Cohesion in Europe: The Challenges for Regions

Description

In this White Paper, the Assembly emphasises 4 main areas of concern:

• The EU Regional Policy should be defined and implemented in full partnership with European Regions

This section endorses an increased involvement of regions at all stages of the decision-making process. This could be realised through the adoption of a place-based approach, or through tripartite agreements between regions, national government and the EU.

• Clearly identified objectives and priorities in line with future challenges

Multi-level governance should be implemented in order to avoid a too strong emphasis on a top-down approach. Regions will play a key role in making the Europe 2020 strategy a success: they should therefore be able to participate in the design of the Flagship Iinitiatives designed to further EU2020 strategy goals.

• GDP and further Indicators

Cohesion policy should not concentrate on the poorest regions only. New indicators, apart from GDP, should be defined in order to allow a more refined definition of eligible regions, the level of funding and policy evaluation. This does not mean dismissing GDP and production measures but bringing forward further indicators and criteria (such as sustainability or well-being) to assess the situation in a region.

• Principles and rules

The administrative burden is hampering the efficient and successful implementation of European funded projects. The focus is inadequately put on administrative and financial issues in the application process, which leaves too little room for building strong partnerships and well-designed policy-oriented projects. For these reasons, the preparation and application phase should be reviewed.

Contact

Questions and comments can be directed to the AER secretariat:
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 22 07 07
E-mail: secretariat@aer.eu

Publication date

November 2010

Document Type

Policy Document