regions and cities supporting growth and jobs

EUROPEAN UNION

Committee of the Regions

EUROPEAN UNION


Regions and cities supporting growth and jobs

The Committee of the Regions’ contributionto the Europe 2020 strategy's seven flagship initiativesPublished by the Directorate for Communication, Press and Events

February 2013

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@EU_CoR – #EU2020

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CoR_1778_February_2013_EN

Catalogue number QG-32-13-021-EN-C

ISBN-13 978-92-895-0656-4

DOI 10.2863/66044

© European Union, 2013Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Printed in Belgium, on 100% recycled paper (excluding cover)

The Committee of the Regions is the EU’s assembly of local and regional representatives. Since 1994 its

task has been to represent and defend the interests of local and regional authorities in the European

decision-making process. There is broad agreement that Europe’s economic recovery depends on the

success of its strategy for smart, green and inclusive growth and ownership of the strategy by regional

and local authorities. The Europe 2020 strategy is among the most important political priorities of the

Committee of the Regions. At the same time, it provides direction for a number of EU programmes

that are currently being redesigned with a view to the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020,

in particular for the next generation of cohesion policy programmes. Finally, economic recovery and

“Europe 2020” form an essential part of the mid-term communication priorities of all EU institutions.

Regional and local authorities are responsible for the delivery of a number of priorities of the Europe

2020 strategy, including the majority of public investments and the implementation of EU programmes.

Many regions and cities are already making the Europe 2020 strategy their point of reference for mid-term

economic and social development plans. Cohesion policy programmes, the new Common Strategic

Framework and the European Code of Conduct on Partnership are the elements that – between 2014

and 2020 – are most likely to have a positive impact in lending increased visibility to “2020” through

a new generation of regional development programmes. However, multilevel governance and an

integrated territorial approach could play an even more significant role in implementing the strategy,

for example when it comes to the sharing of experience between regions and cities from different

Member States.

In 2013, the Committee of the Regions is organising a series of conferences under the heading “Regions

and cities supporting Europe’s growth strategy”. The series culminates in the 6th European Summit of

Regions and Cities in spring 2014 and the mid-term assessment of the Europe 2020 strategy from the

perspective of the CoR. The conferences on the flagship initiatives are organised together with the

European Parliament, the European Commission and stakeholders from cities and regions. European

associations are invited to contribute to events according to their interest in the topics. The conferences

are targeted at representatives from regional and local authorities, EU institutions, private and financial

institutions, social partners and civil society.

In spring 2014, a selection of good practices covering the different flagship initiatives will be presented

in Brussels. In the next two and a half years, the CoR Monitoring Platform will also continue to track the

Europe 2020 policy cycle – looking at how multi-level governance is implemented.

The dates of future conferences are:

– Industrial policy for the globalisation era, 10 April, Brussels;

– European platform against poverty, 29 May, Brussels;

– Digital agenda for Europe, 2 July, Brussels;

– Resource-efficient Europe, 2-3 September, Vilnius;

– Innovation Union, 27 November, Brussels;

– 6th European Summit of Regions and Cities, March 2014.

Welcome

■ Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

■ We need a cohesion policy that concentrates on growth and jobs................................................................................................................... 5

■ The Irish Presidency looks to advance the Europe 2020.................................................................................................................................................................. 6

■ Europe 2020 is a strategy that can put the EU back on the path to growth ........................................................................... 7

■ The Europe 2020 strategy cannot succeed unless Europe’s regions

and cities are actively involved in its implementation ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8

■ Europe 2020 in a nutshell ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

■ Europe 2020 National Reform Programmes and territorial authorities ...................................................................................... 11

Partnership contracts signed between Member States

and the European Commission should be based on agreements

negotiated with local and regional authorities ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Estonia’s “Eesti 2020” involving local and regional authorities delivering Europe 2020 ........................................................... 13

Belgian communities and regions working together

to achieve Europe 2020 objectives ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

■ Youth on the Move ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

I would like to see a stronger emphasis on culture and innovation ........................................................................................................................................ 15

Unless we invest now in support of growth in a sustainable manner,

we risk a lost generation .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Youth on the Move can only be successfully

implemented with the help of local and regional authorities ................................................................................................................................................................ 16

New Youth Competence Centres are good tools

for investing in youth, new skills and jobs .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17

■ Agenda for New Skills and Jobs ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18

The role of local and regional authorities in promoting

growth and creating jobs ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

The Hague: Working hard to develop new security cluster ........................................................................................................................................................................... 19

The SÖM Project in Malmö: Towards a comprehensive

and sustainable way of integrating immigrants .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

For the Castile and León region, regional growth means employment ........................................................................................................................ 20

Content

■ Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

Local authorities are partners in revitalising industry .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

European small and medium-sized enterprises at a crossroads ........................................................................................................................................................ 22

New challenges for Industrial Policy in Saxony .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22

■ European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 23

We will continue to push for a stronger social dimension in the current political agenda .......................................... 23

The experience of Uszka, a predominantly Roma-populated municipality in Eastern Hungary .................... 24

The Neuvokas network is bringing human warmth to the Arctic Lapland region ............................................................................. 24

Helping socially disadvantaged and disabled people is a priority

for the Bratislava Region ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25

Despite years of economic growth we still have

a worrying legacy of child poverty across the EU ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26

■ Digital Agenda for Europe ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

In Slovakia, eGovernment facilitates the access of the public and businesses

to local authorities ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

CoR is involved in the European Digital Agenda ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28

■ A Resource-Efficient Europe............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30

CoR backs campaign: “A world you like. With a climate you like” ..................................................................................................................................................... 30

2013 is the “Year of the energy revolution” in Burgenland, Austria ............................................................................................................................................ 31

Increasing biodiversity loss within ecosystems has reached worrying limits .................................................................................................. 31

Implementation of EU environmental law must be a priority ................................................................................................................................................................. 32

Protection of natural heritage and resource efficiency

are key concerns for the Mazovia regional administration .............................................................................................................................................................................. 32

■ Innovation Union .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34

Regions and cities must be actively involved in European Research .................................................................................................................................... 34

Europe needs blueprint for bioeconomy ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35

■ Europe 2020 Going Local........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36

Regions and cit ies suppor ting growth and jobs

4

The Europe 2020 strategy is Europe’s blueprint for a

smart, sustainable and inclusive future, providing

a 10 year roadmap for growth and jobs. All its

instruments and policy goals have already been set:

now we need to deliver. The Europe 2020 strategy

must be implemented in partnership with Europe’s

regions and cities because they are the actors who

can close the delivery gap. This is why making

Europe 2020 a success is one of the key priorities of

the Committee of the Regions in the years to come.

One of the CoR’s main concerns is “implementing

Europe 2020 in partnership”. This will involve a series

of events focusing on the seven flagship initiatives

and the exchange of best practices, which will end

during the first half of 2014 with the 6th European

Summit of Regions and Cities and a mid-term

assessment of the Europe 2020 strategy. Numerous

activities organised by the Europe 2020 Monitoring

Platform during this period will enable local and

regional authorities to contribute to this bottom-up

assessment.

National Reform Programmes should be

implemented in cooperation with local and regional

authorities. We need to work in partnership, and

develop a culture of multi-level governance in

Europe. When drawing up and implementing your

own 2020 vision, your region and city must be able to

count on other public authorities – including those

at European and national levels – social partners,

universities and other civil society players relevant to

its future development.

Therefore, sound mechanisms need to be set up to

enable timely and structural cooperation with the

national level when it comes to annually reporting

on progress towards the strategy’s headline targets.

We will need to think outside the box and generate

new alliances between regions and cities. Translating

the five Europe 2020 headline targets to take

account of the specific territorial characteristics of

our regions and cities will require clear governance,

monitoring and evaluation structures, fresh funding

and a sound communication strategy. Moreover, to

achieve efficient delivery on the ground, the signing

of Territorial Pacts – enabling the implementation

of Europe 2020 in partnership and the creation of

greater synergies between public budgets at all levels

– represents an opportunity that should be seized by

every single EU Member State.

This publication is designed to inform local and

regional authorities about the strategic potential

of Europe 2020 for your city and region. It provides

an overview of seven flagship initiatives, as well as

hands-on best practices. The new Cohesion and

Structural Funds Regulations are geared towards

achieving the Europe 2020 headline targets and

EU socio-economic and territorial cohesion. The

funds will therefore bring important additional EU

assistance and guidance so as to make your 2020

vision a reality within your region and city.

Now is the time to prepare for the next programming

period for the funds and contribute to the

development of the future Partnership Contract

between the Member States and the European

Commission. You have the opportunity to share your

ideas and good practices. Every local and regional

authority in Europe has at least one jewel it can make

shine, share and showcase to others.

Foreword

Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso

President of the Committee of the Regions

5

Over recent years, the European Union has been

fighting one of the worst crises since the start of

European integration. Both firemen and architects

have been needed. In 2012, we have been moving from

a crisis mode to applying the lessons of the crisis. The

root cause of the current situation is economic, and

we will not be able to face the social challenge unless

we overcome the economic challenge too. We have to

get the fundamentals right. We need to build a strong

and sustainable recovery on sound foundations and

work towards growth; smart, sustainable and inclusive

growth as described in our growth agenda, Europe

2020. This is the way to preserve and modernise our

social market economy, which is an open economy

with high levels of social cohesion and social justice.

Our strategy of growth-friendly fiscal consolidation,

economic reforms and targeted investments is

beginning to show results. Deficits are coming down,

tensions in financial markets are easing and there

are signs that competitiveness is improving in some

Member States. But there is no room for complacency.

More than ever, it is crucial to stick to our strategy

and to retain a sense of urgency. Obviously these

reforms are difficult, painful and may have social

consequences. In some parts of Europe we are seeing

a real social emergency with rising poverty and very

high levels of unemployment, especially amongst our

young people. The European Commission is doing

the best it can to contribute to delivering a job-rich

recovery and combat social exclusion. But determined

and concerted action is needed from us all.

We will only succeed with full ownership and

commitment from all levels, particularly from regional

and local levels. Regional and local authorities

have key competences and are often best placed to

implement the necessary reforms in crucial areas such

as education, research, active labour market policies,

energy efficiency and social inclusion. With specific

targets reflecting the priorities of our Europe 2020

strategy and clear conditions for the implementation

of EU funding, we will be able to deliver tangible results

in our regions, in our cities and in our rural areas

together. EU structural funds are both a real expression

of solidarity and a major driver of economic recovery

and convergence. They represent a vital source of

growth-enhancing public investment for the European

Union. We need to work closely together to make sure

that they are focussed on results.

This is why we need a cohesion policy that concentrates

even more on our growth and job objectives, and that

reinforces Europe’s competitiveness and our new system

of economic governance. The fact is that local and

regional bodies have to be better anchored and actively

involved in our new economic governance. We also need

to stand together and show the necessary openness in

support of the proper Multiannual Financial Framework

to take us to 2020. It is time to support a budget for

growth at the European level. The real issue is how to

get back to sustainable growth. The European budget is

an instrument for investment in Europe and growth in

Europe, and cohesion policy is an indispensable part of

that purpose.

In this context, I very much welcome this publication and

thank the Committee of the Regions for bringing together

all the information to make Europe 2020 happen on the

ground in one document. I am confident that it will be

an important tool for municipalities and regions and

help them to succeed in achieving our common goal of

boosting sustainable growth and competitiveness for our

citizens and our businesses. This is even more important

and opportune in 2013 which has been declared “The

European Year of Citizens”.

José Manuel Barroso

President of the European Commission

We need cohesion policy that concentrates on growthand jobs


6

The EU is currently experiencing very challeng-

ing economic times. The crisis has clearly dem-

onstrated how interlinked our economies are.

Citizens across Europe have faced difficult years

and now justifiably expect leadership from their

Governments to deliver economic growth and

stability. This is why the Irish Presidency is plac-

ing economic recovery and job creation at the

centre of its Presidency programme. The history

of the Union has shown that the EU can deliver

results, including through the Single Market, and

as Presidency we are working to generate positive

change for citizens.

The Irish Presidency is working to make progress

in a broad range of areas including the Single

Market, the digital economy, the research and in-

novation sector, green technologies and external

trade, with the overarching objective of promot-

ing sustainable economic growth and employ-

ment. It’s also seeking to advance the Europe

2020 process to ensure that the Union remains

competitive in a rapidly changing global mar-

ket. The Presidency is also working to strengthen

national economies through implementation of

economic governance measures, creating a more

stable environment for investors, consumers and

businesses to support economic recovery.

Ireland also stands ready to take forward whatever

actions that remain at the heart of its Presidency,

to bring the EU’s future financing to a successful

conclusion and to underpin investment in stra-

tegic areas of the EU economy; from education

programmes to energy, transport and telecoms

infrastructure to programmes such as Horizon

2020, aimed at boosting the Union’s research and

innovation capabilities. The Irish Presidency is

organising a series of events to promote greater

engagement in the EU during the European Year

of Citizens, particularly at regional level. Close, on-

going and intensive engagement with citizens is a

prerequisite for building Europe’s future.

