Objective 2009: A Giant Leap for Europe, One small step for the regions

Fülszöveg

2005 will be very telling about the nature of the European Union
and how it is evolving. While people or their representatives are
being asked to ratify the draft Constitutional Treaty, the twenty-
five Member States will be setting the policy guidelines and
budget for action over the 2007-2013 period.
How could Europe's regions credibly call on their citizens to
approve a text that promotes cohesion and promises to respond
more closely to people's concerns, if it looked as though future
funding levels were going to deprive the Union of the resources
needed for implementing such principles?
If the enlarged Europe is to become the most powerful economy
in the world, it needs an ambitious territorial cohesion policy
that will guarantee fair development opportunities for all regions,
progressively erasing national borders in the process. It would
be counterproductive if Europe lacked the wherewithal to have
a significant impact and if its means for action were to be... Tovább

Fülszöveg

2005 will be very telling about the nature of the European Union
and how it is evolving. While people or their representatives are
being asked to ratify the draft Constitutional Treaty, the twenty-
five Member States will be setting the policy guidelines and
budget for action over the 2007-2013 period.
How could Europe's regions credibly call on their citizens to
approve a text that promotes cohesion and promises to respond
more closely to people's concerns, if it looked as though future
funding levels were going to deprive the Union of the resources
needed for implementing such principles?
If the enlarged Europe is to become the most powerful economy
in the world, it needs an ambitious territorial cohesion policy
that will guarantee fair development opportunities for all regions,
progressively erasing national borders in the process. It would
be counterproductive if Europe lacked the wherewithal to have
a significant impact and if its means for action were to be
renationalised. This would lead to disenchantment and jeopardise
the progress achieved over the last fifty years.
2005 will therefore be a decisive year in the history of modern
Europe. A new institutional, strategic and financial framework
will be developed, which our fellow citizens will vote on when
the European Parliament next comes up for renewal in 2009.
This book draws on our experience and ideas for action with a
view to helping move the debate forward.
Xavier Gizard,
Secretary General of the CPMR
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe
(CPMR) brings together 150 regions. It is working to promote
the balanced development of Europe as a whole and to enhance its
maritime dimension. Vissza