The rEPPorter: July-August 2015

July-August 2015

The activity report of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

Editorial

With the beginning of the summer season, Europe’s debates related to the problems with migration continue to be heated. Just weeks after the June European Council fiercely debated the relocation, resettlement and return policies, Europe’s local and regional representatives will also adopt a resolution on a sustainable EU approach to migration at the CoR’s Plenary Session in July. This follows on from the inspiring debate we had with Roberta Metsola, MEP in June. We have also re-launched our constructive dialogues with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. I believe that we have convinced the Commission President that regions and cities want to contribute to making the Investment Plan a success story. We strongly welcome the vote in Parliament and the endorsement by the Council and will continue to count on his support to make sure that the political goals of cohesion, which complement the Juncker Plan, are not put at risk as a result of bureaucracy or red tape.

EU Urban Agenda: Time to move from talk to actions

In that regard, I’m looking forward to the discussion and adoption of Ivan Žagar’s opinion assessing the outcome of the negotiations on the partnership agreements and operational programmes in the Member States in July. The high level group on simplification, as proposed by Commissioner Cretu, is very necessary and we are ready to play our role in it. Lastly, the July Plenary Session will bring a chance to reflect on the EU’s Energy Union together with our guest Commission’s VicePresident Šefčovič; perfect timing as our colleague Pascal Mangin prepares the CoR’s dossier on the matter. I am also looking forward to an exchange of views on the involvement of the regions in science, discovery and Knowledge Exchange Platform with Commissioner Moedas. Whilst we enjoy the summer holidays, you can rest assured that the CoR will continue to closely follow the developments with Greece and decisions related to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the CoR

After 25 years of conferences, declarations and resolutions, it is time to make the EU Urban Agenda a reality: Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions, has underlined, following the adoption of the Riga Declaration on 10 June. “This declaration and the Presidency Trio’s commitment to consider the urban dimension in an integrated way is a positive development for cohe-

sion across Europe’s regions and cities. We particularly welcome the acknowledgement that urban areas of all sizes can contribute to achieving common goals and will continue to promote the use of impact assessments to better consider how EU proposals could affect the local reality.” Speaking at the ministerial meeting in Riga, Markku Markkula, President of the CoR, underlined that the objective of the EU Urban Agenda should be

“a genuine cross-cutting anchoring of the urban dimension in the EU decision-making process and not a specific EU strategy or programme”. This is something which the EPP Group strongly supports and looks forward to developing into concrete actions at its OPEN DAYS: European Week of Regions and Cities seminar entitled Cities of the Future, which is taking place on 14 October.

New ideas and smarter investment: time for a new pact for innovation? “Innovation in Europe can only produce results if it is implemented in partnership with the four key actors: the public sector, business, academia and citizens. You have our commitment to steer the EU in this direction” explained Markku Markkula, President of the Committee of the Regions, at the annual Open Innovation 2.0 conference in Espoo on 8-9 June. Making a direct proposal to the members of the Committee of the Regions, Lambert van Nistelrooij, MEP, said: “Let’s launch today a new pact for innovation to support the EU investment plan, the urban agenda and industry 4.0. This is an invitation by me, as a Member of the European Parliament, to the President of the European Committee of the Regions. We also want to invite the European Commission to drive innovation from the bottom up. I hope the mayors of Europe and the regional presidents can bring real commitment too.”