The EU has proved before that when its Member

States work closely together, it can make great

progress. The awarding of the Nobel Prize to the

citizens of the EU is testament to how much

Member States have achieved through dialogue

and cooperation. Ireland is seeking to maintain

the Union’s successful commitment of delivering

peace, prosperity and progress to all Europeans.

Enda Kenny T.D.

Prime Minister of Ireland

The Irish Presidency looks

to advance Europe 2020

Committee of the Regions’ contribution to the Europe 2020 strategy’s seven f lagship init iatives

7

Europe 2020 is a strategy that can put the EU

Member States back on the path to growth. To

achieve this, it must be tailored to the specific

situation of each EU region and dovetail with the

measures for greater cohesion, in the spirit and

tenor of the Treaty of Lisbon and, of course, Struc-

tural Fund programming. The Europe 2020 strat-

egy can only succeed if Europe’s cities and regions

are involved in its implementation by acting as

partners with other levels of government. The cit-

ies and regions of Europe have certainly needed

no encouragement to get involved.

Two years after the launch of Europe 2020, the Committee of the Regions published its 3rd CoR Monitoring Report on Europe 2020, in November 2012. At the same time, the CoR also launched a monitoring exercise on the seven flagship initia-tives of the Europe 2020 strategy, which is due to be completed in time for the March 2014 Summit of European Cities and Regions, which will take stock of the findings of the monitoring exercise and feed into the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Each survey by the CoR’s Europe 2020 Monitor-ing Platform has shown that local and regional authorities are active in most policy fields cov-ered by the strategy. The strategy has also helped to create a “shared language” enabling local and regional authorities to improve relations both among themselves and with higher levels of government and other stakeholders. It has also encouraged certain local authorities to set more ambitious targets and has helped trigger a rich experience-sharing process.

Various forms of “multi-level agreements” have arisen here and there, adapted in line with the objectives of Europe 2020, no doubt encouraged by the positive experiences of cohesion policy. Nonetheless, it should be said that Europe 2020 faces a number of serious challenges.

Firstly, the financial crisis is having a very heavy impact on local and regional spending. Local and

regional authorities are drastically cutting back public investments that support growth in order to focus their expenditure on anti-crisis welfare measures. That being said, direct sub-national investment, which amounted to EUR 204 billion in 2011, has always accounted for two thirds of European public investment while sub-national expenditure amounted to EUR 2109 billion or 16.7% of GDP and 34% of public spending.

At European level, our surveys have revealed a se-ries of problems:

– a lack of coordination between the different political instruments, which is compounded by:

– a lack of available financial resources for the Europe 2020 objectives, and

– a strong need to simplify administrative procedures and to help provide local and regional public administration with greater operational capacities;

– insufficient consideration is given to the regional impact of EU policies.

Unfortunately the Annual Growth Survey for 2013, which was published by the European Commission at the end of November 2012, did not address these issues. We will therefore have to make further efforts at European level to convince the need for the Member States to draft the 2013 National Reform Programmes, as the main Europe 2020 implementation tools, in partnership with the local and regional authorities.

There is another sword of Damocles hanging

above the head of the Europe 2020 strategy: in

reality, most of the growth and recovery meas-

ures are based on structural reform (liberalisa-

tion and labour market and pension reforms), the

overwhelming majority of which are to be ad-

dressed at national level, with no increase in the

EU budget. However, it is not possible to pursue

an ambitious strategy without providing the req-

uisite budgetary resources for its implementation

at EU level.

Europe 2020is a strategy that can put the EU back on the pathto growth

“Cohesion policy

is, par excellence,

a strategic

investment

instrument for

sustainable growth and competitiveness,

one which evens out macro-economic

imbalances over time and fosters cohesion.

Local and regional authorities are key

actors in successful implementation of

the Europe 2020 strategy as they could

provide valuable knowledge of different

local situations and a realistic bottom-up

approach.”

Martin Schulz,

President of the European Parliament

“I see my role

as a unifying

role. Meeting

the Committee of the Regions is part of

that role. I hope that, with assistance from

local and regional authorities, the Europe

2020 strategy will be more successful than

its predecessor, the Lisbon strategy. I will

personally see to it that Europe 2020 will

not become another bureaucratic process.”

Herman Van Rompuy,

President of the European Council


8

Furthermore, I also believe that we often confuse

necessary budgetary discipline with austerity by

focusing more on relatively arbitrary reduction

targets than on actually identifying the quality

and productive spending that could pave the way

for economic recovery. It is a case of putting the

cart before the horse. For – if we want to achieve

high levels of employment – it is also absolutely

vital to follow through with fiscal consolidation

and economic recovery, both by maintaining

levels of consumption and by ensuring that more

people contribute to the finances of the welfare

state.

A third comment: there has been a shift towards

a “macroeconomisation” of economic governance

with a concomitant risk that the Europe 2020

strategy may be relegated to a lower position in

the EU’s ranking of political priorities. The fact that

the first strategy document of the presidents of

the Commission, the European Council, the ECB

and the Eurogroup, entitled “Towards a Genuine

Economic and Monetary Union”, made no explicit

mention of the Europe 2020 strategy or its role in

strengthening the EU’s economic governance is a

clear indication of this danger.

Lastly, I think that the main challenge for any

new form of political integration is to ensure

the democratic nature of the EU’s economic

governance. Working together with the European

Parliament, we must put forward specific avenues

for reform which involve parliaments, local and

regional authorities and the social partners

more closely in the European Semester process,

which is currently something of a black hole

democratically. We should not be using “country-

specific recommendations” to set the retirement

age or eligibility thresholds for social housing in

the Member States, which is a matter for national

democratic decision-making.

The challenge for the Committee of the Regions

will be to make sure that we are able to analyse

and put forward ideas as part of this economic

governance which, with its specific decision-

making mechanisms, stands in stark contrast to

what has always been at the very heart of the

Committee of the Regions’ activities, namely

participation in the process of drafting EU

legislation.

Interview with Michel Delebarre, Coordinator of the CoR’s Europe 2020 strategy Monitoring Platform

“Europe 2020 cannot succeed without the active involvement of Europe’s regions and cities”

We met Michel Delebarre, Coordinator of the CoR’s Europe 2020 strategy Monitoring Platform, who

told us how the Europe 2020 strategy affects local and regional authorities, as well as about the

platform’s programme and proposals for the future. He believes strongly that the new strategy

cannot afford to repeat the errors of the Lisbon strategy: “The Europe 2020 strategy cannot succeed

unless Europe’s towns and regions are actively involved in implementing it, working alongside the

other tiers of governance.”

The Committee of the Regions has set up a

Europe 2020 strategy Monitoring Platform

for which you are coordinator. Why this

platform? What is it aiming to achieve?

The Europe 2020 strategy is the European Union’s

roadmap for economic and social policy - indeed,

almost 80% of the EUR 330 billion earmarked for the

future cohesion policy will be spent on it. The Europe

2020 strategy is designed to enable the EU Member

States and their regions and towns to kick-start

growth. Over 150 local and regional authorities are

members of the Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform

and they all agree on one key message: the errors of

the Lisbon strategy must not be repeated. The Europe

2020 strategy cannot succeed unless Europe’s towns

and regions are actively involved in implementing it,

working alongside the other tiers of governance. In

order to achieve this objective, it must adapt to the

specific situation in each EU region and work with

measures to boost economic, social and territorial

cohesion, in accordance with both the spirit and

letter of the Lisbon Treaty and - naturally - structural

fund programming.

The platform has recently canvassed the views

of local and regional authorities to assess the

Youth on the Move initiative. What are the chief

results of this? What role could and should be

played by towns and regions in combating

unemployment among young people?

I would like to draw three conclusions from this survey.

Firstly, as regards young people, Europe cannot do

everything; it has neither the means nor the power.

However, without European encouragement,

national and regional youth policies lack perspective

and points of convergence. The best illustration

Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform

To achieve the Europe 2020 goals, all

tiers of government should work in

partnership, implementing multilevel

governance agreements. Coordination and

synchronisation of partners’ agendas and

integration of their sectoral policies would

unlock great potential in the form of synergies

and systemic effects when implementing

National Reform Programmes. It is crucial

to consider the close links between this

and the ongoing discussion on the new EU

Multiannual Financial Framework after 2013.

To boost mutual learning, CoR is collecting

policy experiences featuring partnerships

between different government tiers. The

Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform is the CoR’s

network of local and regional authorities and

an electronic platform at the same time. It

aims to assess the Europe 2020 strategy from

the point of view of EU regions and cities.

To become a member of the Monitoring

Platform visit our website:

http://portal.cor.europa.eu/europe2020

or contact the Platform by email:

[email protected]


9

of this is, I believe, the EU’s “snowball effect”, which

certainly influenced the recent decision presented by

Jean-Marc Ayrault’s government to bring in a youth

guarantee. Youth employment needs to be tackled

by means of a policy which takes all aspects of young

people’s lives into account: housing, education and

healthcare. Policies cannot be split into a youth

employment policy and a housing or education

policy. Lastly, the European Commission’s proposals

on youth employment need to be built into the

governance of the Europe 2020 strategy, particularly

when framing country-specific recommendations.

What topics will the platform be considering

over the next few months? What will be the

key issues for you in 2013?

We are currently involved in monitoring the seven

flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy;

this exercise will be finalised in March 2014 when a

Summit of Regions and Cities of Europe will draw

conclusions from it in order to influence the mid-

term review of the Europe 2020 strategy. In late

February during the Irish Presidency, we will hold

a forum on the Europe 2020 flagship initiative An

Agenda for New Skills and New Jobs in Dublin, and

another in April in Brussels on the EU’s industrial

policy. I believe that there are three key issues. Firstly,

the bulk of growth measures proposed at European

level are based on proposals for structural reform

(liberalisation, reform of the labour market, reform of

the pension system) which are almost entirely aimed

at the national level and assume that the EU budget

will remain at the same level. However, there is no

way we can carry out an ambitious strategy without

the resources needed to implement it at EU level.

Next, economic governance in its current form at EU

level focuses exclusively on macroeconomic issues.

Employment is at best a secondary consideration.

This is proven by the fact that most Member

States did not include a national employment

plan, setting out a complete set of measures to

promote job creation, in their 2012 national reform

programmes. The third key issue is democratising

the EU’s economic governance. We need to propose

practical avenues for reform giving parliaments,

local and regional authorities and the social partners

a stronger role in the EU’s economic governance,

which is currently something of a democratic

black hole. The Commission should not be working

behind the scenes, with national civil servants and

via country-specific recommendations, to set the

retirement age for each Member State or eligibility

criteria for council housing.

The Committee of the Regions issued its 3rd

Monitoring Report on Europe 2020, during

the 2012 Open Days. Europe 2020 is a

natural priority for the new CoR Presidency,

since it sees the achievement of growth in

quantitative as well as qualitative terms

(growth should be smart, sustainable

and inclusive) and as something that can

be flexibly adapted to different national

situations.

This Third Monitoring Report can be found at:

http://portal.cor.europa.eu/europe2020/

news/Pages/3rdCoRMonitoringReportonEur

ope2020.aspx

Michel Delebarre (FR/PES), Senator and Mayor

of Dunkirk, Coordinator of the CoR’s Europe 2020 strategy

Monitoring Platform


10

Europe 2020 is the European Union’s ten-year

growth strategy. It is about more than just

overcoming the crisis which continues to afflict

many of our economies. It is about addressing

the shortcomings of our growth model and

creating the conditions for a different type of

growth that is smarter, more sustainable and

more inclusive. To render this more tangible, five

key targets have been set for the EU to achieve

by the end of the decade, and each member

country has set its own contribution to these

targets. These cover employment; education;

research and innovation; social inclusion and

poverty reduction; and climate/energy. The

strategy was approved by the European Council

in June 2010.

The strategy also includes seven “flagship

initiatives” providing a framework through which

the EU and national authorities mutually reinforce

their efforts in areas supporting the Europe 2020

priorities such as innovation, the digital economy,

employment, youth, industrial policy, poverty,

and resource efficiency.

Europe 2020 will only be a success if it is the subject

of a determined and focused effort at both the EU

and national levels, including local and regional

authorities. At the EU level key decisions are being

taken to complete the single market in services,

energy and digital products, and to invest in

essential cross-border links. At national level many

obstacles to competition and job creation must be

removed. But only if these efforts are combined

and coordinated will they have the desired impact

on growth and jobs.

That is why the delivery of Europe 2020 relies

heavily on the new governance structures and

processes that the EU has been putting in place

since 2010. At the heart of these is the European

Semester, a yearly cycle of economic policy

coordination involving EU level policy guidance

by the European Commission and Council,

reform commitments by the Member States and

country-specific recommendations prepared by

the Commission and endorsed at the highest

level by national leaders in the European Council.

