EPP/CoR Plenary in Focus, April 2016

Plenary April 2016

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

The European Capital of Innovation Award – iCapital

I am shocked by the attacks at Brussels Airport in Zaventem and the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, which rocked the EU community on 22 March.

Our thoughts continue to be with the victims, their families and all those who are affected.

We must stay united and work together to protect our core

EU Urban Agenda

With over 70% of the EU’s total population resident in urban areas, they account for the majority of the EU’s population today. More than just centres of population, towns and cities lie at the very heart of modern society. Following the adoption of the Riga Declaration last year, Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions underlined that «after 25 years of conferences, declarations and resolutions, it is time to make the EU Urban Agenda a reality». For Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, the EU Urban Agenda should be «a genuine cross-cutting anchoring of the

urban dimension in the EU decision-making process and not a specific EU strategy or programme». The CoR opinion is set to be adopted on 7 April and the Amsterdam Forum on the EU Urban Agenda, taking place on 30 May, will be a further opportunity to improve the urban dimension in EU policy making. The Forum will be held back to back to the informal meeting of Ministers responsible for urban matters, where the Pact of Amsterdam on the EU Urban Agenda is expected to be adopted.

“In December 2015 the Commission made 371 million euro available for the Urban Innovative Actions, also called

values and guarantee the safety of our citizens because no country can handle this alone.

Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the CoR the ‘city deals’. A breakthrough, as a result of the persistent desire of the European Committee of the Regions to create a better balance and synergy between policy for the regions and policy for the cities. It is now important to take this to the next level with the EU Urban Agenda.

The Pact of Amsterdam will create a bottom-up approach where cities are empowered.

The cities will have the possibility to express their ideas, their knowledge and their fears through partnerships on various themes in which representatives of the city, the Commission, the Member States, European organisations and other stakeholders participate.”

Lambert van Nistelrooij, Member of the European Parliament, Vice-president of the Urban Intergroup, NL/EPP

This award aims to recognise European cities, which are making major efforts to promote innovation and improving the quality of their citizens’ lives. With this second edition, Carlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, wants to celebrate the European city that is building the best “innovation ecosystem”connecting citizens, public organisations, academia, and business with a view to helping the city scale up its efforts in this field. The nine cities shortlisted for the European Capital of Innovation Awards 2016 include: Amsterdam, Berlin, Eindhoven, Glasgow, Milano, Oxford, Paris, Torino and Vienna. The winner is due to be announced on 8 April.

Empowering Migrants with Skills The second meeting of the European Migration Forum, organised by the European Commission and European

Economic and Social Committee, will take place on 6 April with participation from CoR President, Markku

Markkula, and Anna Magyar. The CoR will focus on recognition of qualification and skills and showcase experiences and approaches of local and regional authorities in this area.

Follow-up to the Five Presidents’ report: Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union

“

The present economic situation, with fragile growth and high unemployment, justifies an integrated approach in order to consolidate public finances in the Member States, so as to implement structural reforms and stimulate investment, with a view to generating sustainable growth and making the EU even more competitive”

Paul Lindquist, Member of Stockholm County Council, Sweden ECON-VI/008

Closer coordination of economic policies in Europe is essential to ensure the smooth functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU).

Thus the Rapporteur welcomes the Five Presidents’ Report as an important step to make the EMU more resilient to economic shocks. However he also stresses the need for greater convergence between and especially within Member States by calling for structural reforms

to be put in place. At the same time the Rapporteur emphasises that social, economic and territorial disparities can only be reduced through a concept that is based on the 2020 strategy, including a regional dimension and a results-oriented cohesion policy. With reference to the current economic situation in Europe the CoR opinion calls on the European Commission and Parliament to adopt a code of conduct to guarantee that

local and regional authorities are involved in a structured way in the European Semester.

Furthermore it stresses the importance to complete the banking union as the most effective instrument to prevent crises in the financial system as well as to minimise the negative effects of economic shocks and calls for the establishment of “economic dialogue” between the CoR and the Commission. ■

“

The Stability and Growth Pact is and continues to be the core element of the European economic and monetary Union. It is our obligation at present to apply and to enforce the existing rules.

This is the only way to maintain credibility and to establish trust in a successful future of the economic and monetary union.”

Burkhard Balz, Member of the European Parliament and EPP Group Coordinator on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Protection of refugees in their areas of origin: a new perspective

“

Less attention has to date been given to the reception of refugees in the regions of origin. This is despite the fact that their number is much higher in those regions than it is in Europe.”

Hans Janssen, Mayor of Oisterwijk, Netherlands CIVEX-VI/009

Plenary

By far the highest number of refugees flee to and stay in their area of origin, meaning other parts of their own country or neighbouring countries.

Therefore it is important to focus on care for refugees in their region of origin as one element in the holistic approach dealing with the refugee crisis. Within the CoR own-initiative opinion, the Rapporteur formulates proposals for improving the qual-

ity of the care for refugees in their region of origin, implying a stronger involvement of local and regional authorities of the host countries and a much more integrated approach between the direct care and the more structural social and economic development of the region at stake. In his opinion the situation needs a combination of crisis management and a longer-term approach, aimed at providing

basic necessities and securing social cohesion as well as reducing refugees’ dependency on aid. The Rapporteur also proposes that measures must be taken and solutions found at local and regional authority level above all, because problems arise in the villages, towns and regions where refuges and host communities live, go to school, need assistance, work, seek work or act as neighbours.

