Press Release CP CES29-2007 CP EN

European Economic and Social Committee

PRESS RELEASE No 29/2007 20 April 2007

435th EESC plenary session 25 and 26 April 2007

European Parliament, Paul-Henri Spaak building, 2.30 p.m.

****** The EESC at the service of the German presidency

At the request of the current Council presidency the EESC has produced several exploratory opinions on European metropolitan areas, the territorial agenda of the EU and transport in urban and metropolitan areas. The debate will be attended by Mr Engelbert LÜTKE DALDRUP, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development.

Wednesday 25 April 2007 - 3.30 p.m.

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Main opinions to be adopted:

- European metropolitan areas (exploratory opinion) - Territorial agenda of the EU (exploratory opinion) - Transport in urban and metropolitan areas (exploratory opinion) - Promotion of cycle transport (exploratory opinion) - Postal services – completion of the internal market - Towards a future maritime policy for the Union - Common EU ports policy - Guidelines for Member States' employment policies - Report on competition policy 2005 - Cat and dog fur - Value and supply chain trends

Mr Engelbert LÜTKE DALDRUP, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development, will attend this session on behalf of the current Council presidency. His speech is scheduled for 25 April 2007 at 3.30 p.m. and will be followed by a debate with EESC members.

EN European Economic and Social Committee

Main opinions to be adopted:

European metropolitan areas (exploratory opinion) Rapporteur: Mr VAN IERSEL (Group I, Employers, Netherlands)

In this exploratory draft opinion, prepared at the request of the German presidency, the EESC calls on the Commission to draw up a Green Paper on metropolitan areas complementing the Territorial Agenda and the Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion in order to encourage European debate on the basis of an objective analysis. However, the EESC once again draws attention to the absence of comparable socio-economic and environmental data on metropolitan areas at EU level. The EESC considers that the economic, social and environmental performances of European metropolitan regions must be monitored annually in order to broaden our knowledge on each of their situations and enable the relevant metropolitan areas to take action.

Territorial agenda of the EU (exploratory opinion) Rapporteur: Mr PARIZA CASTANOS (Group II, Employees, Spain)

At the request of the German presidency the EESC has drawn up an exploratory opinion in which it proposes that the Council of Ministers engage the open method of coordination, providing precise guidelines, for the Territorial Agenda as a first step towards bringing these issues under the Community method, following approval of the Constitutional Treaty. The EESC calls on the European Commission to propose that the Council of Ministers push ahead with the process of integrating the Territorial Agenda on the current legal bases. It notes that the objective of territorial cohesion at EU level requires the Commission to have a specific and robust unit analysing, assessing and presenting policy proposals that confirm the added value of a European approach to territorial cohesion.

Transport in urban and metropolitan areas (exploratory opinion) Rapporteur: Mr RIBBE (Group III, Various Interests, Germany)

Following a request from the German presidency, the EESC has prepared an exploratory opinion in which it expresses its concern at the sharp decline in the share of local public transport (LPT) in total urban transport volume, which is growing fast. The top priority for any urban planning or transport policy should be, first, to prevent traffic "arising", and second, to enable the meeting of mobility needs wherever possible through environmental means of transport such as LPT, cycling or walking. The EESC calls on the Commission to submit an appropriate package of political measures setting out clear guidelines and programmes promoting the achievement of the requisite objectives, as part of its planned Green Paper on urban transport.

Promotion of cycle transport (exploratory opinion) Rapporteur-general: Mr SIMONS (Group I, Employers, Netherlands) European Economic and Social Committee

The EESC recommends that cycling be integrated into transport and infrastructure policy in general and in particular be given substantial attention in the forthcoming Green Paper on urban transport. The EESC also recommends that EU subsidy budgets be made available for the development and maintenance of cycling infrastructure. A European organisation, subsidised by the European Commission, should take over the administrative and secretarial role for the Euro Velo projects and the various completed Euro Velo routes. This is to ensure continued maintenance of the infrastructure and the central provision of information to cyclists.

Postal services – Completion of the internal market Rapporteur: Mr HENCKS (Group II, Employees, Luxembourg)

The EESC emphasises that the main challenge presented by organising this final stage of opening up postal markets by 1 January 2009 is to identify the way forward to an effective and competitive postal sector which will continue to provide high-quality, affordable services to individuals and businesses in Europe, in the interests of economic competitiveness, of serving citizens' needs, irrespective of their geographical or financial situation, or other factors, and in the interests of employment and sustainable development. The EESC urges that the current Directive be extended and that plans be made for possible full liberalisation of the postal sector by 1 January 2012, provided that credible financing options which represent an improvement on the reserved sector have been found by then, in close consultation with all those concerned, and specific deliveries sent or received by blind and partially sighted persons and their organisations are incorporated into the universal service.

Towards a future maritime policy for the Union Rapporteur: Ms Bredima-Savopolou (Group I, Employers, Greece)

The EESC endorses most of the proposals in the Green Paper on the future maritime policy of the EU, adopted by the Commission in 2006. However, it considers that maritime clusters should occupy a central position in future EU maritime policy and believes that the EU should commission a study in order to define them and compare them to maritime clusters of other areas in the world. Moreover, the opinion stresses the need to increase investments in maritime education and training, to reconsider the exclusion of fishermen and seafarers from European social legislation on a number of issues, to find solutions to the problem of the poor quality of marine fuels, and to establish "quality coastal" states which are the missing link in the quality chain.

Common EU ports policy Rapporteur: Mr SIMONS (Group I, Employers, Netherlands) European Economic and Social Committee

The EESC stresses the need for the EU to stimulate high reliability and safety standards in European ports by providing adequate (financial) support to training and education programmes and by enforcing applicable safety legislation. The EU can further stimulate young people to pursue a career in ports, similar to its actions to attract youngsters to sea. The EESC considers that it is of the greatest importance to organise a fundamental debate on sustainable port development, notably by analysing spatial planning programmes. Moreover, the EESC is in favour of a policy encouraging more "soft law" on the one hand and a case-by-case approach on the other.

Other key plenary session items:

Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States Rapporteur: Ms O'NEILL (Group III, Various Interests, United Kingdom)

Report on competition policy 2005 Rapporteur: Mr GARAI (Group III, Various Interests, Hungary)

Cat and dog fur Rapporteur: Mr RETUREAU (Group II, Employees, France)

Value and supply chain trends Rapporteur: Mr VAN IERSEL (Group I, Employers, Netherlands)

For more information and access to the documents in all languages: http://www.toad.eesc.europa.eu/EESCConvocation.aspx? body=plen&date=25042007&lang=EN

For more details, please contact: Karel Govaert or Christian Weger at the EESC Press Office, 99 rue Belliard, B-1040 Brussels Tel.: +32 2 546 9396/9586; Mobile: +32 475 75 32 02 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/ Press Releases: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/cp/index_en.asp (English) http://www.eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/cp/index_fr.asp (French)

The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the Community decision-making process. The Committee has 344 members, who are appointed by the Council of Ministers.