The division of powers in the EU: European 2020 goals and objectives - connecting cities and regions

Transcription

1 The division of powers in the EU: European 2020 goals and objectives - connecting cities and regions Conference «Broadening Your Horizons «A European Perspective on local democracy in action and multi-level governance Brussels, Thomas Wobben, Director Horizontal Policies and Networks, Committee of the Regions

2 Outline The state of play of the division of powers within the European Union: Results of the CoR study on the division of powers Europe s response to address the crisis and its impact on the division of powers: The Europe 2020 Strategy The new governance cycle and its impact on the division of powers: The European Semester The division of powers as a key factor to address the crisis: Rethinking Europe

3 The state of play of the division of powers within the European Union: Results of the CoR study on the division of powers

4 Study on Division of Powers 36 country-specific fact sheets General Part: - General information - Systems of multilevel governance - Relations with the EU/ Representation at the EU level - Subsidiarity - Bibliography website: 4

5 Study on Division of Powers 36 country-fact sheets Policy Areas and CoR Consultation 1 : [1] On the basis of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 5

6 The Numbers 2011: local and regional authorities across the 27 Member States, of which: 250 regions (31 federated/quasi-federated entities) 981 intermediate entities municipalities Sub-national Levels: 1 in 11 Member States 2 in 9 Member States 3 in 7 Member States 6

7 Devolution/Decentralisation in the EU (I) Economic crisis = opportunity to step up movement towards reorganising territories and rationalise and pool resources to increase the efficiency of local public action. Changes in the institutional organisation of power federalisation, decentralisation or recentralisation processes Municipal level - Municipal mergers (GREECE, GERMANY, LUX, FINLAND, IRELAND, SPAIN). Resistance in FRANCE, NORTHERN IRELAND, ITALY) - Inter-municipal cooperation (ITALY, ENGLAND, IRELAND, NETHERLANDS, PORTUGAL, BELGIUM WALLONIA, FRANCE) - Metropolisation (NETHERLANDS, FINLAND, ITALY, PORTUGAL, FRANCE, POLAND, ENGLAND, IRELAND, GREECE) Source: CEMR Dexia Crédit Local report 7

8 Devolution/Decentralisation EU Trends (2) Intermediary levels - Present in 7 Member States. Ongoing debate. Crisis hastening changes: - ENGLAND: two-level system disappearing, with counties gradually replaced by unitary authorities - ITALY: reform of provinces entering into force in SPAIN: discussions on whether provinces could take over competencies carried out by municipalities - Belgium: reforms going on - different according to the region - France: territorial reform initiated in 2010, abandonned. Some departements are initiating mergers (e.g. in Alsace, referendum on merger Haut-Rhin/Bas-Rhin, did not go through). Source: CEMR Dexia Crédit Local report 8

9 Devolution/Decentralisation EU Trends (3) Overall reinforcement of regions - SPAIN, ITALY, GERMANY: recent laws giving regions more financial autonomy, even though central governments reinforced fiscal conctrol over regions - BELGIUM: institutional agreement October 2011 => transfers of competence towards federated entities - UK: Federalisation underway in regions, institutional & fiscal autonomy reinforced - POLAND: law in 2009 bolstered competencies of regions - GREECE: 13 regions replaced 54 departments in 2011 but regional reforms still debated in several countries RO, FR, NL, BU, CZ, CY, DK, SL, HU, PT, SE, FI, UK England, IR, LI, LV Source: CEMR Dexia Crédit Local report 9

10 Europe s response to address the crisis and its impact on the division of powers: The Europe 2020 Strategy

11 The Europe 2020 Targets 1. Employment 75% of the year-olds to be employed 2. R&D / innovation 3% of the EU's GDP (public and private combined) to be invested in R&D/innovation 3. Climate change / energy greenhouse gas emissions 20% (or even 30%, if a satisfactory international agreement can be achieved to follow Kyoto) lower than % of energy from renewables 20% increase in energy efficiency 4. Education Reducing school drop-out rates below 10% at least 40% of year-olds completing third level education (or equivalent) 5. Poverty / social exclusion at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion 11

12 Early School leavers 12

13 Population aged with a tertiary education 13

14 Total expenditure on R&D 14

15 Declining public investmens Source: OECD 15

16 Growing disparities 16

17 The biggest regional GDP losses in Europe (compared to EU average) NUTS II Region Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Sterea Ellada Surrey, East and West Sussex Région de Bruxelles-Capitale / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Thessalia West Midlands Outer London Ipeiros Essex Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area Kriti North Yorkshire Notio Aigaio Eastern Scotland Kentriki Makedonia East Wales Northern Ireland (UK) Eurostat Data 17

18 UK regions are falling behind Difference between Difference between UK NUTS 2 Region Cornwall and Isles of Scilly West Wales and The Valleys Tees Valley and Durham Lincolnshire South Yorkshire Shropshire and Staffordshire Lancashire Northern Ireland (UK) East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Highlands and Islands Merseyside Cumbria Northumberland and Tyne and Wear

