached without the leading role of local and regional authorities.

Indeed, their budgets contribute up to 34% of total public spending in the European Union.

We’re happy that our meeting in Poznań will serve as a platform for key EU decisionmakers at European, national, regional and local level to discuss Europe’s future.

Marek Woźniak, Wielkopolska region

Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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The 2014 elections will be truly historic.

Europeans will go to the polls not just to elect a new European Parliament, but also to express their choice for the next President of the European Commission. We are glad that the EPP candidate, Jean-Claude Juncker,

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Centre for European Studies renamed in honour of its founder Wilfried Martens The Centre for European Studies (CES), the official think tank and political foundation of the European People’s Party (EPP), has been renamed in honour of its late President, Wilfried Martens. The Centre will now be called the ‘Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies’. In conjunction with the name change, the Centre also changed its logo and can now be found online at www.martenscentre.eu The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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Plenary Highlights Ukrainian regions and cities’ associations. Upon their return, a resolution on the situation in Ukraine was debated and adopted by the CoR plenary on 31 January 2014. Most recently, the CIVEX commission held a hearing on the “Eastern Partnership policy: outcome of Vilnius Summit, future of Eastern Partnership and the role of local and regional authorities”. Members debated the general policy developments against the background of the escalating situation. was carried out. The 23rd meeting of the CIVEX commission on 7 April 2014 plans to hold a topical debate on the “Consequences and developments after Euromaidan”

Amid the growing concerns for the Ukraine and the recent referendum on Crimea on 16 March, Vladimir Groysman, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister, will attend the CoR Plenary Session on the first day. The Committee of the Regions has closely followed the developments in the Ukraine from the outset. On 21 January 2014, a delegation led by Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso, the CoR President, met with the civil society representatives from Maidan Square. EPP/CoR member Arnoldas Abramavičius joined this mission. Meetings scheduled with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and senior officials were cancelled due to the escalation of violence. The CoR President strongly condemned the violence and voiced support to the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom and human rights. He stressed the need to promote local and regional government’s autonomy, as well as financial independence in Ukraine, as a means to achieving much-needed democratic reform. The CoR delegation also met with Ukrainian members of the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP), as well as representatives of

In its White Paper on Multilevel Governance the Committee of the Regions decided to draw up a Charter for multilevel governance in Europe. The Charter will be adopted at this plenary session in the form of a resolution to be presented under rule 45 of the CoR rules of procedure. The Charter intends to help strengthen the bottomup approach in policy making, increase democratic accountability and boost the participation of local and regional authorities in EU

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Stefan Füle, the European Commissioner in charge of the Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, will also address the Plenary Session ahead of the adoption of Arnoldas Abramavičius’ opinion on the 2013 enlargement strategy. In the annual reports on enlargement, the European Commission recommends granting EU candidate status to Albania and the opening of accession negotiations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Commission also assesses the progress towards EU accession made elsewhere in the Western Balkans and in Turkey over the past year. Given the Icelandic government’s decision to put accession negotiations on hold, a simplified report on Iceland takes stock of the current state of its alignment with the EU.

decision making. It should also ensure the use and promotion of Multi-level Governance in EU policy making. Herwig Van Staa, President of the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe and Lambert Van Nistelrooij, Member of the Regional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, are expected to join the debate.

For a Europe with regions and cities: the view of young people As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, the Committee of the Regions will be inviting young people to an event on 1 April.

Participants will discuss the future of a multi-level Europe. In tandem with the CoR’s internal reflection process, the event aims to elicit some feedback from the younger generation about what form they expect the CoR to take in the next 20 years.

EPP values brochure To mark the 20th anniversary of the Committee of the Regions and to raise awareness of the impact of the EU on our daily lives, the EPP Group published a brochure ahead of the Dublin Congress.

Having pioneered the European project since its inception, the EPP is the inheritor of a profoundly important set of values advocated by the European Union’s founding fathers.

The EU works tirelessly to find solutions to society’s problems and to boost growth and jobs by connecting Europe, by believing in Europe’s people and by investing in Europe’s regions.

EPP-led opinions Information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries Pedro Sanz Alonso, President of the Regional Government of La Rioja, Spain NAT-V-036

Information and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries are particularly important for enabling the agricultural sector to cope with the many challenges it faces at a time of growing competition.

