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The CoR held its 87th plenary session on 1 and 2 December.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso
presented the Commission's 2011 work programme
to the assembled local and regional representatives.
He highlighted cohesion policy
as a key tool in the European toolkit.
Cohesion policy is not only a vital element
in European solidarity,
but it is also major growth factor across the entire continent.
Let's be specific: cohesion policy funding
over the 2000-2006 period added 0.7% to GDP
across the EU in 2009.
An additional 0.7% GDP
over that period means the creation of
a million new jobs in EU businesses.
There is also a close link between cohesion policy
and the single market.
Figures show that intra-EU exports
were directed at countries
that benefit under cohesion policy.
Clearly then, cohesion policy
doesn't just benefit the regions actually in receipt of funding.
Cohesion policy benefits Europe as a whole,
including its richest regions.
I stress that point time and again
when I sometimes hear people rail against cohesion policy.
Mr Barroso noted that structural funding
was subject to a raft of rigorous checks.
The checks and balances on cohesion policy funding
are perhaps among the most rigorous in the world.
The funds are scrupulously monitored by the European authorities
– the Commission, the European Parliament, the Court of Auditors –
as well by public opinion and the media.
Virtually no national funding mechanism comes under such scrutiny.
The Commission is proud of cohesion policy:
in our view, it is simply indispensable
both as a Treaty obligation,
AND as an essential resource for the future of the EU –
not only in terms of a fair deal for the poorest regions,
but also for the very existence of the single market.
In other words, the Union cannot exist without cohesion policy.
No union can operate successfully without solidarity.
The Commission work programme seeks to flesh out
the Europe 2020 strategy,
a package of measures designed to make the EU more competitive
and boost its innovative potential.
In 2011, the Commission will continue
to focus on three key areas:
strengthening economic governance,
completing financial sector reform,
and accelerating delivery of the Europe 2020 agenda.
We will also press ahead with our work to build
an area of freedom, justice and security,
and launch negotiations for a modern EU budget.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission has acquired
greater scope to represent the Union on the world stage
in areas other than
common foreign and security policy.
It will thus play a full part in giving Europe
its rightful place on the international scene.
The 40 strategic initiatives the Commission is planning
for 2011 and the 150 other proposals on its programme
reflect these key priorities.
Structural reform will be tackled under
the Europe 2020 strategy,
which has the unanimous backing of the heads of state or government.
This strategy seeks investment in the economic sectors of the future
while at the same time holding fast to our social market economy
and our European social model.
It is a strategy based on smart growth,
sustainable growth, inclusive growth.
designed to foster a high-employment economy
and deliver social and territorial cohesion.
Ladies and gentlemen, Europe has many strengths:
a huge single market and some of the most dynamic businesses in the world.
It has a strong innovation and research base,
and is a pioneer in the fight against climate change.
We underestimate these strengths at our peril.
No, we must build on them and broaden them.
We must continue to use all the opportunities the single market affords us,
to boost our competitiveness
for the benefit of businesses and consumers alike.
Adoption of the Single Market Act has been a key factor
in revitalising the internal market.
The Commission will also redouble its efforts to cut the administrative burdens
that are so constraining for small and medium-sized enterprises.