Plenary in Focus: December 2015

December 2015

Priorities of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions

Migration and the integration of refugees: A local and regional perspective Just four days after the EUTurkey summit, which aims to stem the migration flow, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council will address the CoR Plenary Session on the measures and challenges for local and regional authorities when it comes to

dealing with refugees. Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, will also join the debate alongside Kashetu Kyenge, MEP. Despite the European Agenda on Migration being published by the European Commission on 23 April, the EPP Group in the CoR argues that not enough is being done to support regions and cities on the ground. Specifically the CoR is calling for more resources, both at the national and EU level, so that local and regional authorities can provide for the sustainable reception and integration of asylum-seekers and refugees in the long term.

During the debate, local and regional politicians are expected to speak out on the uneven burden placed on some regions and countries following the migration crisis, the move from crisis mode to a longer-term and more sustainable approach, as requested by Roberta Metsola, MEP in the June Plenary Session.

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Commission work programme 2016 and the path towards better regulation

Each year the European Commission adopts a work programme that sets out the list of priority actions that it aims to take over the following twelve months. Frans Timmermans, 1st Vice President of the European Commission, will attend the CoR Plenary Session on 3 December to present this work programme, which is entitled “No time for business as usual” and is focussed on the ten political priorities set out by Jean-Claude Juncker at the beginning of his mandate.

The reduced work programme also falls in line with the Commission’s objective of delivering better regulation.

This was also a main topic for Vice-President Timmerman’s

Priorities for EU regions and cities Other highlights around the CoR December Plenary Session include a CoR conference entitled Connecting Regions and Cities: Making the Digital Single Market work for Europe.

This has been a priority for the EPP Group with Helma KuhnTheis leading the CoR’s work in this field. Alin Nica will

participate in the conference to underline the opportunities for regions and cities. A debate with Jean-Claude Frécon will also take place during the second day of the Plenary Session on cooperation with the Congress of local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe. This includes the participation of CoR

members in local and regional election observation missions, such as the local elections in Ukraine where Arnoldas Abramavius took part. Last but not least, the Europe 2020 steering committee will meet on 4 December.

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intervention at the CoR’s 7th Subsidiarity Conference on 17 November in the Flemish Parliament. He argued that subsidiarity must start at the local level and that it is the time to change the mind-set of EU policy-making to focus more on the musts. He also used the occasion to praise the Dutch provinces for their information on the bottlenecks of European legislation. Wim Van de Donk will also highlight this work during his intervention at the Plenary debate, on behalf of the EPP Group. Following the debate, the CoR will adopt a resolution putting forward its proposals and expectations from the European Commission for the next twelve months.

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Local and regional authorities to be involved in the design and implementation of migration actions Interview with Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner on Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, on Migration I also have personal experience in caring for refugees when I was Mayor of Athens and that’s why I have a very good understanding and appreciation for the efforts and role of local and regional authorities.

Q. What more can be done to ensure that local and regional authorities are involved in the design and implementation of EU actions on migration given the enormous wealth of experience and competences?

Local and regional authorities surely have to be involved in the design and implementation of actions on migration. This is something that I personally encourage whenever I can. For example, in June I met with all the regional leaders of Greece to discuss how to better engage and involve them in order to deal with the refugee crisis. I underlined the necessity for the EU, the national and the local/regional authorities to work hand-in-hand; to tackle the challenge together. So, therefore, my position is clear: we cannot afford fragmentation at any level of the process. We must work together, we must coordinate our efforts, and of course the local and regional authorities must be at the heart of this process.

Q. The refugee crisis has shaken the EU to the core. What steps have been taken so far to manage the situation and what measures have been put at the disposal of local and regional authorities?

Q. Many people have already underlined the need to move from an emergency response to a longer-term strategy. Within this context, what do you hope local and regional authorities will be able to do to encourage the integration of migrants?

Migration in general and the refugee crisis in particular are at the top of the Commission’s priorities and we are making huge efforts to develop a common European approach on the basis of the European Agenda on Migration. I am well aware that this is a very difficult challenge not only for national governments but also for regional and local governments. When refugees arrive in frontline Member States, the local and/or regional authorities are usually the first who provide for the basic needs of these people: first aid, food, clothing, shelter, etc. They are also the ones who are responsible for hosting reception centres and also now, with the activation of the relocation scheme, they are the ones who are welcoming the relocated refugees and have to integrate them in their local societies.

When the Commission presented the European Agenda on Migration in May, we also had in mind a long-term strategy on migration. For example, we want to become more ambitious in the area of legal migration because Europe has a growing need of skilled workers.

We plan to present our proposals early next year. But in order for our efforts to succeed, we will need to identify what kind of skilled workers we need, where we need them, and how can we integrate them smoothly in local societies. Considering the enormous wealth of experience of local and regional authorities, we would have to develop many elements of this process together. And involving the local and regional authorities and their expertise is crucial in this process. ■

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Winter is here and war, starvation and poverty means that people will continue to flee. Europe - every Member State - has a responsibility, along with all the countries in the region, to share the challenges and come up with a coherent and concrete response that helps address this multi-faceted crisis.