This is a proposal for a new framework to support and boost information and promotion measures for European agricultural products both within and beyond Europes borders. The rapporteur believes it is of particular importance in the face of growing competition and that these proposals will facilitate the opening up of markets. Moreover, the proposals should enable consumers to learn more about the

EU’s quality and high production standards, which will lead to greater confidence in European products. President Sanz Alonso notes that the European agricultural sector is essential to the development of local and regional economies and that this regional dimension should remain a key component in achieving the goal of balanced development across Europe’s regions. He also reiterates that the regions need an ambitious and effective promotion policy that showcases the quality and distinctive characteristics of their agricultural products. The opinion makes a call to the Commission not to fix any a priori objective regarding the percentage of the funds for information and promotion measures for EU agricultural products in

third countries to ensure that the internal market in not neglected. Whilst welcoming proposals for quality schemes to use the official logos of the EU, the Riojan President insists that the geographical origin of the product should be clearly stated because the region’s name is often closely linked to a product’s intrinsic characteristics. Turning to the range of beneficiaries and the list of eligible products, the rapporteur calls for particular attention to be given to SMEs because they are the most common type of business across Europe’s regions. To conclude, he requests that Member States be allowed voluntarily to co-finance programmes with the Commission.

“The Common Agricultural Policy already has several regulations covering promotion, but the current system doesn´t work properly when dealing with crisis situations due to sanitary epidemics or market disturbances. During the 2011 E-coli outbreak, for example, consumer confidence suffered. It was difficult to react in an efficient manner. These proposals will go towards better cooperation between Member States in order to put in place promotion or information campaigns with the participation of several countries .”

Esther Herranz Garcia, MEP and European Parliament rapporteur for Information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2013-2014 Arnoldas Abramavičius, Member of Zarasai District Municipal Council; Mayor, Lithuania CIVEX-V-046

The CoR draws attention to the key role of local and regional authorities in preparing both EU and candidate countries, their administrations at different levels and their citizens for enlargement The opinion presents an assessment of the progress achieved and its specific proposals for the countries of the Western Balkans (Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo), Turkey and Iceland as well as indications for future developments in this area. In his general recommendations, the rapporteur call on the European Commission to take the state of local and regional self-government into account in candidate and potential candidate countries when assessing the progress of decentralisation and notes that it is a prerequisite for a well-functioning

system of multi-level governance. He also proposes that that all candidate countries can benefit from the second Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance foreseen for 2014. Following the Vilnius Summit at the end of November 2013, the Mayor asks the Commission to clearly identify a European perspective for those countries within the Eastern Partnership that are aiming to become EU Member States. The opinion welcomes the new approach towards negotiations on judiciary and fundamental rights and on justice, freedom and security, which places these conditions in the early stages of accession negotiations and ensures that well-functioning juridical systems and effective fight against organised crime and corruption are dully in place. Abramavicius underlines also the importance of improving economic governance and competitiveness

in the pre-accession process so that SMEs in the candidate countries are adequately prepared for the market pressures caused by the respective country’s EU membership. He also emphasises that the European Union must be sufficiently capable of absorbing new Member States and be committed to supporting these countries in overcoming the challenges they face.

“As the twenty-first century unfolds, the EU faces various complexities in today’s multipolar world - as we currently see it in Ukraine, Syria or in Central Africa. At the same time, we must ensure that EU’s neighbourhood countries in the enlargement process fulfil the accession obligations in order to remain true to our European values, namely democracy, the rule of law, respect for fundamental rights, as well as the importance of a functioning market economy. EU enlargement is a two-way process in which not only accession countries need to be properly prepared, but also that the European Union must be sufficiently capable of absorbing new Member States. For 2014 this means that the EU on the one hand must continue to support the candidate and potential countries to approach the necessary reforms. On the other hand the EU must continue to prove its role as a world power in the international arena on a par with others which requires a strong will of the member states to speak with one voice!”

Elmar Brok MEP, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

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Seafarers Paul Lindqust, Member of Lidingö Municipal Council, Sweden ECOS-V-052

A well-functioning maritime sector and labour market for seafarers are very important for coastal regions and their inhabitants in particular The rapporteur welcomes the Commission’s initiative to review the current exclusion rules relating to application of certain labour law directives to seafarers and broadly endorses the current proposal for a directive. The opinion states that no Member State has reported any significant negative effects, with respect for example to flagging out and general costs, resulting from the same

rules being applied to seafarers and shorebased employees. Nor have Member States, which have not excluded seafarers from the scope of the rules on information and consultation and other employee protection provisions in the current directives, reported any competitive disadvantages against other EU countries that have applied one or more exclusions. In his proposals, the Councillor suggests that there should be fair protection for seafarers and a level playing-field within the maritime industry internationally.