19 The Trend 19

20 Situation in UK 5 UK regions have a GDP of 75% or less of the EU 28 average, 3 more are between 77 and 78 % with negative outlook and high risk of hitting 75% soon, 3 more UK regions have 80% GDP having lost between 6-8 GDP points in the last 3 years and having a high likelihood that they will drop back even further and 2 more UK regions are at 83% GDP having each lost more than 10 GPD points between 2003 and 2011 which put them at medium risk to reach in the near future 75% as well All in all there are for the moment - 13 of the 37 NUTS 2 regions in the UK which could hit the 75% average in the foreseeable future. 20

21 The new European economic governance: The European Semester

22 The European Semester 22

23 Annual Growth Survey The purpose of this Annual Growth Survey is to set out the economic and social priorities for the EU in that year, by providing overall guidance to the Member States and the EU in conducting their policies. It launches the third European Semester of policy coordination, through which national performances and priorities are reviewed collectively at the EU level in the first half of each year. 23

24 Europe 2020: Top Down approach EU-wide targets Country Specific Recommendations EU National Reform Programmes NATIONAL LOCAL/REGIONAL 24

25 Division of local/regional competencies Local/regional competencies Recommendations Germany France UK (devolved powers) Spain Poland early school-leaving public employment services "youth guarantee" schemes labour market participation quality affordable childcare lifelong-learning systems 25

26 The division of powers as a key factor to address the crisis: Re-thinking Europe 2020

27 The key role of LRA as actors for Europe 2020 It becomes more and more evident that local and regional authorities are key actors for growth in Europe particularly with regard to Innovation by developing smart specialisation strategies, acting as catalyst in linking businesses and research capacities on the ground and innovative public procurement Public Investment in growth related infrastructures such as renewable energies, low carbon technologies and business cycles Financing SME through their public banks and specific public financing instruments Skills and Training by supporting business lead training initiatives and matching supply and demand of training programmes Education by developing schemes to reduce drop-out rates of youngsters and initiating life-long learning cycles As part of the next generation of Cohesion policy instruments the European Union is requesting from the regions their own tailor-made Regional 2020 Strategy Ownership of strategies is defined by the way the stakeholders were involved in the strategy setting (input legitimacy) and its delivery (output legitimacy). The Europe 2020 strategy as it stands fails on both ends 27

28 Re-thinking Europe 2020 Starting from the local and regional level Developing their own growth and employment strategy (as part of their Structural Funds Programme) Negotiate its targets and ambitions with the EU Commission Aggregate the local/regional targets at national and EU level Adding support instruments at national and EU level if local/regional targets are not sufficient (real added value) 28

29 Re-thinking Europe 2020: Bottom Up EU-wide growth strategy EU National Growth Strategies Regional 2020 Growth Strategies NATIONAL LOCAL/REGIONAL 29

30 Key elements of the Athens Declaration Give the Europe 2020 strategy a territorial dimension National Reform Programmes in partnership Making multi-level governance the standard approach Aligning the European Semester with genuine long-term investment Using the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiatives for enhanced policy coordination Mobilising funding for long-term investment, ensuring better spending Strengthening administrative capacity for more effective implementation 30

31 Stronger focus on territorial dimensiion "I highly welcome your own mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy. I also count on your active participation in the public consultation that the Commission will launch to gather the views of all stakeholders in order to develop the strategy further for 2015 and Of course a stronger territorial dimension is necessary. José Manuel Barroso , Athens 31

32 Support of the OECD Public authorities have to do more with less money. One can only do this by increasing the efficiency of the public sector. Regions, cities and provinces have an important role to play in this respect. Inclusive labour markets, a spirit of entrepreneurship, the two thirds of public investment they are responsible for are key factors here Regional Policy addressing on a tailor-made basis the challenges in particularly regions is of utmost importance There is too much a one size fits all logic in economic governance and a more differentiated approach is needed Yves Leterme Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD , Athens 32

33 Special focus on territorial cohesion Strengthening the place based approach and a polycentric regional development Developing a reviewed Territorial Development Perspective and more regional monitoring Taking local and regional challenges and opportunities more into account when reviewing Europe 2020 objectives Putting focus on long term investment Strengthening Partnership and multi-levelgovernance 33

34 The territorial dimension in the Country Specific Recommendations for 2014 For 14 Member States a clear link to the local and regional level can be detected in 26 draft Country Specific Recommendations: 7 CSRs related to sub-national social and employment services, 6 CSRs were given to the Member States directly link to fiscal consolidation of sub-national public entities, 5 CSRs to administrative reform of local and regional government and 6 CSR so economic and other matters at sub-national level. The highest number of CSR with a territorial focus can be found in Belgium (3), Germany (3) and Spain (3) The main focus of the CSRs with a territorial focus are linked to labour market services/policies (7) and fiscal consolidation (5) followed by administrative reform (3) The main content of the territorial CSRs is: Improve co-operation and increase a clear distribution of tasks Increase capacity Increase efficiency and quality of public spending 34

35 The next steps Broad Consultation of the Commission on the experiences made with the Europe 2020 Strategy until October 2014 Preparation of the Review of the Europe 2020 strategy under the new Commission under the Italian EU- Presidency Presentation and adoption of renewed Europe 2020 Strategy at the Spring Council

36 Many thanks for your attention!