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Liege Conference
28/11/2001
The Scottish Executive has been one of an original group
of seven regional administrations (Flanders, Wallonia,
Catalonia, Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia, and Salzburg)
which has been meeting for more than a year to discuss the
future role in the EU decision-making process of regional
governments with their own Parliaments and legislative
powers.
This group produced a political declaration on May 28
which set out their joint views. The declaration was
subsequently presented to Prime Minister Verhofstadt of
Belgium to stand as a contribution to the Laeken Summit
this December at the end of the Belgian presidency.
The Liege Conference of Presidents, on November 15,
brought together the members of the original group and
representatives of over 40 EU regional governments with
legislative powers from the UK, Germany, Belgium, Spain,
Italy, Austria and Portugal.
The majority of regions represented endorsed a
resolution which was tabled at the end of the day's
discussions. The resolution, which builds on the
declaration of May 28, sets out the composite view of those
present about what the future role of legislative regions
might be in the EU decision-making process and how they
might be involved in the discussions about it.
The Executive considers that the resolution is an
important contribution to the Future of Europe debate in
the build-up to the EU Intergovernmental Conference in
2004. The Future of Europe debate is being conducted across
the 15 Member States of the EU and the 12 Accession States
of central and eastern Europe who hope to join in the near
future.
SECOND PRESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE OF THE
REGIONS
WITH LEGISLATIVE POWER
LIEGE
15 NOVEMBER 2001
Towards the reinforced role of the
Regions with legislative power
within the European Union
Resolution
On the initiative of the Minister President of the
Walloon Region, the presidents of 51 Regions with
legislative power of the European Union, or their
representatives, met in Liege on 15 November 2001 :
Abruzzo, Aland, Aragón, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin,
Bolzano-Südtirol, Brandenburg, Bremen, Bruxelles-Capitale,
Calabria, Canarias, Catalunya, Communauté Française de
Belgique, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Deutschsprachige
Gemeinschaft, Emilia-Romagna, Euskadi, Extremadura,
Galicia, Hessen, Islas Baleares, Lazio, Lombardia, Madeira,
Marche, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niederösterrreich,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Piemonte, Principado de Asturias,
Provincia Trento, Puglia, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland,
Sachsen-Anhalt, Salzburg, Sardegna, Schleswig-Holstein,
Scotland, Sicilia, Tirol, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige /
Südtirol, Umbria, Veneto, Vlaanderen, Vorarlberg, Wales,
Wallonie and Wien.
With a view to the declaration on the Future of the
European Union which the Heads of State and Government will
adopt in Brussels/Laeken at the end of the Belgian
Presidency, their debate concerned the reinforced role of
the Regions with legislative power within the European
Union.
They adopted with a majority the following
resolution:
The European Union's driving force has always been the
reconciliation among the peoples of Europe and their
lasting co-operation in maintaining peace, respecting Human
Rights and basic freedom, and ensuring prosperity
throughout its territory.
The project of European integration has been and still
is a success. But recent history and the tragic events of
11 September 2001 on the one hand, the socio-economic and
institutional developments within the EU and the
forthcoming enlargement on the other hand, call for a
reorientation of the Union.
Accordingly, the Presidents of the Regions with
legislative power endorse the content of the "Political
declaration of 7 constitutional regions" on the
reinforcement of the role of constitutional regions within
the European Union, signed in Brussels on 28 May, 2001 and
appended to the present resolution.
Therefore the Regions with legislative power welcome the
current debate on the Future of the European Union. The
main objectives are to promote the European integration
process in a flexible way, to enhance the transparency, the
accountability, the effectiveness, the proximity of the
European decision-making process and the democratic
legitimacy of the EU. These make it essential to involve
all the subnational policy levels, including the Regions
with legislative power. In fact, regions should be given
the opportunity to incorporate their expertise into a
European Union where all levels of governance shape the
European policy jointly. Moreover, on the basis of their
specific characteristics and structures, the Regions with
legislative power express their demand to have a place
within the European decision-making forums and to
participate actively and directly in the European
decision-making process.
