Coordinating the European process 

The coordinated action of the various levels of government, on the one hand, and the coordination of 
policies and instruments, on the other hand, are vital to improve European governance and the 
implementation of Community strategies. The economic crisis and the agreement on the urgent need 
for a coordinated EU response underline the essential nature of coordination, but also illustrate the 
persistent difficulties in ensuring such joint action because of a lack of coordination and mutual trust. 
The crisis is therefore a test for the process of European integration. The challenge is whether the EU 
has the capacity to coordinate the political action in aid of recovery in order to propose a more 
balanced alternative of sustainable development and territorial cohesion through the cooperation of 
various actors, the direct involvement of local and regional authorities and recourse to the public-
private partnership26. The mechanisms of European integration through the Community method and 
intergovernmental cooperation must be coordinated based on European recovery instruments of a 
financial, economic, social and regional nature and improved coordination of crisis management 
policies (extra flexibility in the European Structural Funds, the European Globalisation Adjustment 
fund, support from the EIB, etc) and post-crisis policies (innovation policies, industrial policy, etc.)27. 

The Community method is the best way to guarantee the implementation of multilevel 
governance. However, without calling into question its predominance, the open method of 
coordination, which seeks to enhance the Community method based on the institutional triangle and 
exclusive legislative initiative of the Commission, in areas where the European Union is only 
empowered to coordinate or support, has been used for a number of years. Used on a case-by-case 
basis, it would offer a way of encouraging cooperation, exchanging good practices and agreeing on 
common objectives and strategies for the Member States, while taking into account the subsidiarity 
principle. 

The open method of coordination has not yet, however, with regard to its initial objectives, 
provided the expected added value and has not proven satisfactory for local and regional authorities, 
which are not sufficiently involved. On the other hand, the latter consider that it could be extended, 
provided that it becomes more inclusive, like other areas of action. 

VI. The Lisbon Monitoring Platform of the Committee of the Regions 
•In 2006 the Committee of the Regions set up a Lisbon Monitoring Platform (LMP), which now 
consists of over one hundred regions and cities from 26 Member States. This exchange and 
evaluation network monitors the involvement of local and regional authorities in the governance 
of the Lisbon Strategy and its link with cohesion policy. 

• 
In its monitoring report: “Achieving the Lisbon goals through coordinated and integrated 
territorial policymaking”, it underlines the need for all the relevant government levels to step up a 
26 

Conclusions of the European Summit of the Regions and Cities, Prague, 5-6 March 2009 (CdR 86/2009 fin). 

27 

Conclusions of the European Summit of the Regions and Cities, Prague, 5-6 March 2009 (CdR 86/2009 fin). 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 22 -


gear towards the synchronisation and integration of their policy agendas and to adopt a wider 
range of legal tools. 

• 
During the European Summit of the Regions and Cities in Prague on 5-6 March 2009 the 
Committee of the Regions specifically launched a consultation process on the future strategy for 
growth and jobs, with a view to the local and regional authorities participating upstream of its 
design (www.lisbon.cor.europa.eu). 
• 
In order to improve the framework conditions for businesses, particularly SMEs, the Committee 
of the Regions intends to create an innovative prize designed to identify the most enterprising 
regions across the European Union. The label of “the most enterprising European region” 
awarded each year will give the regions an incentive to develop a strategic plan of long-term 
economic and social reforms that will be widely supported by the population and local 
stakeholders. 
• 
In this way the Committee of the Regions aims to give added impetus to the launch of the new 
strategy for growth and jobs post-Lisbon, while ensuring the widespread use of the 10 principles 
of the “Small Business Act” of the European Union at local and regional level. 
The Lisbon Strategy undeniably lacks coordination and continues to represent an exclusively 
top-down approach. The Lisbon paradox highlighted by the Committee of the Regions’ LMP reveals 
that the level of involvement of local and regional authorities has been insufficient and underlines the 
urgent need to introduce a more decentralised Community strategy for growth and jobs, based on the 
potential of the regions and cities, which, due to their know-how, are the main drivers of innovation, 
research and education in Europe28. 

The recovery of the European economy also requires the goals of the “Small Business Act” for 
Europe to be achieved. This must involve a partnership with the local and regional authorities29. 