These recommendations should then be taken on

board in the Member States’ policies and budgets

The 5 targets for the EU in 2020

1. Employment – 75% of 20-64 year-olds to be employed

2. R&D – 3% of the EU’s GDP to be invested in R&D

3. Climate change /

energy

– Greenhouse gas emissions 20% lower than 1990

– 20% of energy from renewable energy sources

– 20% increase in energy efficiency

4. Education – Reducing school drop-out rates below 10%

– At least 40% of 30-34–year-olds completing third level education

5. Poverty / social

exclusion

– At least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion

The official Europe 2020 website is:

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm

“Whilst retaining

their essential

focus on Europe 2020, the Common

Strategic Framework provides a strong

basis for multi-sectoral integrated

programming. The CSF sets out how the

innovative instruments we have proposed

in the regulation can be articulated to

deliver real place-based programmes

and projects. Key mechanisms such as

Integrated Territorial Investments or

Community-led local development will

offer a genuine opportunity to Member

States and regions to fully apply the

principle of subsidiarity and to empower

key partners to take their development into

their own hands. Cohesion Policy is one

of the keys that can unlock our economic

transformation in the coming decade. We

must defend it, and at the same time make

every effort to increase its effectiveness.

To re-launch growth and job creation, a

sufficient budget for cohesion is needed.

But to convince tax payers and the main

contributors on a sufficient budget, we

need to deliver on our promises to make the

policy more effective. We can only defend

an ambitious budget for a strong Cohesion

Policy if we demonstrate our commitment

to a modern and smart implementation

process and clear objectives aligned with

the Europe 2020 strategy.”

Johannes Hahn,

EU Commissioner for Regional Policy

“

t

Europe 2020 in a nutshell


11

The Committee of the Regions strongly supports

the Europe 2020 strategy, while emphasising the

need to coordinate and implement actions at all

levels of government, including local and regional

authorities. The CoR accomplishes this through a

variety of mechanisms and initiatives, including

the Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform and

Territorial Pacts. As part of the European Semester

and the monitoring of the Europe 2020 strategy,

the Member States submit their annual National

Reform Programmes, which specify the progress

made and action to be undertaken in areas such

as employment, research, innovation, energy or

social inclusion in order to meet the goals and

targets set out in the Europe 2020 strategy.

All Member States have committed themselves to

the Europe 2020 strategy. However, each country

has different economic circumstances and

translates the overall EU objectives into national

targets in its National Reform Programme – a

document which presents the country’s policies

and measures to sustain growth and jobs and

to reach the Europe 2020 targets. The National

Reform Programme is presented in parallel with

its Stability and Convergence Programme, which

sets out the country’s budgetary plans for the

coming three or four years. The Country-specific

Recommendations are documents prepared

by the European Commission for each country,

analysing its economic situation and providing

recommendations on measures it should adopt

over the coming 12 months. They are tailored to

the particular issues the Member State is facing and

cover a broad range of topics: the state of public

finances, reforms of pension systems, measures to

create jobs and to fight unemployment, education

and innovation challenges, etc. The final adoption

of Country-specific Recommendations prepared

by the Commission is done at the highest level by

national leaders in the European Council.

In September 2012, the CoR published a study

on the “Role of local and regional authorities in

the Europe 2020 National Reform Programmes –

analysis of the 2012 National Reform Programmes”.

The study analysed the role played by territorial

authorities in the first round of National Reform

Programmes (NRP) submissions in 2011. It

reflected the dynamic nature of Europe’s

economic and policy landscape, including the

pressing need to promote sustainable job growth

and the fiscal consolidation of the public sector.

Local and regional authorities are referred to in the

majority of National Reform Programmes – 24 out

of a total of 27 NRPs state that territorial authorities

have a role in implementing the actions outlined

in the NRP. Local and regional authorities are also

frequently mentioned (in 20 out of 27 NRPs) in the

context of NRP implementation, with a specific

focus on the two priority areas of job creation and

combating youth unemployment.

“Today, the

main challenge

is economic

growth. Europe

needs growth. Not just national policy, but

all European policies must be focused on

creating conditions for growth. Therefore,

our common responsibility - the European

Commission, the European Parliament,

Member States, local and regional

authorities - is to ensure that the European

budget is an effective and efficient

engine for development, a truly long-

term investment in the future of Europe

supporting the objectives of the Europe

2020 strategy. The European Parliament

has shown strong support to the alignment

of cohesion policy with the Europe 2020

strategy, arguing that cohesion policy has

to contribute in a concrete and measurable

way to the Europe 2020 strategy goals for

smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

We believe that the explicit linkage to the

Europe 2020 strategy, through thematic

objectives derived from it, provides a real

opportunity for reform, prioritisation,

increased synergies and a better delivery

system. We all agree that public investment

needs to be better targeted and spending

needs to be more effective in the future.

However, members of my Committee

plead for greater flexibility, giving

regions and municipalities more leeway

to adapt programmes to their specific

characteristics; as indeed Europe’s regions

and cities are not only making a difference,

but they are also different and each has a

specific mix of strength and weaknesses,

challenges and opportunities.”

Danuta Hübner,

Chairwoman of the Committee

on Regional Development, European

Parliament

Europe 2020 National Reform Programmesand territorial authorities

The mostimportant issuefor the region:unemployment

< 20%

20% - 40%

40% - 60%

60% - 80%

> 80%

% of respondents

© EuroGeographics Association for theadministrative boundaries EuroGeographicsAssociation for the administrative boundaries

0 500 Km

Guyane

Açores

Guadeloupe Martinique

Madeira

Canarias

Réunion

REGIOgis

The 27 National Reform Programmes, and Country-

Specific Recommendations, can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 356


12

Country-specific Europe 2020 targets as set by Member States in their National Reform Programmes in April 2011

Source:

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/targets_en.pdf

EU/Member States targetsEmployment rate

(in %)R&D in % of GDP

CO2 emission

reduction targets

Renewable

energy

Energy efficiency –

reduction of energy

consumption in Mtoe

Early school

leaving in %

Tertiary education

in %

Reduction of population at risk of poverty or social

exclusion in number of persons

EU headline target 75% 3%-20% (compared to

1990 levels)20%

20% increase in energy

efficiency equalling

368 Mtoe

10% 40% 20,000,000

Estimated EU3 73.70-74% 2.65-2.72%-20% (compared to

1990 levels)20% 206.9 Mtoe 10.30-10.50% 37.50-38.0%

Result cannot be calculated because of differences

in national methodologies

AT 77-78% 3.76% -16% 34% 7.16 9.5% 38% 235,000

BE 73.2% 3.0% -15% 13% 9.80 9.5% 47% 380,000

BG 76% 1.5% 20% 16% 3.20 11% 36% 260,000

CY 75-77% 0.5% -5% 13% 0.46 10% 46% 27,000

CZ 75% 1% (public sector only) 9% 13% n.a. 5.5% 32%

Maintaining the number of persons at risk of

poverty or social exclusion at the level of 2008

(15.3% of total population) with efforts to reduce

it by 30,000

DE 77% 3% -14% 18% 38.30 <10% 42% 330,000 (long-term unemployed)

DK 80% 3% -20% 30% 0.83 <10% At least 40% 22,000 (household with low work intensity)

EE 76% 3% 11% 25% 0.71 9.5% 40%Reduce the at risk of poverty rate (after social

transfers) to 15% (from 17.5% in 2010)

EL 70% to be revised -4% 18% 2.70 9.7% 32% 450,000

ES 74% 3% -10% 20% 25.20 15% 44% 1,400,000-1,500,000

FI 78% 4% -16% 38% 4.21 8%

42% (narrow

national

definition)

150,000

FR 75% 3% -14% 23% 34.00 9.5% 50%

Reduction of the anchored at risk of poverty rate

by one third for the period 2007-2012 or by 1,600

000 people

HU 75% 1.8% 10% 14.65% 2.96 10% 30.3% 450,000

IE 69-71% approx.2% (2.5% GNP) -20% 16% 2.75 8% 60% 186,000 by 2016

IT 67-69% 1.53% -13% 17% 27.90 15-16% 26-27% 2,200,000

LT 72.8% 1.9% 15% 23% 1.14 <9% 40% 170,000

LU 73% 2.3-2.6% -20% 11% 0.20 <10% 40% No target

LV 73% 1.5% 17% 40% 0.67 13.4% 34-36% 121,000

MT 62.9% 0.67% 5% 10% 0.24 29% 33% 6,560

NL 80 % 2,5 % -16% 14% n.a. <8 %>40% - 45%

expected in 2020100,000

PL 71% 1.7% 14% 15.48% 14.00 4.5% 45% 1,500,000

PT 75% 2.7-3.3% 1% 31% 6.00 10% 40% 200,000

RO 70% 2% 19% 24% 10.00 11.3% 26.7% 580,000

SE Well over 80% 4% -17% 49% 12.80 <10% 40-45%

Reduction of the % of women and men who are

not in the labour force (except full-time students),

the long-term unemployed or those on long-term

sick leave to well under 14% by 2020

SI 75% 3% 4% 25% n.a. 5% 40% 40,000

SK 72% 1% 13% 14% 1.65 6% 40% 170,000

UK No target in NRP No target in NRP -16% 15% n.a.No target in

NRPNo target in NRP

Existing numerical targets of the 2010 Child

Poverty Act

Source:

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/targets_en.pdf


13

Partnership contracts between Member States and the European Commission should be based on agreements negotiated with local and regional authorities

If we wish to restore Europe’s confidence in the

future, we must not abandon the investments

that bolster the foundations of future growth –

investment in research and innovation, education

and vocational training. Such investment is vital

for backing up labour market reforms, ensuring

the integration into the labour market of young

people and steering our economy towards green

growth.

Of course, the measures necessary in the short

term must be consistent with the goals of both

Europe 2020 and territorial cohesion, which is

subject to different conditions in line with the

particular situations of the Member States. On this

last point, it is crucial to insist on the conditions

on which our support of Europe 2020 was based:

adaptation to the different starting points, and

setting the quantitative targets not only at

national level but also at regional level. But we

must be realistic: since one of the primary tasks of

the Structural Funds will also be to help meet the

Europe 2020 goals, I believe that we must seize the

opportunity of the partnership contracts to also

discuss, around the same table, the coordination

and integration of all the other policies necessary

to the success of Europe 2020. The bottom line

is that partnership contracts signed by Member

States with the European Commission should be

based on an agreement negotiated with their

local and regional authorities.

We are convinced that the partnership approach

and multilevel governance will not only serve to

revive the economy and employment by laying

the foundations for smart, sustainable and inclusive

growth, but will also help inject fresh political

impetus into the European venture – through a

strong revival of the Community method – capable

of restoring the democratic legitimacy of the

European and national institutions.

Estonia’s “Eesti 2020” involving local and regional authorities in delivering Europe 2020

Estonia’s “Eesti 2020” competitiveness plan brings

together the main policies and measures to

improve the country’s competitiveness, and sets

targets for 2015 and 2020. The plan is in line with

the goals of the Euro 2020 strategy and with the

challenges facing Estonia. “Eesti 2020” takes into

account the government’s action programme, the

national budget strategy, the stability programme

and the action plan. It has been drawn up and

implemented under the coordination of an inter-

ministerial working group on competitiveness,

with the involvement of all the key partners and

experts from many fields.

However, local authorities were not treated

as important partners, and were only given

a secondary role as the government was not

particularly interested in having tangible input

from them on the strategy and the accompanying

action plan. The government half-heartedly

invited suggestions, but has not given any

detailed feedback.

However, it is precisely local and regional

authorities which will be responsible for

implementing numerous projects of national

importance under the plan. Many local

Estonian authorities are now being compelled

to implement numerous measures which the

“Eesti 2020” action plan envisages being taken

at local level; however, a plan which attaches so

little importance to dialogue cannot be seen as

systematic or sufficiently thought through, and in

the long term it will not be sustainable for local

authorities.

St t ith th E C i i h ld b

Mercedes Bresso (IT/PES)

First Vice-President of the Committee

of the Regions

Uno Silberg (EA/EE)

Member of Kose Municipality Council, Chairman

of the European Alliance Group of the CoR


14

Dialogue, involvement and funding to achieve

shared goals are the only reasonable means

of meeting the challenges facing Estonia in a

constructive and effective way, and this requires

closer cooperation with local authorities than

has hitherto been the case. In addition to

the EU’s recommendations to Estonia, which

must be taken into account during the annual

updating of the “Eesti 2020” action plan, there

are also fully justified expectations that local

authorities should be more effectively involved

in all respects. Closer cooperation between

the Estonian parliament and the government

together with greater involvement of local

authorities in planning and implementing

measures of national relevance could in the

long term create conditions for more economic

growth while enhancing the country’s

competitiveness and that of the European Union

as a whole.

