Structured Dialogue with Commission President José Manuel Barroso The Commission’s Legislative and Work Programme for 2007 Structured Dialogue with Commission President José Manuel Barroso The Commission’s Legislative and Work Programme for 2007 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Photos on cover page: Top left: Structured dialogue in the Charlemagne building, Photo: Committee of the Regions Right: CoR President Michel Delebarre and Commission President José Manuel Barroso at the structured dialogue, Photo: Committee of the Regions Bottom left: Group portrait of the representatives of the associations taking part in the dialogue meeting with CoR President Michel Delebarre and Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Structured Dialogue with Structured José Manuel Barroso President Photo: Committee of the Regions 2 Contents C Commission Programme 2007 Commission Programme 3 I. Introduction Michel Delebarre President of the Committee of the Regions . 5 II. Foreword José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission . 7 III. Background to the structured dialogue . 9 IV. Extracts from the opening speech by President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso . 15 V. Contributions from the associations . 19 Extracts from the dialogue on prosperity Anders Knape, Council of European Municipalities and Regions . 20 Alain Rousset, Association of French Regions . 22 Olivier Bertrand, European Association of Elected Representatives from Mountain Regions . 24 Alain le Vern, Arc Manche Assembly . 26 Henrik Hammar, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions . 28 Riccardo Illy, Assembly of European Regions . 30 Extracts from the dialogue on governance and better regulation Jörg Freunschlag, Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies . 32 Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions . 34 Hugo Alfonso Morán Fernández, Asturian Federation of Municipalities . 36 Franco Iacop, Association of European Border Regions . 38 Helmut Jahn, German County Association . 40 Extracts from the dialogue on solidarity Jean-Michel Daclin, EUROCITIES . 42 Jesús Solá-Sevilla, LIEDRA European Network of Local Authorities against Gender Violence and for Equal Opportunities . 44 Jean-Louis Destans, Association of French Departments . 46 Mara Enrica Scagni, National Association of Italian Municipalities . 48 Enrique Rodríquez Contreras, Arco Latino . 50 Marie-Louise Rönnmark, Union of the Baltic Cities . 52 VI. Summary of questions at the structured dialogue and response provided by President José Manuel Barroso . 55 Dialogue on prosperity . 56 Dialogue on governance and better regulation . 59 Dialogue on solidarity . 62 Annex Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on the legislative and work programme of the European Commission and the priorities Structured Dialogue with Structured José Manuel Barroso President of the Committee of the Regions for 2007 . 67 4 Introduction I. Commission Programme 2007 Commission Programme 5 Photo: Committee of the Regions Michel Delebarre President of the Committee of the Regions The Committee of the Regions' plenary session on 7 December 2006 was the occasion for President Barroso's third visit since taking office to participate in the structured dialogue with European and national associations of local and regional authorities. There can be no doubt that this structured dialogue session with President Barroso, which enabled him to present the European Commission's 2007 work programme, was a great success. With considerable panache, the President led a question-and-answer session with elected representatives of some twenty local and regional associations. He spoke clearly and sincerely. Obviously, local and regional elected representatives may call for shifts in emphasis in the Commission's political priorities, and they do not necessarily share all the positions taken by the European Commission in its various legislative dossiers. This was taken on board by the Committee of the Regions' resolution on the 2007 work programme, which was adopted after the structured dialogue.* Conversely, the Commission does not agree with all the recommendations proffered by the Committee of the Regions and/or the associations. President Barroso made this point quite clear, as is only right. However, in any case, on behalf of the members of the Committee of the Regions and the regional and local associations, I must salute President Barroso and his Commissioners for their commitment to putting into effect the objectives that the structured dialogue is endeavouring to implement as a follow- up to the White Paper on European governance. 2006 was in fact a particularly good year for the structured dialogue; the speech by the Commission President was the culmination of a strong involvement in the thematic dialogues by Commissioners Wallström, Figel’ and Almunia. The structured dialogue is a necessary exercise: the dialectic of political dialogue between institutions and local and regional elected representatives is an essential precondition for keeping European integration on the right track, in accordance with the requirements of subsidiarity and proximity. ■ * Please see the full text of the resolution in annex on page 67. 6 Structured Dialogue with President José Manuel Barroso Foreword II. Commission Programme 2007 Commission Programme 7 Photo: Committee of the Regions José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission I was most happy to join you for a discussion as part of the structured dialogue with local and regional authorities in the European Union. We tackled fundamental issues. It seemed that a consensus was reached on some key subjects, which I welcome. However, in a single meeting it was, of course, not possible to find answers to all the questions of concern to us. The topics selected for our dialogue were those of the 2007 work programme, namely prosperity, governance and solidarity. It will be based on these three areas that the European Union will be able to progress. However, other important issues must come into the discussion, such as energy and services of general interest; of this we are all aware. Thank you for your cooperation; I urge you – from a European perspective – to remain critical and demanding of the Commission and the European institutions as a whole. Even if not everything is perfect, a united Europe needs a greater spirit of openness, dialogue and compromise, which is the surest way to make progress. For this reason I call on all the stakeholders at local and regional level to take on responsibility for leadership. It is our duty to build a better future for all the people of Europe and for future generations. We will only manage to do this in a spirit of ever-closer partnership between regional and local levels and the European level. We must do more to ensure that the public understands what Europe is about. It is also necessary for the associations you represent to relay the public's expectations to the European Commission. For the public, we will only succeed by working together. ■ 8 Structured Dialogue with President José Manuel Barroso Background to the structured dialogue III. Commission Programme 2007 Commission Programme 9 The structured dialogue is an opportunity for the European Commission to consult regional and local authority associations on both general and specific issues. The dialogue is hosted by the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. The idea for this consultative dialogue was initiated in the wake of the Commission’s 2001 White Paper on European Governance, which identified a need for the European Union‘s institutions to cooperate more intensively with representatives of Europe’s regions and cities. The permanent nature of the dialogue was confirmed by the Commission in December 2003. The aim of the structured dialogue is: - to improve EU legislation by ensuring that the views of local and regional associations are taken on board before formal decision-making processes start; - to strengthen policy coordination between the Commission and local and regional authorities; - to ensure citizens better understand the objectives of EU policy; - to make the EU more transparent. There are two different types of structured dialogue: -a general dialogue with the President of the European Commission, concentrating on issues of broad interest such as the annual work programme of the Commission, -a thematic dialogue with the appropriate Commissioner, focused on a specific EU policy area e.g. communication policy, maritime policy, education policy. As the main link between the EU institutions and the European and national associations, the Committee of the Regions has a key role in organising the structured dialogue. Indeed, the CoR and the European Commission cooperate closely in organising the structured dialogue on the basis of the cooperation agreement signed in November 2005. The CoR has established the cooperation procedure between the European Commission, the associations and its secretariat in order to prepare the dialogue meetings, the registration process and the running of the meetings. More information on this cooperation can be found on the CoR website (http://www.cor.europa.eu/en/activities/dialogue_association.htm). The first structured dialogue, hosted by CoR President Peter Straub and former Commission President Romano Prodi, took place in May 2004. Since then the dialogue has developed into a regular activity. The associations have had an opportunity to meet three times with Commission President José Manuel Barroso for a general dialogue