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Interreg III: A first common position of the interregional organisations

14 April, 1999 By Editor

During the conference held on 9th and 10th April 1999 in Grado (Italy), and with the support of the Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the three interregional organisations – the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) – adopted a common position on the Community Initiative, Interreg III. The AER was delighted with the results of this conference especially as it is the first time that the interregional organisations have achieved a common position in an area of major interest for the Regions which are members.

The Final Declaration of Grado welcomes the reinforcement of Interreg for the 2000-2006 period, the principle of its financing for a single European fund (ERDF) and making the regional and local levels more responsible and more involved thanks to the “Bottom-up” approach. However, the interregional organisations bring the European Commission’s attention to the fact that the cooperation projects which benefit from Interreg III financing must be true crossborder, transnational and interregional projects. To achieve this, it is important to fix clear rules and criteria for eligibility as well as ensuring a strong coordination between the different levels: local, regional, national and European. Moreover, in view of the development and enlargement of the European Union towards the east, the north and the south, it is essential to harmonize financing between the programmes Phare-CBC, Tacis-CBC, MEDA and Interreg III.

The three organisations also decided to sytematically coordinate their policies and to inform each other of the results of their actions with the European institutions, especially concerning Interreg III.

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Agenda 2000, employment and EU Enlargement at the heart of our work

13 February, 1998 By Editor

Under the presidency of Luc Van den Brande, President of the AER and Minister-President of Vlaanderen, the Presidium and the Bureau of the AER met on 12th and 13th February 1998 in Brussels for the first time this year. As a follow-up to the work of the General Assembly of Montpellier, some important decisions were made:

Agenda 2000 for the regions

The Bureau asked a reflection group to draw up, for June 1998, a regional Agenda 2000 on the political role and priorities of the AER for the coming years. The AER would like to see itself as a full regional partner in the construction of Europe, to which the regions make a major contribution.

Promotion of employment

The Bureau launched an appeal to its EU member regions to participate actively in the national plans for employment which are being prepared in their countries. President Luc Van den Brande will write to the Heads of national governments asking them to take account of regional initiatives when they draw up and implement their plans and, at European level, to ensure that the principle of subsidiarity is applied in this area. In carrying out the decisions made by the extraordinary Bureau on Employment and the General Assembly in Montpellier (concerning the creation of an interregional network for the exchange of experiences and the setting up of a permanent observation centre for employment in the regions of Europe), President Van den Brande will draw up, in liaison with the European Commission, a proposal for the implementation of this observation centre. Made up of regional experts and social partners, it will carry out a prospective analysis of the labour market in the regions of Europe and will lead to the exchange of experience on a methodical basis. Moreover, the Bureau appeals to the member regions to take an active role in the exchange process set up last year and to join the unofficial existing network (26 regions participate already) which shall have the necessary interregional information at its disposal.

Enlargement of the European Union

In the perspective of the European Conference on enlargement, the Bureau has asked the Presidents of the six Committees to develop bilateral and multilateral regional partnerships with the regions from candidate countries. Its objective: to ensure the transfer of know-how and the exchange of experiences, the setting up of democratic institutions at regional level, economic development in the regions from the candidate countries and the participation of these regions in European programmes and European regional networks. The AER, which will follow very closely the work of this Conference, will organise, at the end of 1999, a European conference on the contribution of the regions of Europe and the enlargement and integration of the EU.

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Social services: The concept of Partnerships makes its mark

20 October, 1997 By Editor

Since the adoption of the text “A Partnership between the Citizen, Society and the Region in the area of social, health and community care”, the AER Committee for Social Affairs, Health and Employment (IV) has applied itself to the promotion of partnerships between regional representatives, associations and the beneficiaries themselves. This is indeed a new conception of the care and services offered, in particular to the elderly and the disabled, the main principles of which are: solidarity, shared responsibility, subsidiarity, empowerment and active participation of the regional representatives and associations.

During a workshop in October 1997 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a first meeting of regional representatives and European NGOs led to a better understanding of this new concept of partnership and allowed those present to exchange experiences in this area. A dossier presenting cases of good practice was put together as well as a brochure to promote this concept among all the partners concerned in Europe. This brochure was distributed to the member regions at the last AER General Assembly. As a follow- up to this action, Committee IV plans launching a campaign for the promotion of this partnership, among the European institutions, in close cooperation with the NGOs active in this field. It also plans to launch an officer exchange programme between coordinators of social projects, at regional level, this year.

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AER Declaration on Regionalism

30 August, 1996 By Editor

The “Declaration on Regionalism” in Europe was adopted by the AER in 1996 during the General Meeting of European Regions in Basel (CH). It is a reference document for new regions or those undergoing expansion. It defines the norms and criteria for regional development and fixes the different steps to be undertaken so that the region can beacknowledged as a fully-fledged political entity. There is currently awide range of different regional structures in Europe. The “Declaration” has not chosen to promote a specific type of regionalism but sets out ageneral framework within which the regions may develop.
“The Assembly of European Regions strives to have regionalism recognised not only within the European Union but also beyond. At a time when, within Europe, the strengthening of the European Union is being reflected upon, the role of the regions in the unification process is gaining importance. Themes such as the distribution of responsibilities and the cooperation through partnerships between the various policy levels have consequently come to the fore, subsidiarity being the basic principle to define everyone’s role. The movement for regionalism is strong within the European Union as well as beyond. It is fuelled by the belief that the powers vested in the European Union, the (Member-) States and the regions are complementary.Regions, federated states and autonomous communities are above all mainstays of democracy; they strongly support cultural diversity in Europe and they are major partners in socio-economic development. This is why they should be able to take responsibilities in the policy areas where they have a competitive advantage, amongst others, in economics (employment), culture, the environment, regional and country planning, scientific research etc.The Declaration on regionalism adopted by the Assembly of European Regions offers a reliable guide for regions on the way to enlargening and strengthening their powers. It is a document of norms and standards, an entity of beacons and stepping stones. It is not a charter that fixes the minimum norms for recognition of a region. The rich diversity of regions in the AER yields a great number of models and structures to streamline regional development. The Declaration on regionalism sets out the guidelines within which the AER member regions develop. Thus they endorse the AER objective: strengthening regional development.
By this Declaration the AER wants to show what it, together with its members, strives for. They can enrich and strengthen the AER. This is why the Declaration is distributed, presented and discussed within the AER as well as beyond. In our capacity as former and current Presidents of the AER, we want to further promote regionalism in Europe, thereby enabling regions to take up more responsibility in a Europe that is closer to the citizen”.