The citizens of Europe also wish the European Union to
be more transparent. Wherever they live, they should be
able to easily identify which policy area is covered by
which authority - local, regional, national or European -
and who is politically accountable for what
responsibilities. It will not be possible without
clarification of the objectives and identification of the
players and their respective powers, respecting the
identities and the frameworks of the national
constitutional systems.
In this regard, a better Governance for Europe is likely
to increase the regional participation in the
implementation of the European Union policies. The White
Paper on Governance can therefore be considered as an
interesting basis of discussion.
Member States have a responsibility to ensure that their
regions are directly involved in the discussion process on
the Future of the Union. In addition, since the
participation of the regions in the European
decision-making process will increase the democratic
legitimacy of the European Union, it is therefore necessary
that, in its functioning, the European Union responds to
their specific role.
In the scope of the debate on the Future of Europe, the
Presidents of the Regions with legislative power ask to
consider the lack of regional participation to the EU
decision-making process as a theme to be addressed by the
Declaration of Brussels/Laeken as well as by the
forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference. They consider
that the role of the regions is a part of the questions on
the Future of the Union presented by the European Council
of Nice, i.e. a more precise delimitation of powers,
reflecting the principle of subsidiarity, the status of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights, the clarification and the
simplification of the treaties as well as the institutional
architecture of the EU.
Regions with legislative power pronounce themselves
again in favour of a more precise delimitation of powers,
on the basis of the principles of the EU's restricted
prerogatives, subsidiarity, proportionality and the
obligation to respect the national identity of the Member
States.
These principles must constitute the guiding principles
to establish and monitor a more precise delimitation of
powers within the Union in order to ensure the legal
security and stability which are essential to the good
functioning of a system based on the complementarity and
the collaboration of the power levels concerned. Indeed,
the regional dimension has to be taken into account in the
debate on the delimitation of powers.
Also, in order to develop answers to the new
institutional architecture of the EU, it is necessary to
consider the interactions of the regions with all the
European institutions. In this context, the Regions with
legislative powers wish that the mandate of the Convention
includes the theme of the role of the Regions with
legislative power within the three categories of powers:
legislative, executive and judicial. Notably, consideration
should be given to a right of direct appeal to the European
Court of Justice in case their powers are violated, while
respecting each national Constitution.
In the same spirit, the Regions with legislative power
consider that the Committee of the Regions must have a
reinforced role within the decision-making process. They
nevertheless believe that its current shape and
institutional framework do not allow it to meet the needs
and the expectations of all the sub-national entities it
should represent.
Finally, with regard to the Convention the Regions with
legislative power expect the Heads of State and Government
to involve them as well. They believe they can bring a real
added value by their knowledge of the diversity in social,
economic and cultural fields, which represents the richness
of Europe, its force and the foundation of its cohesion.
Considering that all possible means should be applied to
reinforce the democratic legitimacy of the European Union,
the Convention should reflect the views of all politically
elected actors that can contribute to this.
Therefore, they consider that the composition of the
national delegations at the Convention, limited to one
government representative and two national parliaments'
representatives, is unsatisfactory and they reiterate their
request for direct representation of the Regions with
legislative power.
In addition, the Presidents of the Regions with
legislative power ask all Governments to include regional
representatives in the national delegations at the
Convention.
In parallel, the Committee of the Regions should be
allowed to participate in the Convention as a full member.
The Presidents are convinced that the regions with
legislative powers have a legitimate place within the
delegation of the Committee.
The Regions with legislative power will jointly organise
the follow-up of the proceedings of the Convention. They
will continue to work together in the future, particularly
as regards their contribution to the next Intergovernmental
Conference. Indeed, some of them play a role in the
ratification process of the treaties.
The Presidents of the Regions with legislative power ask
the Minister-President of the Walloon Region to transmit
the present resolution to the President of the Council with
a view to the debate on the Future of the Union at the
European Council of Brussels/Laeken.