■

A New Deal for Energy Consumers

“

Energy management policies must enable consumers to control their own energy consumption, so that they can take advantage of new technologies to reduce their bills and contribute to the EU’s efforts in achieving ambitious climate goals as agreed at the COP21 in Paris.”

Michel Lebrun, Member of Viroinval Municipal Council, Belgium ENVE-VI/009

The Energy Union is one of the key projects for the Union not only ensuring secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy but also putting households and business consumers at the heart of the European energy market. However, so far obstacles remain that prevent consumers to fully benefit from ongoing energy transition, to meaningfully control their consumption and to lower their bills. The CoR Rapporteur highlights in his opinion the important role played by local and regional authorities in implementing European legislation, creating

and financing infrastructure for distribution, metering and managing energy demand, managing decentralised production, sharing best practices, as well as informing and advising energy consumers.

He asserts that smart grids and meters that are affordable, cost effective, efficient, safe and adapted to consumers’ needs and expectations should be put in place to make consumers more independent and responsible for their energy consumption.

In this context, the rapporteur stresses the need to ensure the proper management

and use of metering data and calls to adopt at the EU level a strict framework for the security and protection of customers’ private life. A further cornerstone should be simple, clear, comprehensive, appropriate, reliable and independent information on energy, adequate comparison tools, as well as instruments and services to make bills easier to understand. He also calls on the European Commission and the Member States to create a regulatory framework to ensure a level playing field for prosumers as new market players.

■

“

Even though our economy is now growing, many people are yet to feel the benefits. One way we can spread economic growth around the country is by putting money back in people’s pockets.Taking measures to lower household energy bills will help us to do this. Not only would people be better off, but local businesses reap the benefits of increased local spending, leading to growth and job creation.»

Sean Kelly, Member of the European Parliament

A more responsible trade and investment policy

“

It is important to recall that trade and investment is not only about opening markets, but also about the necessary development of all regions in order to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion and increase prosperity for all.”

Neale Richmond, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Ireland ECON-VI/009

The European Union has been confronted with a drawn-out and painful recession during the last years, making it a big challenge now to boost jobs, growth and investment. Thus the Rapporteur expressly welcomes the Commission’s communication, recognising the important potential that trade can unveil. He stresses that the territorial dimension of the strategy should ensure that local and regional authorities

across the EU will fairly benefit from growth and investment opportunities expected to be generated by free trade agreements and trade agreements in general and thus also welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to transparency measures.

Nevertheless the CoR opinion also critises the European Commission for failing to address more fundamental problems with transparency on

trade policy, e.g. in regard to how trade policy objectives are formulated. It also notes that it is necessary that trade agreements, even after having been agreed and ratified, have a mechanism that allows technical adjustments, a revision clause allowing for a possible fresh review of the agreement in question and a clause allowing decisions on liberalisation measures to be reversed at any time.

■

Pl

“

Trade is the cheapest stimulus package for the EU’s economy.

Bringing down both trade and non-trade barriers abroad helps our companies grow, thus creating new jobs. In order to make a genuine trade policy become reality, the pace of the ongoing negotiations has to speed up. We want improved access to markets while remaining vigilant about safeguarding our high standards.»

Daniel Caspary, EPP Group Coordinator in the European Parliament´s International Trade Committee

Modernisation of the EU Copyright Rules

“

The proposed measures concerning the internal market for e-communications are designed to promote dynamic and sustainable growth in all economic sectors and to create jobs, as well as to ensure that copyright rules are modernised in light of the digital revolution and changes in consumer behaviour”

Arnoldas Abramavičius, Member of Zarasai District Municipal Council, Lithuania SEDEC-VI/009

The internet and digital technologies transform our world, but due to existing barriers citizens miss out on services, companies and start-ups face limited horizons, and businesses and governments cannot fully benefit from digital tools. An especially important role is played by local and regional authorities in providing digital services for citizens and creating and managing digital infrastructure, often in the context of cross-border or interregional coopera-

tion. However these services require immediate action to make balanced changes to any barriers to cross-border online activity, including differences between the contract and copyright laws of Member States. While the rapporteur regrets that the European Commission does not include local and regional authorities among the main cultural policy-makers in the EU, he strongly supports the proposal for a regulation on the «portability» of online content

services, enabling users who have purchased online content or taken out a subscription in their country of origin to access them when they are temporarily present in another Member State. Lastly, the CoR opinion asks to clarify the parameters within which to operate the digitisation of outof-commerce works as well as to make them available across the EU and to apply reasonable and justified exceptions in areas of significant public interest.

■

“

Ineffective enforcement of copyright law undermines incentives for the creation and distribution of European cultural products. Copyright does not hinder the digital single market strategy; rather it improves consumer and business access to digital goods and services. The role of the EU is to strike the right balance between enabling users to access services and goods, and generating sufficient benefits to promote Europe’s cultural diversity. As a first step improving cross-border portability for the creative sector is crucial.”

Therese Comodini Cachia, Member of the European Parliament and EPP Group spokesperson on copyright

SAVE THE DATE

CoR Summit in Bratislava Plenary

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

Plen