15-03-2006

In a letter that accompanies the statement, the President of EUROCITIES - Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council - criticises national governments for failing to fully involve cities in the policy-making process: " The experience of EUROCITIES members shows that most of the Member States have not ensured an adequate involvement of cities in the development of the National Reform Programmes. By failing to engage their big cities as strategic partners, the Member States have missed a valuable opportunity."

EUROCITIES is calling for a genuine partnership with local and regional stakeholders - including city governments. "As cities we are responsible for implementing a wide range of policies that are key to the Growth and Jobs Strategy" - writes Richard Leese. "We believe that it will be impossible to " move up a gear" as President Barroso has proposed, without harnessing the potential of Europe’s big cities – the engines for driving growth and jobs - in the development and delivery of the National Reform Programmes."

EUROCITIES Statement to the Spring Council 2006 contains specific proposals for how the process can be improved for the next round of National Reform Programmes (NRPs), which are due to be published in 2008. These include increasing the opportunities for local and regional stakeholders to be consulted, and making sure that each NRP includes a specific chapter focusing on implementation. In the meantime, the President of EUROCITIES is "calling on all of the Member States to involve fully their large cities in the revision and implementation of the current National Reform Programmes so that together, in partnership, we can deliver the results that have been promised to our citizens ".