Belgian communities and regions working together to achieve Europe 2020 objectives

In Belgium, competences are shared between

the federal level, the regions and the language

communities: exclusive competences are

attributed to the federated bodies and they are

closely involved in preparing the National Reform

Programmes (NRP) and Stability Programmes. The

NRP submitted in 2011 by the federal government

thus fully included the measures that the

language communities and regions intend to roll

out in order to help achieve the five objectives of

the Europe 2020 strategy.

The regions have also drawn up their own

regional reform programmes, the key points

of which are set out in the NRP: Vlaanderen in

actie (Flanders in Action) for Flanders and the Plan

Marshall 2.Vert (Marshall Plan 2.Green) for Wallonia.

The NRP is part of the European Semester process

introduced in 2011 under the Europe 2020

strategy. The NRP submitted in 2011 was therefore

the first of its kind. The 2012 version aims firstly

to describe the progress made with the reforms

announced in 2011 in terms of achieving the

national objectives and, secondly, to fulfil the

Council’s recommendations. This programme

should also take on board the guidelines supplied

by the European Commission and the European

Council for the 2012 European Semester, with

particular reference to the youth unemployment

issue.

The 2012 Belgian NRP is divided into three main

sections. The first focuses on macroeconomic

surveillance and comes under the macroeconomic

imbalance surveillance and prevention process.

The second scrutinises the implementation of the

2011 NRP, detailing Belgium’s response to each of

the Council’s recommendations. The third section

reports on the state of progress and presents

newly-planned measures concerning the

Europe 2020 objectives (employment, R&D and

innovation, education and training, energy and

the climate, social inclusion). Once again, each

body contributes to drafting the programmes

for the fields relevant to it. In this way, a joint

contribution from Wallonia and the Wallonia-

Brussels Federation was appended to the 2012

programme.

Since the Council’s recommendations to Belgium

mainly concern federal competences, the

NRP details the measures taken by the federal

government, especially in the area of pension

reform, unemployment schemes and taxation, as

well as macroeconomic stability measures. The

federated bodies also had the opportunity to

highlight the measures taken by their respective

governments, mirroring the European guidelines

and the aim of achieving the Europe 2020 strategy

objectives.

The Commission’s recommendations, endorsed

by the European Council of 28 and 29 June 2012,

provide a roadmap for each of our governments

to press ahead with reforms and, if appropriate, to

implement new initiatives and contributions for

the next NRP.

“It is important

for achieving

the Europe

2020 strategy

and the Common Strategic Framework,

in accordance with the principle of

proportionality, that the CSF effectively

play its role of clarifying and spelling out

the logic of individual fund intervention

in the future programming period, while

leaving room for adapting programme

intervention to the specific situation, needs

and potential of individual Member States

and regions. The CSF should provide an

indicative framework for partnership

contracts and operational programmes

prepared in individual Member States.

This will give the Member States and their

competent regional and local authorities

the possibility of pursuing an individual

approach which responds to their

development needs, while taking account

of the objectives of the Europe 2020

strategy.”

Marek Woźniak (PL/EPP),

Marshal of the Wielkopolska region,

Chairman of the COTER Commission

of the CoR

“

f

t

2

Michel Lebrun (BE/EPP)

Member of the Parliament of the French-speaking

Community, Chair of the CoR’s Commission for

Financial and Administrative Affairs (CFAA)

15

I would like to see a stronger emphasis on cultureand innovation

Youth unemployment hit a record high of 23% in

autumn 2012 for the European Union. As Chair of

the CoR Commission on Education, Youth, Culture

and Research (EDUC), I am devoted to the further

development of youth policies at a time when

the crisis is having a strong impact on the next

generation.

Within this context, I would like to see a stronger

emphasis on culture and innovation. In my

opinion on promoting cultural and creative

sectors for growth and jobs in the EU, I underline

that the preservation and development of

culture, in all its expressions, is in serious danger

due to the financial cuts. We have to remember

that culture and creativity are important driving

forces for growth in the regional and local

economy. Moreover, by giving young people

the opportunity to take part in cultural events,

we enable them to broaden their horizons and

overcome prejudices. This is an important step

towards a more inclusive, responsible and equal

society. Culture and innovation is therefore, in my

view, a cornerstone for developing jobs and skills

for the next generation.

There have been many proposals from the

European Commission in relation to youth policies

and getting young people into work. Most

recently, the Youth Employment Package. It is in

the EDUC Work programme for 2013 and we will

ensure that local and regional authorities can have

their say. I also welcome the Youth Opportunity

flagship initiative and the consultation on a

quality framework for traineeships, as proposed

by the European Commission. Such measures,

within the Europe 2020 strategy’s Youth on the

Move initiative, are also a clear priority for the Irish

Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In many

Member States, local and regional authorities are

primarily responsible for youth policy. With the

principle of subsidiarity in mind, we will endeavor

to support all proposals that ensure young people

can have a smooth transition from education to

work.

Unemployment levels of young people are twice as high as the average of the total workforce and in some Member States, one in two below 25

is now jobless as a result of the economic crisis. Youth unemployment stands at an unprecedented high of 5.5 million (23.6%, up by 50% since

2008). Many of these young people looking for a job will miss opportunities because they lack the right qualifications or experience. The European

Commission launched Youth on the Move, the flagship initiative aimed at helping these young people to gain the knowledge, skills and experience

they need to make their first job a reality. Part of the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy, Youth on the Move proposes 28 key actions aimed at making

education and training more relevant to young people’s needs and encouraging more of them to take advantage of EU grants to study or train in

another country. This will increase young people’s employability and access to the labour market.

Anton Rombouts (NL/EPP)

Mayor of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Chairman

of the Education, Youth, Culture and Research

Commission (EDUC) of the CoR

Youth on the Move


16

One of the main goals for youth and education

policy in my city Hertogenbosch is to reduce

the number of youngsters leaving school

without qualifications. I believe that responsible

investments in culture and sport help to promote

tolerance and mutual respect whilst creating

a safe city for all. As far as young people are

concerned, we need to ensure that they have

access to new skills and jobs; be this through

traditional education or extracurricular activities.

Unless we invest now in support of growth in a sustainable manner, we risk a lost generation

Young people have borne the brunt of the

crisis: they face unprecedented levels of

unemployment and increased risks of social

exclusion and poverty. Unless we invest now in

support of growth in a sustainable manner, we

risk a lost generation. Education, along with social

policies, have a crucial role to play; education in

particular is the foundation for developing the

skills and competences which Europe needs to

remain competitive and ensure we have the right

people for the jobs of tomorrow. We must create

the conditions that will help young people to be

active in society and to have a future. The critical

mass to achieve these objectives is there.

The European Commission recently launched

the “Rethinking Education” initiative which

calls on Member States and regions to invest

more in education and training and ensure that

institutions and systems are more open, flexible

and efficient. Everybody needs to master the

basic skills in literacy and numeracy, but these

alone are not enough to succeed in the modern

knowledge economy. Young people also need

good computer skills, entrepreneurship skills, and

to speak foreign languages. Fewer people will

stay in the same job or profession throughout

their working life in future. Skills which enhance

people’s versatility are increasingly important.

The Commission supports Member States by

encouraging the exchange of good practice and

ideas, as well as monitoring national reforms.

We also provide grants to more than 400 000

young people a year to enhance their skills

through opportunities to study, train or volunteer

abroad under the Lifelong Learning Programme

(Erasmus, Leonardo, Comenius, Grundtvig) and

Youth in Action. We have proposed to double the

number of these grants through the new Erasmus

for all programme in 2014-2020. The Commission

also promotes “youth guarantees” to avoid the risk

of young people being out of work or education

for too long. Reforming education and training

systems takes time, so it is essential that Member

States and regions (which are normally the level

of government responsible for education and

training) act now to ensure that today’s young

people do not become a lost generation.

Youth on the Move can only be successfully implemented with the help of local and regional authorities

The EU’s Youth on the Move flagship initiative can

only be successfully implemented with the help of

local and regional authorities, because their contact

with young people puts them in the best position

to understand their situation and circumstances.

Local and regional authorities can develop systems

to promote mobility in education and training pro-

grammes and cross-border voluntary work by sup-

porting the development organisations that send

or host volunteers, and also by encouraging young

people at local level to get involved in international

voluntary work.

They can motivate young people to get involved

in local decision-making processes, so that today’s

youth can contribute more to the economic, social

and political life of the regions. This can also help

Androulla Vassiliou

European Commissioner for Education, Culture,

Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth

Alin Adrian Nica (RO/ALDE)

Mayor of Dudeştii Noi, former Chairman of the

Education, Youth, Culture and Research Commission

(EDUC) of the CoR

Youth on the Move

“Cities and regions

are not only home

for European

citizens but also

the heart and spirit of the European Union.

They are the driving force for the Europe

2020 strategy and the flagship initiative

Youth on the Move. The contribution to

the strategy by local and regional level is

essential for its success.”

Doris Pack,

MEP, Chairwoman of the Culture

and Education Committee

“

a

f


17

them to develop into conscientious European

citizens. The CoR opinion on the Green Paper on

Promoting the learning mobility of young people

notes that local and regional authorities can make

an important contribution to enhancing mobility

for education purposes. This is particularly true

with respect to information, advice and awareness-

raising, but also in most cases for quality control and

financial support.

Being represented at European level is critically

important, especially for young people. Voluntary

work is an example: the European Voluntary

Service enables young people to visit another

country, learn new languages, try out new career

paths and further their personal development.

The EU can support Member States like Romania

in helping voluntary organisations to overcome

the many obstacles (e.g. legal and financial) they

face. The EU also has major funding programmes,

such as the European Social Fund and the Youth

in Action programme, which provide support

and advice to national, local and regional

organisations.

New Youth Competence Centres are good tools for Investingin youth, new skills and jobs

The sharp increase in youth unemployment, linked

to a great extent to the current economic crisis

and the subsequent decline in job creation, is also

due to a mismatch between labour market needs

and the available skills. Yet formal education is not

the only way of equipping people with the right

skills for employment. This is why it is necessary

to focus on learning outcomes as well as on

knowledge and skills gained in practical contexts

by recognising, inter alia, skills and competences

previously acquired elsewhere, including through

informal and non-formal education.

The Youth Competence Centres (YCC) in Antwerp,

Belgium, which guide and encourage young

people to discover and develop their skills, are

a tangible example of this approach. We look at

how people spend their leisure time and what

their non-formal skills are. We make young people

aware of their talents and offer them a chance

to start working with them. Our “‘occupational

competency tutors” work together with young

people to identify their needs when it comes

to looking for work or deciding on appropriate

training.

There are currently three YCCs in Antwerp. The

“de Branderij” YCC in Borgerhout focuses on

the implementation of integrated competence

pathways in the same way as our other projects

in Antwerp, placing a particular emphasis on

management training and youth. At “21N” we

focus on reaching out to the maximum number

of vulnerable young people in their free time.

The explicit objective is to improve their chances

on the labour market. Finally, “Zappa” , in Kiel,

seeks to turn the skills that young people acquire

in their leisure time into real assets on the labour

market. YCCs are certainly no panacea but they

do represent an important step in the right

direction.

Youth on the Move

Mia De Vits (BE/PES)

Member of the Flemish Parliament

18

Agenda for New Skills and Jobs

The role of local and regional authorities in promoting growth and creating jobs

During this difficult period of economic crisis

and repeated attempts at recovery, it is vital

to promote the role which the EU can play in

restoring growth, particularly through its local

and regional authorities. The Committee of

the Regions felt the need to table an opinion

which, by distilling the experience of the regions,

could provide strong and authoritative input for

the European debate. The opinion begins by

noting that socio-economic disparities between

Member States and regions have been getting

bigger rather than smaller. The economic crisis

has shown that public spending can no longer be

managed inefficiently. Analysis of the institutions’

proposals and of the situation has led the

Committee to the following conclusions:

– The importance of strengthening the single

market, reducing regulatory complexity,

mobilising the EIB and introducing project

bonds (especially in relation to the Connecting

Europe Facility) to fund fast-acting measures to

promote growth;

– The crucial role of local authorities and the

need to make better use of the ESF, the

ERDF and other EU programmes (Progress

microfinancing facility and the European

Globalisation Adjustment Fund);

– The need for more incentives for

entrepreneurship, inter alia through Erasmus

for young entrepreneurs, and investments with

chambers of commerce and the Enterprise

Europe Network;

– Promotion of CSR and quality labels (both public

and private) to help and support employment

and industry and strengthen support for

proper training, and apprenticeships with work

experience.

This initiative outlines how the Commission will help the EU reach its employment target for 2020: 75% of the working-age population (20-64 years)

in work. The Agenda also contributes to achieving the EU’s targets to get the early school-leaving rate below 10% and more young people in higher

education or equivalent vocational education (at least 40%), as well as to have at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social

exclusion by 2020. The Agenda presents a set of concrete actions that will help to:

• Step up reforms to improve flexibility and security in the labour market;

• Equip people with the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow;

• Improve the quality of jobs and ensuring better working conditions;

• Improve the conditions for job creation.

