Speech of Ms Danuta Hübner
Commissioner Designate responsible for regional policy
Hearing in European Parliament
September 28, 2004
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members,
I am honoured to present myself to the European Parliament today, as a
member designate of the Commission led by President, Mr José Durão
Manuel Barroso.
Let me first congratulate you all on being elected to this Parliament.
This Parliament and the Commission are starting five year mandates at,
what I consider to be, a crucial period for the Union. Today we are facing
enormous challenges inside and outside the Union. I am convinced that
the way we will react to them will determine our future for decades. The
ratification of the Constitution will of course be one the principal tasks
which we will have to face. Having been the Representative of the Polish
Government in the Convention and taken part in the very intense
process of arriving at the draft we now have, I am more optimistic than
many on the ratification of the Constitution. But it will require hard work
from all of us.
But our greatest challenge, in my view, is slow economic growth in the
Union. It is undermining the social cohesion which is the foundation of
our societies. It puts at risk the stability of public finances increasingly
burdened by our ageing populations. It undermines our efforts to become
a global player. We cannot be politically strong if our economy is weak.
I have been asked by the President-Designate to be responsible for the
portfolio of regional policy. I am honoured by the trust that he shows in
me. This is an important policy for all the Union which can and should
help us to find a response to the challenges to come. I am being offered
the responsibility for this policy in the middle of its reform which aims to
bring in such a response. This is a reform in which, as a member of the
outgoing Commission, I took part and which I fully support. I shall do all
in my power, as the responsible Commissioner, to safeguard this
approach and enhance the contribution of cohesion policy to the Union’s
success.
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This reform is primarily driven by the Union’s need to unleash its growth
potential and to improve its competitiveness. Recent enlargement has
undoubtedly opened new avenues for progress in this context. Enhanced
competitiveness, however, has to follow the path of socially and
environmentally sustainable development. This is the sine qua non for
the continuous improvement in the opportunities for our member states,
our regions, our towns and villages – the path is via quality and via
sustainability. It is towards these goals that I will seek to orient cohesion
policy, in line with the Commission proposals for the financial framework
2007-2013.
Cohesion policy is a pillar of economic and social progress. It aims to
create new wealth by creating new opportunities. And it does this by
harnessing together joint efforts of Member States, regions and citizens.
To this unique way of working, the Union allocates more than a third of
its budget, and the policy represents one of the Union’s major
contributions to a better life for all citizens. The added value of this is
already well recognized in Portugal, in Greece, in Spain, and in Ireland,
where the policy has contributed to a relative increase in well-being of
citizens, but it is less well perceived in some other Member States.
Mr Chairman, perhaps I may now go on to say in more detail how I
envisage my responsibilities in relation to the policy. This, I hope, will
provide a suitable introduction to the question – and – answer phase of
our session.
There are three priorities, overlapping in time, which I will seek to
achieve during my term in office.
Together with my staff, I will aim to manage the closing of the 1994-99
period, to bring the current programming period to a successful end, and
to prepare smooth implementation of the cohesion policy in the
framework of the period which will follow. I will seek to draw lessons from
the present, in order to maximise the benefits of future cohesion policy.
This will be a period of intensive dialogue with the Member States,
regions, European Parliament and all other partners involved in cohesion
policy.
I will work towards enhancing the quality, efficiency, simplicity and
transparency of cohesion policy since this is the key not only to the
success of co-financed actions but also to the public understanding of
them. I will continuously pay attention to ensuring that community
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interventions maximize the Union’s value added, doing more and doing
better. This is my responsibility towards European tax payers.
We are currently entering the negotiations of the five legislative
proposals adopted by the Commission on July 14, in the context of the
financial framework 2007-2013. I believe that this package, together with
the proposal for the financial framework, gives us instruments and
means necessary to match the needs and ambitions of the enlarged
Union.
In this connection, let me pay tribute to the work of my two predecessors,
Michel Barnier and Jacques Barrot. It was Michel Barnier who piloted the
two-year public debate on the reform of the cohesion policy, and it was
Jacques Barrot who brought the package of proposals to the
Commission. I supported the proposals in the Commission and will fight
for their approval.
Central to our efforts is the need to anticipate economic and social
restructuring in all regions, by supporting regional competitiveness and
employment. The package of proposals before the Parliament and the
Council will ensure that this common effort is undertaken on a permanent
basis.
In a fully competitive environment, we have to promote convergence
between the least developed regions, including those which are subject
to the statistical effect of enlargement, and the other regions of the
Union. This priority will receive more than three-quarters of the cohesion
policy budget, the bulk of it going to the new members. It will contribute
towards making a success of the recent historical enlargement, which, I
believe, sets the scene for reinforced integration at the political,
economic and social levels.