Whilst recognising the particular situation

of maritime compared with land-based activities, he believes that any exclusion to labour rights should be explicitly linked to a collective redundancy concerning only the sale of one or more vessels. Moreover, opting to exclude share-fishermen from the protection requirements under Directive 2008/94/EC would prevent this category of employee from enjoying the right to a guaranteed wage.

Such discrimination cannot be regarded as justified by the specificities of the sector, according to the rapporteur and therefore asks for it to be abolished.

Quality framework for traineeships Andrius Kupcinskas, Member of Kaunas City Municipal Council; Mayor, Lithuania ECOS-V-053

Good-quality traineeships offer young people the opportunity to obtain valuable vocational experience, knowledge and skills and in this way to improve their chances of finding a job and establishing themselves on the labour market quickly and in a lasting way Whilst supporting the Commission’s proposal for a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT), the rapporteur notes his disappointment that the Commission has chosen to present it in the form of a Council Recommendation rather than a Directive.

Despite this, the Mayor welcomes the QFT as a useful measure which seeks to ensure that traineeships efficiently ease educationto-work transitions and thus increase young people’s employability. The recommendation is of particular relevance to the Committee of the Regions given that local and regional authorities play an important role in the areas of education and training. The opinion therefore includes a calls on the Member States to provide for the active involvement of local and regional authorities. Turning to social and health insurance, the rapporteur

would prefer it if the QFT recommended traineeship providers to guarantee the appropriate insurance rather than merely calling on them to indicate whether such provisions are made. Moreover, the QFT does not address the question of unpaid or only partly paid traineeships. To conclude, Mayor Kupcinskas points out that the local and regional authorities should be involved in the comprehensive drafting and implementation of such initiatives as they are best placed to assess the different conditions and needs at local level.

“The number of young people without jobs has assumed alarming proportions. To stop the rise of the problem we need to offer young people good-quality traineeships, mobilise all efforts by implementing good practices introduced by some member states and act on both the EU and national level. It is necessary to help young people to adjust to the current economic situation and to prepare themselves for future labour market needs.”

Joanna Katarzyna Skrzydlewska, MEP

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

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Ongoing Opinions Comission

Opinion

Rapporteur

Expected Adoption

BUDGET

The execution of EU budget 2007-2013

Adam Struzik, Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Poland)

June 2014

ECOS

European network of Employment Services, workers’ access to mobility and the integration of labour markets (EURES)

José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, President of the Balear Islands (Spain)

June 2014

ECOS

Industrial Policy Package

Markku Markkula, Espoo City Councillor (Finland)

December 2014

EDUC

Creation of high-tech start-ups

Mattia Tarsi, Pesaro Provincial Councillor (Italy)

October 2014

ENVE

Multi Level Governance On European Capital: promoting regional EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 and implementing Aichi targets

Kadri Tillemann, Keila Rural Municipality Councillor (Estonia)

June 2014

ENVE

Clean Air Policy Package

Cor Lamers, Mayor of Schiedam (Netherlands)

October 2014

Upcoming meetings CIVEX

7 April

Brussels

NAT

8 April

Brussels

EDUC

10 April

Brussels

ENVE

24 April

Brussels

EPP LRA Summit

25 April

Poznan

CORLEAP Bureau

28 April

Brussels

COTER

5 May

Brussels

CIVEX Study Visit

8 May

Innsbruck, Austria

ECOS

16 May

Brussels

EU Open Doors Day

17 May

Brussels

European Elections

22-25 May

EU

NAT external meeting

5-6 June

Ponta Delgada, Portugal

CAFA

10 June

Brussels

EDUC external meeting

12-13 June

TBC

CIVEX

16 June

Brussels

ENVE

19 June

Brussels

Plenary Session

25-26 June

Brussels

Secretary General: Heinz-Peter Knapp Editor in chief: Kathryn Owens, kathryn.owens@cor.europa.eu, +32 2 282 2400 | Press Officer: Dominik Krakowiak This issue is also available at www.epp.cor.europa.eu | Join us on

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