To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
examine the opinions on an open method of regionalised coordination and determine the areas 
of Community action in which the open method of coordination would be most appropriate for 
the local and regional authorities, by considering, in particular, immigration and integration 
policy, innovation and education; 

- 
present to the European Council in March 2010 the results of the consultation with local and 
regional authorities on the future of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs. 

28 

EUROCITIES is conducting a project with the support of the European Commission through the Sixth Framework Programme 
for Research and Technological Development, which facilitates the exchange of good practices, expertise and application in 
sustainable urban development. 

29 

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the theme “Think Small First” – A “Small Business Act” for Europe, 12 and 
13 February 2009 (CdR 246/2008 fin). 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 23 -


Calls: 

- 
on the Member States to support the open method of coordination through local or regional 
action plans and, conversely, to help ensure that regional and local plans are taken into account 
in national plans and are the subject of multilevel written agreements; and, as a result, calls on the 
European Commission to recognise the existence of regional and local contact points in the 
context of monitoring the open method of coordination. 

Invites the Commission and the Member States to: 

- 
reform the open method of coordination to make it more inclusive, by developing, in conjunction 
with regional and local authorities, more effective participatory governance indicators and 
territorial indicators30; 

- 
identify, in close collaboration with local and regional authorities, the obstacles to the application 
of the single market which are currently being faced by the regions, cities and municipalities, and 
the appropriate solutions to adapt the single market to the current economic and social context; 

- 
ensure the local and regional authorities are properly involved in revising the Lisbon Strategy 
post-2010. 

Developing integrated policies 

The integrated approach guarantees the effectiveness of common policies. It involves a vertical 
dimension, which presupposes better coordination and cooperation between the different tiers of 
government, and a horizontal dimension, which imposes a coherent implementation of sectoral 
policies to ensure sustainable development and synergy with the other relevant policies of the 
European Union. 

Implementing territorial cohesion as a Community objective is therefore fundamental for the 
future of common policies. The scope of territorial cohesion must take account of three dimensions: 
firstly, a reform dimension by “reducing existing disparities” and ensuring all Europeans have equal 
access to essential public services wherever they live; secondly, a prevention dimension to make 
sectoral policies which have a spatial impact more coherent by striving for the full use of the 
endogenous resources of less favoured areas, thereby helping the population to continue living in 

The Committee of the Regions “recommends that new indicators be designed allowing territorial disparities to be better taken 
into account in all public policies” and “recommends that new tools and specifically indicators be developed to meet the 
requirements of implementing territorial cohesion, not least by means of sub-regional analyses”. Opinion of the Committee of the 
Regions on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion (CdR 274/2008 fin). 
“In order to develop suitable regional strategies and policy responses, appropriate instruments are needed to take account of 
territorial disparities in public policies (for example, disposable income per capita to take account of transfers in addition to GDP 
per capita, tax revenues and accessibility of different services …, demographic structure and population settlement patterns …, or 
even the creation of composite human development indices)”. Opinion on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion 
(CdR 274/2008 fin). 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 24 -


these areas and thirdly, an incentive dimension by improving “territorial integration” and encouraging 
cooperation. 

Territorial cohesion, which with the Treaty of Lisbon becomes a responsibility shared between 
the European Union and Member States, must be present in all sectoral policies and must 
become an incarnation of multilevel governance. Urban governance is also vital for the successful 
implementation of sustainable development strategies in urban areas, not only to coordinate all the 
tiers of government but also to involve local players. Urban governance in an integrated approach 
must tackle the three pillars of sustainable development – the environment, the economy and social 
issues – in order to guarantee real social and territorial cohesion. Other common policies are also 
appropriate to foster an integrated and coherent approach. Integrated strategies should be drawn up for 
rural areas which are based on multi-level governance and are designed to boost sustainable 
development and competitiveness. These strategies should contain measures designed to tackle the 
regions' natural handicaps, together with the imbalances between these areas and urban areas. 

VII. An integrated maritime policy for the European Union 
•The development of an integrated maritime policy for the EU represents one of the rare examples 
at European level of an attempted common approach to several sectoral policies based on a 
territorial typology. The process, which began with the Green Paper in 2006 and continued with 
the Blue Paper, has heavily involved local and regional players interested in developing an 
integrated approach to the management of maritime areas: transport, environment, renewable 
energies and economic development are some of the sectors covered by a policy born of the 
ambition to integrate, in a horizontal manner, the requirements linked to sustainable development 
and to the safety of our seas, at last recognised as natural and economic resources that are crucial 
to the European continent. 

