Cities as Europe's engines for growth and jobs 03-03-2006 Danica Simšic, mayor of Ljubljana and member of the executive committee of
EUROCITIES, attributed to European cities the role of engines for the
European growth and jobs strategy. She did so during the first territorial
dialogue with Gunter Verheugen and Danuta Hubner, organised by the Committee of
the Regions.
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has said that
it is "time to move up a gear" in the implementation of the Growth and Jobs
Strategy. Referring to this, the Mayor of Ljubljana said: "You cannot move up a
gear without first connecting to your engines! Cities drive economic growth and
job creation far beyond their city limits."
But sofar the experience of EUROCITIES members during the past year has shown
that most Member States failed to involve their big cities in the process of
drafting the National Reform Programmes. "The success of the National Reform
Programmes depends on recognizing and involving cities as strategic partners.
Without the combined effort of Europe’s big cities, we believe that the
Partnership for Growth and Jobs will fail. We are willing to work with our
governments and the Commission during the next two years to help implement the
partnership", says the Mayor.
She also outlined a series of proposals for how the process should be
improved during the coming years. These include: sharing best practice on how to
consult stakeholders - including cities; ensuring that each National Reform
Programme includes a chapter on implementation; and encouraging the development
of local and regional action plans.
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