SPATIAL IMPACTS OF COMMUNITY POLICIES AND COSTS OF NON-CO-ORDINATION STUDY CARRIED OUT AT THE REQUEST OF THE DIRECTORATE-GENERAL “REGIONAL POLICY” EUROPEAN COMMISSION ERDF CONTRACT 99.00.27.156 by Agence Européenne "Territories and Synergies" (Strasbourg) – Co-ordination EURE-CONSULT S.A. (Luxembourg) Nederlands Economisch Instituut NEI (Rotterdam) Quaternaire Portugal (Oporto) June 2001 1 Authors of the study J. Robert, co-ordinator (Agence Européenne "Territoires et Synergies, Strasbourg) Dr. Thomas Stumm (Eure-Consult S.A., Luxembourg) J.M. de Vet, C.J. Reincke, M. Hollanders (NEI Rotterdam) Prof. Manuel Antonio Figueiredo (Faculty of Economy of Oporto, Quaternaire Portugal) 2 Table of contents 1. Context, objectives and methodology of the study p.1 1.1. Diversity, heterogeneity and evolutionary aspects of the territorial impacts of Community policies with regard to a new, coherent and ambitious framework of reference 1 1. 2. Objectives, method and structure of the study 4 2. Territorial impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy and of the Rural Development Policy 6 2.1. The provisions of the ESDP concerning rural areas 6 2.2. Nature and major stages of the CAP 9 2.3. From a common agricultural policy towards a community of agricultural and rural development policies 12 2. 4. Towards a dualisation of the systems of agricultural production in Europe 14 2.5. A rural development policy in the process of integration 17 2.6. The CAP and the rural development policy in relation to: 19 2.7. Conclusions 33 3. Territorial impacts of the Common Transport Policy 38 3.1. Transport and the PCT in the context of the political objectives and options of the ESDP 38 3.2. Tendencies and issues of transport in Europe; problems for specific territories 41 3.3. Nature and major stages of the Community Transport policy 45 3.4. The methods of Community intervention as regards transport and the implementation of the PCT in the Member States 50 3.5. The common Transport policy in relation to: 53 3.6. Conclusions 72 4. Territorial impacts of the Common Environmental Policy 75 4.1. The environmental dimension in the objectives and policy options of the ESDP 75 4.2. Environmental trends and issues on the European territory 79 4.3. Major stages of the CEP 85 3 4.4. Intervention methods of the CEP and its implementation in the Member States 87 4.5. Territorial impacts of Community legislative acts relating to environmental protection 89 4.6. Territorial impacts of the financial contributions of the Community Environmental Policy 100 4.7. Conclusions 106 5. Quantitative aspects of interactions between sectoral policies and regional policy: the cost of non-co-ordination 110 5.1. Methodology for quantification 110 5.2. Cohesion and regional policy 113 5.3. Sectoral Policy and the cost of non-co-ordination 117 5.4. Case-study regions 122 5.5. Conclusions 128 6. Governance and territorial coherence of Community policies 129 6.1. Development of inter-institutional relations in relation to territorial development 129 6.2. Development and implementation procedures of Community policies in relation to territorial issues 131 6.2.1. General aspects 131 6.2.2. Merits and limits of integrated rural development 133 6.2.3. The Trans-European Transport Network between sectoral logic and contribution to the development of the territory 137 6.2.4. Capillarity of the Community environmental policy 140 6.2.5. Paradoxes in the governance of the regional structural policy 142 6.3. Co-ordination procedures and instruments used in the territorial development policy of Member States 144 7. Conclusions and recommendations 146 7.1. Territorial impacts of Community policies and cost of non - co-ordination 146 7.2. Sectoral culture and territorial expectations 149 7.3. The wrong solutions 151 4 7.4. Practical recommendations for better integration of the territorial 152 dimension in Community policies 7.4.1. Towards the improvement of the spatial coherence of the Union’s policies at the stage of their elaboration at Community level 152 7.4.2. Towards the improvement of co-ordination and of co-operation in the context of the implementation of Community policies 155 Figure 1 158 5 1. Context, objectives and methodology of the study 1.1. Diversity, heterogeneity and evolutionary aspects of the territorial impacts of Community policies with regard to a new, coherent and ambitious framework of reference The search for better territorial effectiveness of the Union's policies and sectoral initiatives is confronted with a particular challenge represented by the contrast between the exhaustive, coherent and ambitious - although non binding - character of the provisions of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) on the one hand and the various intervention