Maria Luisa Coppola (IT/EPP)

Regional councillor, Veneto Region

“The economic

and financial crisis

makes a robust

investment policy promoting economic

and social cohesion more relevant than

ever. By showing the way to support the

Europe 2020 strategy targets with EU funds,

the Common Strategic Framework will

help Member States concentrate scarce

resources on the key challenges and exploit

synergies better than in the past. It will

show for example how the investments

of the European Social Fund can promote

labour market participation and reduce

unemployment by focusing on young

people and the elderly, and how skills can

be improved by better apprenticeship

policies, how education and training

systems can be reformed and active

inclusion supported. And it will also explain

how the other funds can contribute to

these vital objectives.”

László Andor,

European Commissioner for Employment,

Social Affairs and Inclusion

“

a

m


19

In 2013, the Committee of the Regions is

confirming its commitment to mapping out a

new path to growth and recovery for Europe, and

it will continue to play its part in bringing these

priorities to the attention of the Council and the

European Parliament.

The Hague: Working hard to develop new security cluster

The role of local and regional authorities in

developing the European Agenda for New Skills

and Jobs is extremely important in enabling the

European economy to grow. The Committee of

the Regions therefore recommended, back in

2011, that the contribution of Europe’s provinces

and municipalities should be strengthened,

because they are in an excellent position to

develop strategic cooperation between education

institutions, businesses and governments. The

Hague Security Delta (HSD) is a good example of

The Hague’s contribution to achieving this agenda.

The Hague is working hard to develop the security

cluster in the HSD. Businesses specialising in, for

example, cyber security, national security and

forensic research are working together, benefiting

from each other’s knowledge and innovation,

with certain costs being shared where necessary.

In order to strengthen the cluster even more,

The Hague has taken the initiative to develop a

wide range of training courses in cooperation

with further and higher vocational education

institutions, universities in the region (Delft and

Leiden) and industry. One good example of this is

the brand-new Cyber Security Academy.

I am convinced that these kinds of regional

cooperation between local government, industry

and knowledge institutions are the only way of

ensuring that the European economy can grow

and be competitive. There are 300 businesses

in The Hague region’s security cluster, with a

combined turnover of EUR 1.5 billion. The sector

provides 10 000 jobs, and the huge economic

potential of “security” means that this will rise to

30 000. Moreover, turnover is expected to come to

a good EUR 4 billion over several years.

It is therefore necessary, from every point of view,

to continue to look forward and to ensure that

people are well trained. Only then will we be able

to meet the expected increase in demand. We are

also contributing to increasing employment in

Europe, which is a key focal point of the European

Agenda for New Skills and Jobs.

The SÖM Project in Malmö: towards a comprehensiveand sustainable way of integrating immigrants

The Swedish city of Malmö is the Nordic country’s

third largest city, after Stockholm and Gothenburg,

with a total population of nearly 300 000. 29%

of the total population, or some 80 000 people,

live in the metropolis’s south-eastern or “SÖM”

area . Although it has the potential to be one of

the most prosperous parts of Malmö, the SÖM

area suffers high unemployment and many of

its citizens consequently rely on regional or state

social benefits. This was the main reason for the

Swedish authorities’ 2003 decision to implement,

in conjunction with the area’s businesses,

associations and residents, what became

known as the SÖM project. The SÖM project

has developed some 10 measures fostering

regeneration in the area, thus achieving the

objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, primarily

social integration, growth of the local economy

and combating unemployment. The cornerstone

of the project is a process of multi-sectoral

coordination based on an integration strategy

to generate environmental, economic and social

sustainability and stimulate growth in Malmo’s

south-eastern neighbourhoods, covering four city

districts where there is high unemployment.

This local project has enabled different

stakeholders from both the public and private

sectors, associations and NGOs to work together

to achieve sustainable growth in the area.

d b titi Th 300 b i

Henk Kool (NL/PES)

Alderman for social affairs, employment and the

economy, Municipality of The Hague

Ilmar Reepalu (SE/PES)

Mayor of Malmö



20

Furthermore, before the project got off the

ground, a public consultation and planning

process took place to identify people’s real social

needs. To go ahead with the project, the city had a

total budget of EUR 190 000, EUR 81 105 of which

came from European funds (the European Social

Fund and the European Regional Development

Fund) for the 2007-2013 financing period.

The SÖM project recently received one of the

2012 RegioStars awards, given each year by the

European Commission’s Directorate-General

for Regional Development for the best regional

development measures co-financed by the EU.

The RegioStars awards comprise five categories:

smart growth, sustainable growth, inclusive

growth, CityStar and, finally, public information

and communication. These thematic groups

reflect the objectives set by the Commission

in the Europe 2020 strategy for the future of

cohesion policy. The projects provide an example

of what European regions and cities can achieve

with funding and investment from the EU, at the

same time benefiting the whole of Europe. The

Swedish project won the award in the CityStar

category, for projects that promote integration

and development in deprived urban areas. At

the awards ceremony held on 14 June 2012,

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Regional

Policy, stressed that the awards “show the

synergies between different EU programmes and

how Regional Policy is supporting innovation and

sustainable development in different regional

contexts’’. I am very proud of the work done

through the SÖM project. Although work is still

ongoing under the area-based programme for

a socially sustainable Malmö, this award is proof

that through the SÖM project, the city of Malmö

is moving in the right direction to achieve socially

sustainable development and demonstrates the

important financing role played by European

funds.

For the Castile and León region, regional growth means employment

We in Castile and León are working to help put

the Europe 2020 strategy into practice. To achieve

regional development and growth and to counter

the effects of the crisis, such as unemployment –

which has reached record levels across Europe

– the move from study to the labour market

must be made easier. To this end, we are taking a

series of steps such as enhancing access to high-

quality training programmes. Tying in with the

youth employment initiative under the Europe

2020 strategy, Aulaceei.com (the European

Business and Innovation Centre for Castile and

León) is a platform where young entrepreneurs

can seek guidance, advice and training on

starting up a business. Its main task is to prepare

business plans and harness business innovation.

It offers a range of business courses from initial

design, administration and innovation through

to business consolidation. The platform also

promotes the dissemination of a business culture

through topical workshops and by bringing

future entrepreneurs together with academics to

pool know-how and update skills.

The regional government of Castile and León has

published a guide outlining the most relevant

future career profiles for the region involving

technological development and innovation in a

globalised world. The main aim is to ensure that

the region’s universities – who contributed to the

study – bring their subject areas and programmes

into line with the future needs of the private

industrial sector. The study has identified 67

key profiles across six broad economic sectors

(agrifood; health and quality of life; water, energy

and the environment; transport and mobility;

leisure and tourism; and industrial processes).

These measures, to be included in the European

Commission’s Youth Employment Package, are

effective and are helping society in Castile and

León to tackle the crisis.


We in Castile and León are working to help put

Juan Vicente Herrera Campo (ES/EPP)

President of the Regional Government of Castile

and Leon

21

Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era

Local authorities are partners in revitalising industry

Local authorities are concerned by industrial

policy, not only because they are the first to suffer

the consequences of deindustrialisation, but also

because they are partners, too often forgotten, in

revitalising industry.

Three of the six priority lines of action proposed

by the European Commission – bio-products,

construction and sustainable raw materials,

clean vehicles and smart networks – by their

very nature have a local dimension. In addition,

it is on a local level that changes in our way of

life and production methods are played out and

innovative ecosystems take root.

Industry is above all a collection of skills,

knowledge and know-how in businesses and their

environment provided by the people of Europe.

Local authorities have a key role in harnessing and

governing all these things.

In Picardy, the regional authorities have mobilised

local players on major issues such as bio-refinery,

alternative energy, new forms of mobility,

and clean and safe production processes. This

approach, which brings together research,

innovation and training, is being introduced in the

region by the establishment of a technopolitan

network and is one of the key strategies of the

Regional Plan for Sustainable Development and

Spatial Planning.

In a knowledge-based society, regions are not just

places where activities are carried out, but one of

the major contributors to innovation and wealth

creation.

Industry is at the ce ntre of the new growth model for the EU economy as outlined in the Europe 2020 strategy. This initiative therefore proposes a

fresh approach to industrial policy that will strengthen EU competitiveness, provide growth and jobs, and enable the transition to a low-carbon and

resource-efficient economy. For this purpose, it is essential to consider industrial policy in its wider sense, embracing those policies that have an

impact on the cost, price and innovative competitiveness of industry and individual sectors, but also taking on board the competitiveness effects

of all other policy initiatives which can have an important influence on the cost, price and innovative competitiveness. This not only includes the

single-market and trade policies, but also the transport, energy, environmental or social and consumer-protection policies.

Local authorities are concerned by industrial

Claude Gewerc (FR/PES)

President of the Picardy Regional Council

“Europe needs

its real economy

now more than

ever to underpin

the recovery of economic growth and

jobs and it needs to re-industrialise for

the 21st century. Immediate action

should contribute to reverse the current

downward trend and to promote the

re-industrialisation of Europe. Currently

industry accounts for about 16% of EU

GDP. Therefore, the European Commission

has set its goal that industry’s share of GDP

should be around 20% by 2020. Europe’s

industry is well placed to assume this role:

Europe is a world-leader in many strategic

sectors such as automotive, aeronautics,

engineering, space, chemicals and

pharmaceuticals. Industry still accounts

for 4/5 of Europe’s exports and 80% of

private sector R&D investment comes from

manufacturing. If confidence comes back,

and with it new investments, Europe’s

industry can perform better and start

growing again.”

Antonio Tajani,

Vice-President of the European

Commission, responsible for Industry

and Entrepreneurship


22

European small and medium-sized enterprises at a crossroads

In 2012, the Polish Agency for Enterprise

Development published a report showing that

in Poland 95% of firms are SMEs (compared to

an EU average of 92%), with the majority being

one-person or family enterprises. If we look back

over a longer period, it is clear that Polish SMEs

have grown more quickly than the average EU

company and considerably more quickly than

their counterparts in Western Europe. Given the

market share SMEs already have in spite of all

difficulties, we can imagine what SMEs would look

like if barriers to their activities were removed and

they were given additional support.

This is the aim of the 2014-2020 COSME

programme, i.e. the Programme for the

Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs

(2014-2020). The proposal for a regulation

of the European Parliament and the Council

establishing this programme to a large extent

guarantees support for the SME sector. Of course,

one may well question whether the figure of

EUR 2522 bn is enough to support SMEs and

enable them to succeed on European markets

and beyond. It is important that this programme,

while taking account of the EU’s current policies,

supports firms which will compete on foreign

markets, focuses on entrepreneurship education,

introduces a range of financial instruments and

allows for the redevelopment of companies

headed for bankruptcy and which have recovery

programmes.

This programme will give hope and opportunities

to thousands of SMEs throughout the EU to

overcome current labour market conditions and

increase confidence in European business on

both European and global markets.

New challenges for Industrial Policy in Saxony

The European Union has acknowledged that

a strong, diversified and globally competitive

industrial base is important for the economy

and thus also for people in general. As a highly

industrialised region of Germany, Saxony very

much welcomes this. In the early 1990s, i.e.

immediately after the reunification of Germany,

Saxony saw the need to improve competitiveness

in the long-term by targeting future-oriented

industries for development. The Dresden-Freiberg

economic region, for example, has, to a defining

degree, become a centre for the semiconductor

industry and other “key enabling technologies”

(KETs), putting it in competition not so much at EU

as at global level. Therefore, in order to be globally

competitive, we must for example improve our

training provision, free up labour markets and

avoid overregulation, such as in legislation on

chemicals.

However, Europe’s competitiveness also rests

on strategic changes of approach focusing in

particular on KETs. As cross-cutting technologies,

KETs have a decisive impact on all aspects of life.

Saxony has therefore been involved in preparing

the KET strategy and will play an active role in

implementing it.

One key element of the KET strategy is pilot lines

to fill the gap between research and production

that has been observed in Europe. The European

Union should provide industry with committed

support in setting up these pilot lines, given that

there is global competition for future-oriented

technologies. Winning this competition as often

as possible will enable us to secure jobs and

prosperity for the future.

Industrial Policyfor the Globalisation Era

In 2012 the Polish Agency for Enterprise

Witold Krochmal (PL/EA),

Member of the Wołów Town Council, coordinator

of the EA group at the ECOS commission

Jürgen Martens (DE/ALDE)

State Minister, Saxony Ministry for Justice

and for Europe

“For the

2014–2020

funding period,

the European

Commission has

envisaged around

EUR 182 billion in total for the European

Regional Development Fund. Assuming the

European Parliament and the Council take

up the proposal, this means that the fund

can continue during that period to play its

special role in promoting growth and jobs

and implementing the Europe 2020 strategy

at grassroots level. The important thing here

from the Committee of the Regions’ point of

view is that the ERDF regulation leaves local

and regional authorities with the necessary

leeway to draft and implement development

strategies tailored to local and regional

needs. Among other things, this means that

the range of ERDF support available must

not be unduly restricted and so prevented

from being given, for example, to larger

businesses or important infrastructure

projects in more developed regions.”