• 
This ambition must be accompanied by appropriate mechanisms to reinforce the federating effect 
of an integrated maritime political vision. In this regard, the Committee of the Regions believes 
that it is necessary to change the EU’s financing mechanism to a single simplified system, which 
would bring together all maritime issues – or the majority of them – within a European Coast and 
Island Fund, and to create a European marine platform, uniting local and regional authorities and 
the relevant players to give an instrument which can help divide up the responsibilities and 
disseminate good practices. 
Optimising the reinforced culture of consultation 

Since 2002 steps have been taken to develop the reinforced culture of consultation called for in 
the White Paper on European Governance, which recognised that “investment in good consultation 
‘upstream’ may produce better legislation which is adopted more rapidly and easier to apply and 
enforce”. 

The dialogue that takes place between the European Commission and stakeholders prior to the 
presentation of proposals and the adoption of political initiatives can take several different forms: 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 25 -

• 
consultation as part of the legislative process, particularly with the Committee of the Regions, as 
the institutional representative of local and regional authorities; 
• 
mechanisms for sectoral consultation, which take account of the specific conditions for EU 
intervention in its various policy fields; 
• 
the establishment of a coherent consultation framework with minimum standards for consultation; 
• 
structured dialogue with the associations representing local and regional authorities. 
To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
develop cooperation with the European Commission and European and national associations of 
local and regional authorities within the framework of Structured Dialogue in the phase for 
preparing the legislative work programme of the European Commission; 

- 
work with the other EU Institutions to develop an effective impact assessment of its activities, in 
order to strengthen its role as an advisory body under the Treaties and to demonstrate the addedvalue 
it brings to EU decision-making. 

Calls on the European Commission to: 

- 
report on the follow-up given to its political recommendations in the form of oral and written 
questions. 

Better lawmaking 

The coordination of the legislative process proposed in the “Better Lawmaking” action programme 
and supported in the interinstitutional agreement on “Better Lawmaking” adopted by the European 
Parliament, the Council and the European Commission in 2003 must take full account of the 
contribution of local and regional authorities and the legal and policy instruments that they advocate 
in its strategy for improving legislation. 

Based on the Treaties, and pending the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the existing internal 
and Community mechanisms allow the establishment of an agreed and coordinated approach to 
monitoring and controlling the principle of subsidiarity. In a number of Member States, an 
internal reform process has also begun, which reinforces the intervention of regional legislative 
assemblies in the mechanisms advocated in the Protocol on the Application of the Principles of 
Subsidiarity and Proportionality of the Treaty of Lisbon so that they can act as a component part of 
the parliamentary mechanism in their country or as chambers of the national parliament. This 
approach should be extended, in accordance with national constitutional structures. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 26 -


Furthermore, the capacity of local and regional authorities to understand Community law must be 
strengthened in order to reinforce legal certainty within the European Union and facilitate the 
correct transposition of Community legislation. In that regard, the need to more closely involve 
local and regional authorities is motivated by the fact that the effects of a Community directive or 
regulation may vary significantly from one Member State to another due to its internal territorial 
organisation, the degree of autonomy of local and regional authorities and the extent of their 
responsibilities. The difficulties encountered during the transposition of the Directives on landfill of 
waste31 and award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts32 
are important examples of the need to involve local and regional authorities throughout the process of 
formulating Community legislation33. 

Impact assessments of draft legislation are a key tool for achieving better Community legislation. An 
impact assessment must pay attention to the implementation and maintenance of regulations. It is very 
important here that the territorial aspect of new legislation should have a key position in the 
Commission’s current impact assessments. In order to assess this territorial aspect properly, the 
Commission’s departments should explain the consequences of new legislation for the regions and 
municipalities in good time. The Committee of the Regions can play a key role here. 

VIII. 
The Subsidiarity Monitoring Network of the Committee of the Regions: a useful tool for 
reinforcing democratic responsibility and participation in the lawmaking process of the 
European Union 
•The principle of subsidiarity seeks to ensure that, in areas of non-exclusive Community 
responsibility, decisions are taken at the most appropriate level. As a result, in these areas, tests 
must be carried out to ensure that Community action is justified with regard to the options 
available at national, regional or local level. 