and implementation methods of the Union's sectoral policies on the other, not to speak about their evolutionary capacity. The ESDP as approved by the informal Council of the Ministers responsible for spatial planning in Potsdam in May 1999, although resulting precisely from an informal approach and procedure, rests nevertheless on a number of provisions of the Treaty, and in the first place on the objectives of economic and social cohesion and of sustainable development (Article 2 EU Treaty). It takes account of the concepts of "harmonious, balanced and sustainable development" (Art.2 EC Treaty), "high degree of competitiveness" (Art.2 EC Treaty), "improvement of the quality of the environment" (Art.2 EC Treaty), "raising of the quality of life" (Art.2 EC Treaty). Considered from that point of view, the ESDP represents in its objectives and policy options, an informal and specialised extension of the Treaty, which details and specifies various of its provisions in an approach where strong coherence arises from territorialisation. It can therefore be observed that « polycentric spatial development », « urban-rural partnerships », « equivalent access to infrastructures and knowledge », « careful management of natural and cultural heritage », through the numerous policy options specifying them, are nothing else than territorial concepts and instruments at the service of the main objectives of the Treaty. The policy options of the ESDP, although being numerous, rather substantial and containing very detailed recommendations, constitute a remarkably coherent and ambitious spatial planning doctrine. Bringing all public policies - and in particular Community policies - with territorial impacts closer to the objectives and policy options of the ESDP, would undoubtedly constitute an effective means of strengthening in a sustainable way their reciprocal coherence and of increasing their mutual synergy. Consequently, territorial coherence is likely to become a powerful vector for better global effectiveness of Community policies. With regard to this coherent and ambitious framework of reference constituted by the ESDP's objectives and policy options, the intervention and implementation methods of Community policies appear very evolutionary, heterogeneous and fluctuating, both in time and in space. This is clearly indicated by the conclusions of the document «Community policies and spatial planning » presented in February 1999 at the ESDP Forum, which have shown: a) Various methods of intervention of Community policies: • Financial resource distribution from the Community budget. The territorial impacts are different according to whether this involves: – supports to incomes (price guarantees, market policies in agriculture), which influence regional GDP, purchasing power in rural areas and also contribute to fix agricultural population; – regionalised structural measures, on the basis of economic and social cohesion objectives. The rules of programming under Community responsibility – which influence 6 the size of the geographical areas eligible to structural interventions as well as the criteria for geographic and thematic concentration of financial resources – are not neutral in terms of territorial impact; – horizontal structural measures (orientation measures designed to improve agricultural structures, employment and human resource development measures involving the current Objectives 3 and 4 of structural policies), whose territorial impact depends at the same time upon the contents of the programmes drawn up by regional and national authorities and upon the local initiatives benefiting from these programmes; – sectoral policies, such as the financing of research programmes and initiatives of a cultural, touristic, environmental, energetic or technological nature or relating to education and training . The territorial impact of these sectoral policies is largely tributary to the location of the initiatives that get the funding. In general, the most developed regions are those which have the most dynamic socio-economic actors; • The provisions of the Treaty, as well as detailed legislation and regulations (e.g. competition rules, market liberalisation, environmental legislation, market- based instruments). These affect the structural context for action, both of public authorities in Member states and of economic and social actors as a whole; • The development of guidelines. This involves mainly the Trans-European transport and energy networks, which provide a long-term perspective. Associated with the financing instruments, they play a critical role in the spatial-economic development. b) the evolutionary capacity of Community policies and the related effects on their territorial impacts Most Community policies are not at all