Michael Schneider (DE/EPP),

State Secretary, Plenipotentiary of Saxony-

Anhalt to the German Federal Government

“

2

f

t

C

e

“The regional

state aid revision

process will be

finalised in May

2013. We can’t

afford to waste scarce public resources in

the present situation and we can’t afford

the competition distortions and the harm

to growth opportunities that such wasteful

subsidies would create. It is not only

important to establish that the aid has an

incentive effect, but also that this aid will

contribute to our common objective: that

is, the economic development of regions

across the EU. In other words: it needs to

be well designed. Good subsidised projects

are those that can contribute effectively

to a region’s development strategy and

we know that the impact is higher in the

least developed regions. Given the evidence

we have reviewed about the general

ineffectiveness of aid to large companies in

more advanced regions, I believe that, on

balance, regional investment aid to large

companies should be allowed only in the

least developed regions – the so-called “A

regions” in state aid terminology.”

Joaquín Almunia,

Vice-President of the European

Commission responsible for Competition

Policy

23

European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion

We will continue to push for a stronger social dimensionin the current political agenda

Tackling the consequences of the financial, economic

and social crisis at the local and regional level

remains the key concern of the CoR’s Commission

for Economic and Social Policy (ECOS). The ECOS

Commission will therefore contribute actively

to European policy-making aimed at creating

sustainable jobs, addressing youth unemployment

and protecting the vulnerable from falling into

poverty, while managing public debt with a view

to achieving sustainable budgetary balances. These

challenges will be addressed through several

activities during 2013-2014.

The ECOS Commission’s priority is to contribute

to the future of the European strategy for jobs and

growth. Unlocking the full potential of the single

market is seen as a future source of sustainable

growth and jobs. The ECOS Commission is

currently focussing on the governance of

the single market. The ECOS Commission will

closely follow developments in relation to the

single market reform to be launched under the

umbrella of the Single Market Act II. Furthermore,

the ECOS Commission will continue its efforts to

promote small and medium-sized enterprises

and monitor the implementation of the COSME

programme, on which it has recently issued an

opinion. The fight for a substantial reduction

in administrative burdens for SMEs remains a

priority for ECOS. As a member of the European

Entrepreneurial Region (EER) Award Jury, it will

also promote an SME-friendly approach and the

“think small first” principle throughout the regions

of Europe, thus contributing to the creation

of jobs and increasing the competitiveness of

European SMEs.

In 2013, more than 80 million people across the Union are living below the poverty line. Women account for well over half of them and 20 million

are children. Young people, migrants and the low skilled, often relying on temporary and low-paid jobs, have experienced the greatest increases

in unemployment and are therefore exposed to a worsening of their living conditions. The so-called “working-poor” represented 8% of the

working population, while the risk of poverty rose significantly for the unemployed. Official data showed Eurozone unemployment rose to 11.8%

in November 2012, the highest since the euro currency was founded in 1999. The rate was up from 11.7% in October and 10.6% a year earlier.

Furthermore, 8% of Europeans live in conditions of severe material deprivation and cannot afford a number of necessities considered essential in

order to live a decent life in Europe, such as a telephone, or adequate heating. In the poorest countries, the rate is more than 30%. Moreover, over

9% of European population in working age live in households where nobody works.

Tacklingtheconsequencesofthefinancial economic

Simone Beissel (Luxembourg/ALDE)

Municipal Councillor of the City of Luxembourg,

Chairwoman of the CoR ECOS Commission


24

Despite the poverty reduction targets set by the

Europe 2020 strategy, more and more people are

finding themselves in need of support for their

livelihoods, and local and regional authorities must

respond to this increased need despite their often

limited budgets for social protection measures. We

will therefore continue to push for a stronger social

dimension in the current political agenda.

The experience of Uszka, a predominantly Roma-populated municipality in Eastern Hungary

Before 1989, the Roma population used to migrate

to work in the Western part of Hungary since there

were no work opportunities in our region. After

the change in political regime, these commuting

Roma were the first to be affected by massive

unemployment. Following local elections in 1994,

the municipal representatives’ main programme

was to help Roma find work and housing. The

returning Roma received land on which to build

houses with social support. By providing practical

and efficient assistance to the Roma population,

our municipality demonstrated that there was no

discrimination between Roma and non-Roma and

that both communities lived together in peace and

harmony. As a result, since 1990, its population has

almost doubled from 228 to 419.

Furthermore, the Roma accepted an offer whereby

the local government provided financial and

material support and the Roma provided the labour

to renovate housing. As a result, 67 houses were

renovated and five new houses were bought for

Roma in difficult social circumstances. A new model

programme, the “Education Centre”, was started.

As a result the grades of Roma pupils increased by

30%. Moreover, 37 Roma adults completed primary

education at this Education Centre.

Our local government’s third initiative was to

provide basic support for Roma families who

wanted to engage in intensive cucumber

production, for which there is a stable market in

the region. The initiative was successful. A relatively

small capital investment has given 25 Roma

families a stable source of revenue from May to

September each year. Our experience shows that

the Roma can be integrated, with support from the

public authorities and municipal government, and

that since integration leads to new skills and jobs, it

does not require substantial financial support, but

a more human approach that respects the dignity

and culture of the Roma people.

The Neuvokas network is bringing human warmthto the Arctic Lapland region

Rovaniemi, in the Arctic area of Finland, is the

northernmost town in the EU. In terms of area

it is also the largest town in the EU, extending

over 8,200 square kilometres. With its 60,000

inhabitants living far beyond the Arctic Circle,

it is also a very sparsely populated area. Rivers

and lakes are frozen for eight months every

year. Rovaniemi calls itself “the beating heart

of Lapland”: it is the capital of Lapland and the

gateway to the home of the only indigenous

people in the EU, the Sami folk. It is, of course, also

known as the official hometown of Santa Claus.

For almost 20 years the Streetwork network

“Neuvokas” (http://www.neuvokasrovaniemi.fi)

has been working in Rovaniemi, taking care of old,

sick, poor and lonely people. Its work is based on

three principles:

– cross-border/culture/generations/districts;

– subsidiarity: always be as near to people as

possible;

– Arctic, sparsely populated society: make it

more cohesive.

43 voluntary public health organisations in the

area are working together to tackle diverse issues

such as: different clinical handicaps, loneliness,


István Sértő-Radics (HU/ALDE)

Mayor of Uszka

Antti Liikkanen (FI/PES)

Member of Rovaniemi City Council, founding

member and former Chairman of the board

of Neuvokas network


25

poverty, need for assistance, schooling, culture,

nursing, escorting to hospital facilities, shopping,

face-to-face discussions. A total of 10,000 people

have dedicated some of their time to social work

without requesting a salary or other benefits. The

network has a budget of EUR 350 000, but only

five full-time workers.

Each year, 16,000 contacts are made to assist

people in need, and 8,000 hours are spent on

activities; 1,300 different people are contacted

each month. Social and health officials in the

town purchase services to the tune of EUR 53

500 a year, and the town’s culture department

EUR 25 000. Funds are used for guided art-gallery

visits, concerts, museum visits, theatre plays, and

music soirées. Finland’s Slot Machine Association

provides EUR 240 000 of financing per year for

Neuvokas’s activities.

Helping socially disadvantaged and disabled peopleis a priority for the Bratislava Region

The Bratislava Region provides social services

to make life easier for severely disabled people,

help those in difficult circumstances and

demonstrate that such people are valued and

can be integrated into society. The Bratislava

Region runs 15 social services facilities for

various target groups and disabilities. The oldest

of these is the adult Social Care Centre (SCC) in

Báhoň, which has been in operation for almost

80 years. A number of institutions celebrated

anniversaries in 2012, including the Karol Matulay

SCC, Slovakia’s first day centre for mentally

handicapped children (30th anniversary),

Sibírska SCC (25th anniversary), Hestia SCC (20th

anniversary) and the Integra SCC for adults and

children (20th anniversary). Next year, Rača SCC

will also celebrate its 20th anniversary. Javorinská

SCC for adults and children, founded in 1969, is

another of the oldest facilities. The fact that these

institutions have been in operation for many

years shows that we are carrying on a tradition.

The Bratislava Region also supports a number of

organisations and projects that focus on social

services and aid to residents.

In addition, the region has broadened and

improved the quality of its social services by

opening five sheltered housing centres, which

allow disabled people to live as independently

as possible and greatly improve their quality of

life when compared to traditional institutional

care. The Bratislava Region is also thereby

implementing the 2012-2015 National Action Plan

for the Transition from Institutional to Community

Care in the Social Services System, adopted by the

Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Families,

which is based on the Europe 2020 strategy and

the European Commission’s European Disability

Strategy 2010-2020. The Quality Requirements for

Social Services of the Bratislava Region adopted by

the Bratislava regional council constitute a further

significant step towards improving the quality of

social services. This is the first, and so far only, such

document produced by a Slovak region.

The Bratislava Region also organises its own

events, such as the Regional Olympic Games

for senior citizens from institutions run by the

region and by the City of Bratislava, which has

taken place twice so far. The aim of the event is

to provide senior citizens with a light-hearted

opportunity to take part in sport, get exercise and

have fun at the same time.


The B ices

Pavol Frešo (SK/EPP)

President of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region,

at the Regional Olympic Games for senior citizens


26

Despite years of economic growth we still have a worrying legacy of child poverty across the EU

My interest in the subject of child poverty stems

from my work with disadvantaged groups in

both the UK and developing countries. Having

experienced at first hand how poverty can

adversely affect a child’s chances to develop

and prosper, it was one of the areas where I felt

policies and action could make a difference. I live

in a city which, like many others, has demographic

divides invariably related to income, educational

attainment, job security, community safety,

housing, life expectancy, health status and

aspiration. Some years ago in Newcastle we set

about trying to address these inequalities by

exploring the issues and developing a range of

joined up policies to both recognise and alleviate

the situation. Fortunately our efforts were

recognised and in 2010 – the EU year to Combat

Poverty and Social Exclusion, we were granted

funds to host a well-received international

conference on the subject.

When the opportunity came to produce an

outlook opinion on child poverty, I offered to

“shadow” the topic as I had some expertise.

However, as no other parties wished to “bid” for

this particular subject it fell to me to produce

the full Opinion. The initiative for this Opinion

was prompted by the European Commission’s

decision to produce a Recommendation to fight

Child Poverty on the subject later in 2012, with

the CoR being one of the many groups invited

to send in comments. Despite years of economic

growth we still have a worrying legacy of child

poverty across the EU. Luckily there is an extensive

body of information about child poverty, both

within individual countries and across the EU as

a whole. Much of the research evidence focuses

on the social status and income of the families in

which the children live, stressing the importance

of child-focused benefits and tax relief, which is

clearly of importance.

The experience of poverty can be a dispiriting one

and I have tried to focus on the positive effects

which decent housing, libraries, nurseries, school

trips, free swimming and leisure facilities offer to

the developing child, and to their parents. This

is the realm of local and regional authorities and

they perform a key role in helping to improve the

experience of those children living in poverty.

The financial crisis of the past four years has

induced severe austerity measures, placing

pressure on the provision of social benefits

to economies across EU member states. A

major challenge will be to find smarter, more

effective ways to help less advantaged members

participate fully in society.

Doreen Huddart (UK/ALDE)

Member of Newcastle City Council


27

The Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) aims to reboot Europe’s economy and to help Europe’s citizens and businesses to get the most out of digital

technologies. The digital economy is growing at seven times the rate of the rest of the economy. Launched in May 2010, the DAE contains 101

actions, grouped around seven priority areas identified in December 2012 and aimed at stimulating the conditions to create growth and jobs in

Europe:

1. Create a new and stable broadband regulatory environment;

2. Produce new public digital service infrastructures through Connecting Europe Facility loans;

3. Launch a Grand Coalition on Digital Skills and Jobs;

4. Propose EU cyber-security strategy and Directive;

5. Update EU’s Copyright Framework;

6. Accelerate cloud computing through public sector buying power;

7. Launch new electronics industrial strategy – an “Airbus of Chips”.

Full implementation of this updated Digital Agenda would increase European GDP by 5%, or EUR 1500 per person, over the next eight years,

by increasing investment in ICT, improving eSkills levels in the labour force, enabling public sector innovation, and reforming the framework

conditions for the internet economy. In terms of jobs, up to one million digital jobs risk going unfilled by 2015 without pan-European action while

1.2 million jobs could be created through infrastructure construction. This would rise to 3.8 million new jobs throughout the economy in the long

term.

