Leadership and euro-scepticism
The EU needs a strong leadership when it comes to EU-related issues but this is unfortunately not the case. Indeed, heads of state and government and the new Presidentof the European Council currently dominate the agenda-setting. It is my firm belief, asPresident of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), that a lack of visionand a feeling of detachment from goings-on at EU level has led the population to becomeincreasingly disillusioned.The consequences of this disillusionment can notably be seen in recent Dutch, French andItalian regional elections as well as in Hungarian legislative elections, which saw euro-scepticand populist parties gain political ground. I am convinced that the solution must be found atthe European level or matters will get worse.
Crisis leads to change
In the past, critical historical moments have allowed for the EU and the continent as a whole to undergo new developments and changes. The fall of the iron curtain, for example, muchlike today’s financial and economic crisis, allowed for a new and fresh perspective. The latterwas characterised by new hopes for integration and welfare in Europe through mutualsupport and solidarity among nations and more importantly among Europeans. The EU isnow and again at a crossroads and thus requires a new ambitious project bringing bothcitizens and stakeholders together.At the present time, however, the will of some member states to solve problems at aEuropean level seems limited, including in the recent debate on solidarity amongst membersof the Eurozone. What, then, is Europe doing to counter the effects and to face thechallenges of the current economic crisis and its worrisome social repercussions?
Putting citizens first: CEMR calls for better-living in EU policies
The European Commission has, for instance, launched the Europe 2020 Strategy, a new economic strategy to stimulate sustainable growth and employment with the year 2020 inmind. This strategy will however fail to succeed, much like its predecessor, the LisbonStrategy, if it does not take into account the local and regional capacity for sustainabledevelopment, creativity and innovation, with the well-being of citizens at heart. CEMRstrongly believes that the question of better-living for Europeans should be prioritised overeconomic factors in EU policies and that decentralised government should be involved at alllevels of the policy and decision-making process.
Lisbon Treaty and subsidiarity
The Lisbon Treaty, ratified six months ago, explicitly recognises the role of local and regional governments and further extends the principle of subsidiarity—the EU shall only act if theobjective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states, either at the central ordecentralised level. These clauses have given me hope that EU institutions will betterunderstand the role of decentralised powers as key actors when developing comprehensiverecovery and long-term development strategies at the European level.
I am however disappointed to see that the European Commission does not express how itintends to apply the Treaty provisions and notably so in its 2010 work programme.The European Union’s construction is still underway but I believe it needs to reassert itself inits development and build a project with all levels of government, including local andregional authorities.
Europe is based on the common will of citizens to reach a higher levelof development be it social, cultural, economic, environmental or intellectual and to sharethe wealth that comes with it. Cities and regions are committed to building this new Europeby developing cooperation and increasingly sharing their expertise.European local authorities have been at the forefront of citizenship-building in Europe, forexample, through town-twinning and partnership projects. Municipalities and regions are themost relevant representatives of citizens as they are their voices at the European level. Letus bring Europe back on track through a bottom-up approach, all the while connectingcitizens to the EU.
Michael Häupl
President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
Background information