Convergence becomes more than ever important in the enlarged EU
since it is in the interest of all Member States that it takes place right
across the Union, thus contributing to the overall growth, employment
and the deepening of our economic ties. We should remember that
cohesion policy fosters trade between Member States. For example,
estimates show that about a quarter of Cohesion Fund expenditure
returns to the rest of the Union in the form of increased exports.
And let me make clear my view that there is no conflict between
cohesion and competitiveness but that both are vital ingredients in our
present policy and in the policy which will follow. We do not want two
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economic realities – a reality built on subsidies and a reality built on the
market. Our reality must be one, a single reality built on our ability to
achieve sustainable growth in competitive markets. Cohesion policy is
necessary to accelerate this process in our worst off regions and in the
worst off parts of our countryside and our towns.
We propose also to substantially increase cross-border and transnational co-operation. Experience has proved that it has great added
value as a policy, as a factor of integration between territories and
citizens and as an excellent channel of best practices exchange.
Territorial diversity is an asset for the Union and nowhere is this more
clear than in the case of our seven outermost regions. They provide us
with an additional view on the world and the Union is the richer for it.
They face particular difficulties. This is recognized in the Treaty and in
the proposals which are now being negotiated. I am aware of the extra
contribution which these regions make to the Union and I am determined
to ensure that their special difficulties are compensated.
There are other examples of territorial diversity which will also feature in
the policy after 2006. The Nordic regions with a low population density
are in a similar position to the outermost regions. But there are also the
regions with mountain and other natural handicaps, the deprived urban
areas, the pockets of rural poverty. Each of these particular cases must
be taken into account in the reformed policy. I shall seek to maintain an
emphasis on helping deprived urban areas and to match this with an
equal emphasis on rural development.
In the July package we propose further simplification which must be
translated into greater efficiency and decentralisation; the introduction of
proportionality will decentralise programming, financial management,
evaluation and control to states, regions and towns. We must have in
mind, however, that simplification is not a one-off event. It requires our
constant efforts and vigilance. Simplification is a continuous process
which requires the full support of the Member States who should also, in
their own national arrangements, seek greater simplicity.
The greater “lisbonisation” of cohesion policy is an integral part of the
development process. The enhancement of competitiveness must lie at
the heart of programming work in Member States and regions. This
remains true whether we are thinking about convergence or about
employment or about cross border co-operation. In this way cohesion
policy can help in making Lisbon process a citizens agenda.
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We should focus more on the relation between Lisbon agenda and
strategies of local and regional development. We must work on the most
efficient policy mix, consolidating Lisbon objectives and flexible enough
to fit the needs of different regions in the enlarged Union. Cohesion
policy can play a role of the important vehicle of Lisbon strategy in this
respect, making clear to our citizens that its contribution is about their life
careers, more and better jobs, sustainable pension system and better
education for their children.
I am confident that the new legislative package will increase EU value
added of cohesion policy but I will spare no effort in helping the regions
to define – within the agreed framework – the approach which best fits
their specificities. I will also ensure that simplification takes into account
the needs of public-private-partnership thus helping the policy to
leverage private capital and maximize its effects. As a great supporter of
innovative approach embedded in Community Initiatives I will not only
assure that the mainstreaming consolidates all their effects up to now but
I will continue to follow this approach also in the future.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members,
The new legislative package will provide the appropriate framework for
an effective cohesion policy. I will do everything in my power to facilitate
a successful conclusion of the discussions, and convince the Council to
adopt the reformed policy in good time for it to come fully into force on 1
January 2007.
During my mandate, I will be a determined practitioner of a constant
dialogue with the European Parliament, building on good practice
established by my predecessors as set out in the Interinstitutional
Agreement and the Framework Agreement. The Commission needs it.
The Parliament needs it. The Council needs it. Our citizens require it.
As a Commission we will have to communicate better in order to explain
the Union – its actions, its plans, and its doubts. Our citizens often feel
distant from the Union. Only through a debate with the citizens we can
help them to share the Union’s ideal and actions. In my future capacity I
will bear particular responsibility in this respect, since cohesion policy is
a powerful instrument for the social dialogue. It offers unique
opportunities to speak directly to the Union’s citizens – in regions, towns,
associations, universities, training centres, and debating chambers.
Cohesion policy is there above all to serve our citizens. I want to engage
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in a permanent dialogue, in order to carry forward the simple idea that
the European Union’s value added is irreplaceable for peace, for
prosperity and for solidarity.
Thank you,
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