Digital Agenda for Europe

In Slovakia, eGovernment facilitates the access of the publicand businesses to local authorities

The city of Martin nestles amid pristine hills in

the northwest of Slovakia, around 250 km from

the capital, Bratislava. In the 19th century it was

the centre of the national revival movement

and enjoyed a thriving cultural life, its local

dialect becoming the basis for the written Slovak

language. Since 2006, the city’s mayor has been

Committee of the Regions member Andrej

Hrnčiar, a man with culture close to his heart,

having headed the city’s theatre for three years.

Hrnčiar was the first mayor in Slovakia to introduce

an innovative package of sweeping corruption

measures that brought transparency to council

affairs. Now Martin’s Transparent Town project

has received a prestigious UN award: 1st place

in the “Preventing and Combating Corruption in

the Public Service” category of the United Nations

Public Service Awards.

“We want to give the public a say in how the city is

run – not only on election day, but throughout the

whole four-year term,” says Andrej Hrnčiar. When

he took office, he uncovered a stack of long-term

contracts which, while legal, were definitely not in

The city of Martin nestles amid pristine hills in

Andrej Hrnčiar (SK/NI)

Mayor of Martin, recipient of a prestigious UN

award for the “Transparent Town” project


28

the city’s interests. So he introduced a new system

of eGovernment. In the first two years, electronic

public tenders saved the authority EUR 300 000,

around 20% of the anticipated bill for goods and

services. In addition to the direct cost savings,

the new system also motivates people to take an

interest in what is happening in the town, since

they can influence decisions and contribute with

their own initiatives.

The Martin experience has also caught on

elsewhere in Slovakia. Milan Ftáčnik, mayor

of Bratislava and another Committee of the

Regions member, has embarked on a plan to

adopt a set of anti-corruption measures in the

Slovak capital. “As far as I’m concerned, I want

to take tangible measures to change things,”

said Ftáčnik. Ján Oravec, mayor of Štúrovo and

Committee of the Regions rapporteur on the

“European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015”,

also emphasised that eGovernment facilitates

the access of the public and businesses to

local authority bodies and makes the awarding

of contracts more transparent. At a time of

economic crisis and cuts in national budgets,

greater transparency delivers immediate results in

the form of cost savings.

Digital Agenda for Europe

Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), Member of Espoo City

Council with Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European

Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda.

CoR is involved in the European Digital Agenda

In cooperation with the Committee of the

Regions (CoR) the European Commission

organised the second edition of the Digital

Agenda Assembly in June 2012 in Brussels.

Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), Member of Espoo

City Council, attended the conference and

presented the “Web-entrepreneurs Awards”.

The Digital Agenda Assembly is a significant

milestone in the delivery of the Digital Agenda,

which is the European Union’s (EU) strategy

to promote information society. It provides a

unique opportunity to encourage discussion

and networking amongst information society

stakeholders, bringing together representatives

of authorities from European and third countries,

EU institutions, civil society, industry, and citizens.

The Assembly consists of an online space for

discussions launched ahead of the event, eight

workshops on key Digital Agenda topics and a

plenary session to report feedback on previous

discussions and hold debates on the way forward.

“As the Internet supports and delivers more

and more Government services – education,

transport, healthcare, commerce – we cannot

create a new digital divide. We need sustained

action to get every European digital: with the

skills and the confidence to face the future and to

build a competitive continent,” said Neelie Kroes,

Vice-President of the European Commission

responsible for the Digital Agenda.

Public bodies produce, collect or hold information

such as statistics or data from publicly funded

research projects which in the framework of

the Europe 2020 strategy can contribute to

economic growth and job creation. This data has

a significant potential for re-use in new products

and services. So by unlocking this economic

potential, the public sector can participate in

the digital revolution and bring a real change of

culture by improving the transparency, efficiency

and accountability of governments. Thus,

according to the European Commission, public

sector information (PSI) can bring an added

value of public activities and be used in favour

of democracy and growth. In recent years, some

progress has already been made to open up

public data. But barriers still exist on the internal

market such as competition between the public

and the private sector or a lack of information on

available PSI because of persistent differences

in national rules and practices. This leads to a

fragmented internal market and and requires

action at European Union level so as not to

hamper the development of innovative products

and services.

I

“The Digital

Agenda will

only be effective

if it is ‘owned’

by all political

levels and is implemented as a shared

responsibility at EU, national, regional

and local levels.”

Pilar del Castillo Vera,

MEP, Rapporteur on the Digital Agenda


29

Digitalising local governments in Castile and Léon

The regional government of Castile and Léon has launched an e-government project to improve

the interoperability of public administration and develop new approaches towards people-centred

e-services in education, health, social inclusion and territorial planning.

www.jcyl.es/rmd

Testing tomorrow’s ICT innovations through Living Labs

The Connected Smart City Network brings Helsinki, Amsterdam, Manchester, Lisbon and Barcelona

together to explore how an information society can tackle Europe’s challenges including sustainable

mobility, climate change, energy security and ageing populations.

www.fi reball4smartcities.eu

Bridging the digital divide in Austria

The Upper Austrian Broadband Internet Initiative aims to provide the entire Upper Austrian population

with access to affordable broadband connections. Given the amount of rural areas in the region, the

initative will prevent there being a divide between companies operating in industrial centres and those

in remote communities.

www.bereitband.at

Broadband coverage has now reached 95% of Europe’s

population. However, the coverage in rural areas is

lower, even if the gap between urban and rural areas

has been reduced significantly. The availability of high-

speed networks is a key factor for enhanced regional

competitiveness as it determines the capacity of regions

to benefit from the knowledge-based economy. Between

2014 and 2020, the new Connecting Europe Facility plans

to invest in broadband and digital services and cohesion

policy programmes support related initiative at local and

regional level.

30

A Resource-Efficient Europe

CoR backs campaign: “A world you like. With a climate you like”

The Chairman of the Committee of the Regions’

Commission for the Environment, Climate

Change and Energy (ENVE), Ugo Cappellacci (IT/

EPP), has met with Commissioner Hedegaard

and expressed support for a recently launched

EU-wide climate change campaign. Cappellacci,

President of Sardinia, met the Commissioner

during the United Nations Climate Change

negotiations in Doha where he was participating

as part of the EU delegation. During discussions

the Commissioner for Climate Action explained

the premise of the year-long awareness campaign

that was recently launched in October 2012.

An agreement on a potential partnership was

reached in principle and Cappellacci confirmed

that the CoRs’ ENVE Commission intends to back

the campaign “A world you like. With a climate you

like”. The campaign runs until the end of 2013 and

targets citizens in all EU Member States, raising

awareness about the benefits of moving towards a

low-carbon society as a necessary step in tackling

climate change. The Directorate-General for

Climate Action (DG CLIMA) formally presented the

campaign during the ENVE Commission meeting

on 6 December 2012. The CoR could offer support

by raising awareness about the campaign, help

mobilise citizens at a local level and showcase

some of the more innovative environmentally

friendly projects taking place across the EU. The

partnership could be an opportunity to raise the

visibility of the CoR members’ achievements in

climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy supports the shift towards a low-carbon economy in order

to stimulate sustainable growth. Natural resources underpin our economy and our quality of life. Continuing our current patterns of resource use

is not an option. Increasing resource efficiency is key to securing growth and jobs for Europe. It will bring major economic opportunities, improve

productivity, drive down costs and boost competitiveness. The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe provides a long-term framework

for actions in many policy areas, supporting policy agendas for climate change, energy, transport, industry, raw materials, agriculture, fisheries,

biodiversity and regional development. This is to increase certainty for investment and innovation and to ensure that all relevant policies factor in

resource efficiency in a balanced manner.

Th Ch f th of he ns’

Ugo Cappellacci (IT/EPP)

Chairman of the CoR Commission for the

Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE)

“Our starting

point is simple:

we need

economic

growth, but

what kind of growth? It cannot only

be about quantity but must be more

about quality. In the 20th century the

world population grew four times,

and economic output 40 times. We

increased our fossil fuel use by 16 times,

our fishing catches by 35, and our

water use by 9. Continuing our current

patterns of resource use is not an option.

If we continue business as usual, we will

quickly hit the physical limits of our planet.

So we have to make sure that in promoting

the economic growth that we badly need

we do not sow the seeds of a potentially

graver crisis, one that is irreversible. We

can bail out banks; we can bail out the

economy; we cannot bail out the planet.”

Janez Potočnik,

European Commissioner for Environment


31

2013 is the “Year of the energy revolution” in Burgenland, Austria

The careful and sparing use of natural resources

is an essential condition for sustainable

development in environmental, economic and

social policies. It is therefore gratifying and

important that resource-efficient use of natural

resources is one of the key objectives of the EU’s

Europe 2020 strategy.

For successful implementation of the Europe

2020 resource-efficient Europe initiative, it is vital

that Europe’s regions and cities are integrated

as much as possible. Burgenland in Austria

offers a good example of how economic and

environmental interests could be reconciled.

The past few years have – with the help of

regional funding – been characterised by very

dynamic economic development and above-

average employment growth. At the same

time Burgenland has developed an ecological

model, the principles of which could inspire any

European region.

In Burgenland, 2013 is the “Year of the energy

revolution” - the first time in history that we

are producing 100% of our electricity from

renewable energy sources, primarily from wind

power. Current green electricity production from

wind power represents a saving of almost 85

million litres of oil. Based on the principles of the

Burgenland “With nature to new success” strategy

we will continue in the years ahead on this path

of sustainability, preservation of resources, and

natural heritage – all of which is needed to respect

future generations in all areas of economic and

social development.

Without any doubt, a resource-efficient Europe is a

key question for the future and a major challenge

for all citizens that can be met successfully only

through joint actions and the strong commitment

of local and regional authorities.

Increasing biodiversity loss within ecosystems has reached worrying limits

The Europe 2020 flagship initiative, “a resource-

efficient Europe”, intends to drive sustainable

growth so that economic development goes

hand in hand with environmental protection

and conservation. The increasing biodiversity loss

within ecosystems has reached worrying limits

and has now become a serious threat for current

and future generations. Despite the fact that the

EU scores better than any international partner,

there is no room for complacency. Biodiversity

conservation must remain high on the EU agenda

and more efforts are needed from the EU and

its member states. With limited financial and

technical resources, local and regional authorities

have already provided effective local responses

to such global challenges by taking bold action

to address climate change mitigation and

adaptation. If everyone participates at local levels,

the objectives the EU has set itself for 2020 will

be achieved.

On a personal level, I have made environmental

protection a priority in my work at the Committee

of the Regions as well as in my local constituency.

In my capacity of rapporteur on the opinion

“TheEU and international biodiversity strategy

for 2020 and beyond” I not only pointed out the

necessity to involve local and regional authorities

in the implementation of the new biodiversity

strategy, I also stressed the economic value

of biodiversity while reiterating that inaction

represents an unbearable financial cost for our

society.

Furthermore, as pollination is a decisive factor

for the conservation of biodiversity, I have

also decided to use my position of Mayor of

Runnymede to raise the profile of bees and other

pollinators which are so threatened. I hope to

make residents more aware of how they can help

bees by planting nectar rich plants and will raise

money to buy these plants for schools and youth

groups who are prepared to plant them in school

The ca f l l ources

Hans Niessl (AT/PSE)

Governor of Burgenland

strategy I also stressed the economic value

Cllr Linda Gillham (UK/EA)

Mayor of Runnymede


CoR at the UN Conference

on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)

In June 2012, Mercedes Bresso (IT/PES),

together with Michel Lebrun (BE/EPP) and

Ilmar Reepalu (SV/PES), represented the

CoR at the UN Conference on Sustainable

Development (Rio+20). “We need to ensure

that sustainable cities are placed at the

centre of the global plans on sustainable

development development – in addition

to clear and binding targets at international

level –, as common guidance for green

transformation across all continents, on a

the international level,” said Mercedes Bresso,

adding that today 50% of the total world

population live in urban areas consuming

between 60% to 80% of energy and emit

70% of all CO2.


32

A Resource-Efficient Europe gardens. Since this is a very popular cause, I have

already met many bee keepers in the area and

far more people who are interested in helping to

provide food for our pollinators. I am delighted

to see that the CoR also adopted a bee initiative

in June 2012, very similar to that initiated in May

in Runnymede under my mayoral year. It is very

gratifying to see the two hives on the Committee

of the Regions roof. It clearly demonstrates that in

all parts of the European Union the problems of

the reducing population of bees needs and can

be addressed.

Implementation of EU environmental law must be a priority

In December 2012, I opened a conference at

the CoR entitled “Driving better implementation

in our cities & regions – a key element of the

7th Environment Action Programme”. This

came about because I was rapporteur for the

Committee of the Regions’ outlook opinion on

“The role of local and regional authorities in

future environmental policy”. I suggested the

European Commission and the CoR should co-

organise a regular forum on local and regional

authorities’ problems with implementation of EU

environment law and the solutions to them. This

led to the launch in December of the “Technical

Platform for Cooperation on the Environment”

(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/

implementation_en.htm)

My opinion strongly supported the need for a 7th

Environmental Action Programme and called for

it to set clear targets, timetables and actions. It

argued that clarity and predictability was essential

for local and regional administrations as well as for

business and our communities. I am very pleased

that the European Commission has recently

published a 7th Environment Action Programme.