In the European Parliament there is an understanding that, unless we have a holistic all-encompassing approach that looks at every aspect of migration we will not get anywhere.

This is a crisis that requires a response, on a global, European, regional and local level. Everyone must play their part and Europe should lead the way.

Roberta Metsola, MEP

The Role of the Social Economy in restoring economic growth and combating unemployment

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Luís Gomes, Mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal SEDEC-VI/004

The positive role of social economy institutions and actors in tackling unemployment and promoting inclusive and sustained growth is particularly important in regions marked by emigration, a rapidly ageing population, lack of economic dynamism and a low level of entrepreneurship.”

A significant proportion of Europe’s economy is intended to make profits for people other than investors or owners. Known as the ‘social economy’, it includes cooperatives, mutual societies, non-profit associations, foundations and social enterprises.

There are 2 million social economy enterprises in Europe, representing 10% of all businesses in the EU. More than 11 million people – about 6% of the EU’s employees – work for social economy enterprises. The opinion underlines that the social economy institutions and actors have proved to be resilient during the

crisis, helping to improve public well-being and keep people on the labour market even when other organisations and businesses have been unable to do so.

This is of particular importance to regions marked by emigration, a rapidly ageing population, lack of economic dynamism and a low level of entrepreneurship.

The rapporteur would therefore like to see the development of a legal framework, which would allow the social economy to develop and function and steps to be taken that will encourage an entrepreneurial spirit.

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A view for employment in the Mediterranean Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn presented the reviewed goals for the European Neighbourhood Policy on 18 November. The document underlines the “progress achieved in regional cooperation through the Union for the Mediterranean”.

Within this context, ARLEM is committed to play its role in tackling the socio-economic root causes of the current security and migration challenges through regional cooperation and a common development agenda in the Mediterranean. One way in which this is being done is through the preparation of a report on employment and territorial development.

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Employment and territorial development are inextricably linked; unemployment in the SouthEastern Mediterranean being the highest in the world.

Our report proposes new and practical guidelines for effective policies and accompanying funds aiming at: • Transforming informal employment to formal, • Promoting equal opportunities for men and women as a condition for EU funding, • Improving people to people contacts.

• Priorities to be set: • Vocational training and qualification adapted to the needs of the business world.

• Ensured fair access of local companies to calls for tenders for EU funding.

• Investment in digital infrastructures.

• Employment and development is also about helping the migrants stay in their home countries, preserving their culture and civilization.”

Eleni Loukaidou, Deputy Mayor of Nicosia, Cyprus, rapporteur for ARLEM report

Looking ahead: the Dutch EU Presidency in 2016 On 1 January 2016 the Netherlands will take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Luxembourg for a half-year period.

During its time at the helm of the EU-Presidency, the Netherlands has set out its intention to achieve concrete results for citizens and companies, including the simplification of laws and regulations and the reduction of administrative burdens. The EU should focus on the essentials and provide for economic growth and jobs through innovation. Citizens and social organizations must be actively involved in the European policy making process, in order to create more public support. The Dutch House of Representatives and the Senate will jointly organize six inter-parliamentary conferences during the Dutch EU Presidency under the motto: «jointly building parliamentary scrutiny of European decision making ».

The importance of European partnerships in delivering on the common priorities of the EU’s assembly of regions and cities and the Dutch Presidency of the EU was stressed by Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, in a meeting in the Hague at the end of November.

“Europe needs a fresh start for its economy and it is clear that cities

and regions are key drivers for new growth and jobs. To boost this we must have result-orientated investments on the ground as well

as simpler and more accessible legislation and funding.” President Markkula stated before adding: “The EU cannot fulfil its promises on growth or tackling the refugee crisis without committed partnerships between all actors from Brussels to our cities and municipalities. We are delighted to work so closely with the Dutch Presidency to tackle these priority questions on the ground.”

The key areas for joint action between the Dutch Presidency and the work of the Committee of the Regions focus on three topics:

• boosting investments through strengthened entrepreneurial spirit and capacity-building in cities and regions; • clarifying and launching a joint EU strategy for urban areas; • and simplifying EU legislation, especially cutting administrative costs and red tape.

The meeting was also attended by Cor Lamers, Mayor of Schiedam, and Wim Van de Donk, King’s Commissioner of the Province of NoordBrabant, both of whom are Members of the EPP Group in the CoR.

SAVE THE DATE Forum in Amsterdam on 30-31 May 2016 alongside an EU ministerial meeting.

Secretary General: Heinz-Peter Knapp | Editor in chief: Kathryn Owens, kathryn.owens@cor.europa.eu, +32 2 282 2400 | Press Officer: Dominik Krakowiak www.epp.cor.europa.eu

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