The CoR is now drafting its opinion on the 7th EAP,

and will need to examine in detail how far our

expectations have been met, taking into account

the Resource Efficiency Roadmap that has been

adopted in the meantime.

Implementation of EU environment law must

be a priority for the coming years. This would

improve resource efficiency, the environment

and public health; it would ensure a level playing

field; and it would avoid market distortions. It

can also save us money – my own authority has

reduced its carbon emissions by over 900kgs and

cut its energy bill significantly. Local authorities

also help households cut their bills. In autumn

2012, I helped give away free loft insulation for

local homes. This saves resources, helps the

environment and helps our local economy –

putting better implementation into practice!

Protection of natural heritage and resource efficiency is a key concerns for the Mazovia regional administration

Efficient use of natural resources has been

included in all Mazovia region’s programming

documents. The Mazowieckie Voivodship’s

Development Strategy to 2020 has become an

important guideline for the management of the

region as a whole, as well as for each level of self-

government, social institutions and organisations

and bodies working in the fields of science and

business. The strategy also sets out specific

guidelines on the use of natural resources. In this

respect, the basic provisions include – amongst

other things – preventing the degradation of

the landscape and the natural environment

of the Warsaw metropolitan area, thoughtful

planning of the capital and its surroundings and

environmental protection to ensure sustainable

development of our region.

Measures for improving the management of

the natural environment are also prioritised in

the Spatial Development Plan for Mazowieckie

Voivodship. This document aims to create a

coherent system of protected areas and includes

protection of forests, unique river valleys and

wetlands and measures to ensure linkages

between natural areas and increase forest cover.

Another document on Programming the use of

Cllr Paula Baker (UK/ALDE)

Member of Basingstone and Deane Council

Efficient use of natural resources has been

Adam Struzik (PL/EPP)

Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodship


33

renewable energy sources has also been drawn up

to assess these resources and decide on the best

areas for developing renewable energies in the

region. In addition, the Small-Scale Water Storage

Programme for the Mazowieckie Voivoidship

includes an analysis of the natural environment

from the perspective of possibilities for water

conservation.

As a region, we are also involved in the campaign

to raise awareness about the opportunities

and possible risks connected with shale gas

extraction. The signature of a Letter of intent on

shale gas prospecting, extraction and use marked

a milestone in this process. We are convinced

that shale gas offers a major opportunity for

energy independence and adjusting domestic

energy consumption from coal to gas and remain

motivated to take further steps in this direction.

A study visit to the United States, during which

I represented the Mazowieckie Voivodship,

resulted in interesting observations, conclusions

and debates. A discussion between Poland’s

regions has culminated in the adoption of an

official position on shale gas exploration and

production in Poland, which also takes account

of environmental protection and other social and

economic questions.


34

Innovation Union

The Innovation Union flagship initiative commits the EU to increase investment in research and development (R&D) to 3% of its GDP by 2020.

Studies indicate that such investment could create 3.7 million jobs by 2025. Based on a broad concept of innovation, the flagship initiative aims at

strengthening the role of research in boosting jobs and growth creation and has put in place over 30 activities. Statistics indicate only one in ten EU

regions spends more than 3% of their GDP on R&D and these 27 regions together already account for over 40% of the total investment in innovation.

Economic change and recovery is increasingly related to the capacity of regions to manage smart growth. Many regional governments have

important competences and budgets in the field of innovation. “Smart specialisation” of regions will therefore become a priority for EU cohesion

policy between 2014 and 2020, accompanied by the new “Horizon 2020”, the EU programme for research and innovation. In the Committee of the

Regions, innovation policy is dealt with by its Commission on Education, Youth, Culture and Research (EDUC) and cohesion policy is covered by the

Commission on Territorial Cohesion Policy (COTER).

Regions and cities must be actively involved in European Research

On 17 July 2012, the European Commission (EC)

published a communication establishing five priority

areas, as well as specific measures to be taken by

Member States to complete the European Research

Area (ERA). The ERA will help all European regions

to implement smart specialisation and to achieve

excellence in both research and technology and

economic development. The CoR opinion focuses

on the priorities set by the European Commission,

with special emphasis on points that may have an

impact on Europe’s regions.

In the current economic crisis, the completion of

the ERA will focus on the research and innovation

that are essential to boost economic growth,

job creation, scientific excellence and cohesion

between regions and Member States. In this way,

the ERA will help provide Europe with a single

market in which favourable conditions could

be created for scientific research, technological

development and innovation, and to address

major challenges of our time. One of the ERA’s

major goals should be to secure the EC’s support

of the regions with the poorest research and

innovation performance, in order to improve

their capabilities and narrow the gap between

European regions. The ERA will also reduce the

“brain drain”, which is particularly acute in regions

lagging behind in research performance.

This objective can be achieved by ensuring that

the European Commission develops synergies

and complementarities between the new

framework programme for research, technological

development and innovation (Horizon 2020) and

the Structural Funds. Here, local and regional

authorities can play a supporting and coordinating

role by networking research and innovation,

providing technical and administrative support,

and motivation for funding from the private

sector. These authorities could also promote

research and the development of knowledge

and innovation industries. This will help create

jobs and growth at local and regional level,

This objective can be achieved by ensuring that

Gregory Zafeiropoulos (EL/EPP)

Member, Attica Regional Council, Board Member,

Union of Greek Regions

“Cities will play

a major role in

ensuring that

their researchers

and companies

fully participate in Horizon 2020. Research

and innovation grants will continue to be

given on the basis of excellence, and greater

synergies between the new cohesion policy

and Horizon 2020 will help build excellence.

The upgrading of research infrastructure

and equipment will be done with cohesion

funding, while Horizon 2020 will support

twinning, staff exchanges, and expert

advice and assistance, as well as new ‘ERA

Chairs’ to bring outstanding academics

to institutions in high-potential regions.

All this should be done in a context of

strategies for smart specialisation, focusing

on priorities and comparative advantage.

This is a recipe for growth and jobs in our

regions and cities.”

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn,

EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation

and Science


35

while improving operational efficiency and the

adequacy of both public and private investment.

Finally, together with enhanced national research

systems and improved transnational cooperation

and competition, local and regional authorities

should help to open up the labour market for

researchers. In many countries, gender equality in

research remains an issue, and the same applies

to access to scientific knowledge and the transfer

of such knowledge. With our combined forces, we

could implement the ERA in our cities and regions

and be active stakeholders in the process that will

guarantee its long term success and completion.

Europe needs blueprint for bioeconomy

As a rapporteur of the Committee of the Regions,

I have prepared an opinion on “Innovating for

sustainable growth: a bioeconomy for Europe”. The

bioeconomy is an economy in which crops and

residues from agriculture and the food industry

are used for non-food applications. It supports

the use of these green materials and biomass as

energy for electricity production and heating, but

also as fuels and new chemicals that could be

further used in the pharmacological or cosmetic

industries. A good example from my own province,

South Holland, are substances from narcissus bulbs

for drugs against Alzheimer’s disease or hemp for

all kinds of applications, such as clothing, and a

durable bridge made of tomato fibres.

The potential of the bioeconomy sector is

enormous. It already has an annual turnover of

EUR 2 billion and generates jobs for more than 22

million Europeans. The bioeconomy is therefore

crucial for achieving an “Innovation Union”.

Public-private partnerships play an important role

in speeding up the transition to a bioeconomy.

Private enterprises, including SMEs, play a

crucial role in translating scientific research into

practical applications and marketable products.

Even better access to finance for SMEs, through

increased investment in startups, venture capital

and support for technology transfer, is therefore

needed. Investing in high-level research alone is

not enough: the bioeconomy means changing

our whole way of thinking and doing. That is

why I also focus on the bioeconomy in the

regular school curriculum and in vocational and

higher education, through studies and courses

on agriculture, chemicals and food. One of the

main challenges for the Innovation Union is to

combine our innovation efforts more effectively,

to avoid fragmentation and to achieve greater

coordination between all actors in the value

chain. For a thriving bioeconomy it is therefore

important that companies, researchers and the

public share a common vision and join forces.

Regions and cities can facilitate this. This will

provide an economic boost and extra jobs.

Inspiring initiatives include biotech investment

and research in France, North Rhine-Westphalia

(Germany), Styria (Austria), the region of Helsinki

(Finland), my own region in the southwest of

the Netherlands, as well as in Flanders. New

initiatives have also emerged in Sweden, Estonia

and Hungary. Apart from a few leaders, each

region or city in Europe has its own responsibility.

By building new centres of excellence and

transnational cooperation, local and regional

authorities could enhance the creation of a

bioeconomy in Europe. Today, Europe needs a

clear roadmap, a blueprint with public support

for the bioeconomy and long-term investments,

delivered in a coordinated way. In the global

competition, we must cooperate together and

prepare for a marathon, not for a sprint!

“In order to

achieve the

objectives of

the Europe

2020 strategy,

it is important that EU cohesion policy

contributes to enhancing the innovation

capacity at local level, as well as to

developing instruments and cooperation

that promote intra-European cooperation

between regions. Such instruments and

cooperation are needed to implement

the results of Horizon 2020 on regional

and local level. All regional research

funded by Horizon 2020 should include a

‘global excellence’ dimension, facilitated

by the principles of smart specialisation.

Furthermore, a closer linkage of Horizon

2020 and the structural funds should be

also properly reflected in the operational

programmes and in the strategies

for research, innovation and smart

specialisation. One of the main priorities

should be to boost the competitiveness of

research-driven regional ecosystems in the

domains of digital agenda and resource-

efficient technologies Europe-wide and

globally, thereby unleashing new business

opportunities for participating SMEs,

which play a crucial role in marketing and

implementing innovative developments.”

Markku Markkula (FIN/EPP),

Mayor of Espoo, CoR rapporteur

on Horizon 2020

A f h C f h R

Rogier van der Sande (NL/ALDE)

Member of the Executive Council of the Province

of Zuid-Holland, CoR rapporteur on “Innovating for

sustainable growth: a bioeconomy for Europe”

Innovation Union

“The innovation

Union flagship

initiative gives

scope to improve

how tasks and

responsibilities are shared between support

for excellence in basic and applied research

at European level on the one hand, and

support for innovation at a decentralised

level on the other, in a bid to develop

regional competences and the necessary

range. The potential of bodies carrying

out research in specific internationally

significant areas at regional and local

level must also be recognised, as well as

the potential based on the recognition,

in business, inter alia, of practice-based

innovations. In this way, the necessary

range to promote the aims of the flagship

initiative at a variety of regional levels will

be developed.”

Roger Knox (UK/EA),

Deputy Provost

of East Lothian Council and rapporteur

on Innovation Union


36

The Committee of the Regions is actively

involved in the Europe 2020 policy cycle, liaising

with the local level and contributing to the

inter-institutional debate through opinions,

conferences, its annual Monitoring Report and

its monitoring platform. Successful recovery of

Europe’s economy and its strategy for growth and

jobs depends to a large degree on involvement

at all levels of government. Regional and local

authorities are responsible for the delivery

of a number of priorities of the Europe 2020

strategy. They also take the largest share in public

investments and in the implementation of EU

programmes.

A number of regions and cities have recently made

the Europe 2020 strategy their point of reference

of mid-term economic and social development

plans. However, actions at the regional and local

level will not be enough to deliver the Europe

2020 strategy. Multilevel governance and an

integrated territorial approach should play a

more significant role in order to contribute to

the creation of growth and jobs. The Common

Strategic Framework for EU regional policy

and the new European Code of Conduct on

Partnership are elements, which can contribute

to this objective during the period 2014-2020

as part of Cohesion Policy programmes. This

can be supported by developing interregional

cooperation of “2020” regions and cities.

On 13 December 2012, the CoR organised a conference on

Youth on the Move: The perspective of regional and local

authorities. Opened by CoR President Ramón Luis Valcárcel

Siso, the event brought together 300 representatives from

EU institutions, regions, cities and associations. Renowned

speakers took part, including the CoR’s first Vice-President

Mercedes Bresso, the CoR’s political coordinator on Europe

2020, Michel Delebarre, former Prime Minister of Belgium,

the Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Yves Leterme.

The conference took place a week after the adoption of the

Youth Employment Package by the European Commission

and László Andor, Commissioner for Employment,

Social Affairs and Inclusion and Androulla Vassiliou,

Commissioner for Youth, Education, Multilingualism and

Culture, addressed the audience. The event was the first

in a series of seven CoR conferences in 2012/13 on the

seven flagship initiatives, which are part of the Europe

2020 strategy.

Europe 2020 Going Local

Catalogue number QG-32-13-021-EN-C

ISBN-13 978-92-895-0656-4

DOI 10.2863/66044

© European Union, 2013Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Printed in Belgium, on 100% recycled paper (excluding cover)

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February 2013

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