• 
The Subsidiarity Monitoring Network set up by the Committee of the Regions, which currently 
consists of 96 members (local and regional authorities, national and regional parliaments, 
associations of local and regional authorities), conducts online consultations via its Internet site. It 
has the following objectives: 
31 

Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1-19); Directive 2006/12/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste (OJ L 114, 27.04.2006, p. 9-21). 

32 

Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the 
award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114-240). 

33 

A study has been entrusted to the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) on the theme of “The impact of 
Community law at local level”. This will examine in particular these two practical cases, with the results being presented to the 
High Level Group on Governance and the EU under the Swedish Presidency in October 2009. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 27 -


• 
Organise consultations with partners in the network on European Commission documents and 
proposals, which help to analyse the application of the principles of subsidiarity and 
proportionality and assess the impact of measures proposed. In so doing, the Network aids 
communication between local and regional authorities and the Committee of the Regions with 
regard to the European legislative process; 
• 
Serve as an information point allowing local and regional authorities to access more quickly 
information of interest to them in connection with the EU and to give them an additional route for 
making their voices heard; 
• 
Help the Committee of the Regions to broaden its consultation base by giving it access to the 
political and administrative structures of the regions and cities of Europe and by placing these 
resources at the disposal of its rapporteurs; 
• 
Involve members of the Subsidiarity Monitoring Network in future studies on the territorial impact 
of the Commission’s proposals, at an early stage in the pre-legislative process. 
To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
increase its involvement in the process of monitoring the “Better Lawmaking” action plan and 
develop its internal policy process and its consultations through interactive platforms in order to 
obtain reliable information on how the local and regional dimension is taken into account in the 
preparation of legislation; 

- 
strengthen its interinstitutional relations throughout the legislative process with the Council, 
the European Commission and the European Parliament; 

- 
develop with national parliaments and regional legislative assemblies a “modus operandi” in 
order to enhance the position of local and regional authorities in all Member States both in the ex-
ante phase and in the context of the early warning system34; 

- 
contribute to the work of the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on 
Administrative Burdens, give an opinion on the suggestions that it makes and plan to set up a 
High Level Group of Local and Regional Authorities. 

Calls for: 

- 
the “Better Lawmaking” interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament, the 
Council and the European Commission to be accompanied by a memorandum of understanding 
with the Committee of the Regions on implementing certain evaluation and consultation 
mechanisms in particular. 

The Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE) has set up a technical and political network for 
monitoring the application of the principle of subsidiarity. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 28 -


Calls on the European Commission to: 

- 
continue the efforts being made to simplify the regulatory environment, particularly in terms of 
cohesion policy, and introduce a regional aspect in national action plans to simplify legislation; 

- 
ensure ready access for local and regional authorities to comitology and to groups of experts 
responsible for implementing the “Better Lawmaking” action plan35 36 . 

Invites the Member States to: 

- 
set up a mechanism for consulting local and regional authorities with a view to facilitating the 
transposition of European legislation; 

- 
ensure that when European legislation is transposed and applied, the internal distribution of 
competences is respected; 

- 
through the Council of Europe, continue to work towards the proposed Charter for Regional 
Democracy. 

Evaluating the territorial impact of Community intervention 

Evaluation mechanisms can determine whether decisions have been taken and applied at the 
appropriate level, identify the right political instruments and define the scope and scale of Community 
intervention. Vital work has been started to define the concept of territorial impact, determine the 
common objectives that can be adapted to the specific characteristics of the regions, and develop 
appropriate quantitative and qualitative indicators. This may also help to give specific content to the 
principle of territorial cohesion. 

To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
reinforce cooperation with the European Commission in implementing its cooperation 
agreement in order to convey the reasoned opinions of local and regional authorities on the 
impact analysis of Commission proposals at an early stage in the legislative process; 

- 
set up, with the support of the European Commission’s impact analysis committee, a technical 
“high level group” responsible for evaluating the territorial impact of major Community 
policies in order to adopt measures likely to improve legislation, simplify administrative 
procedures and increase the acceptance of Community policies by the citizens. 

35 

Report of the High Level Seminar on Local Governance (Biarritz, 14-16 September 2008). 

36 

The Conference of Presidents of Regions with Legislative Power (REGLEG) organises exchanges of good practices on the 
participation of experts representing regions with legislative power in the context of the comitology procedure and within the 
groups of experts of the Commission and also the working groups of the Council. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 29 -


Recommends: 

- 
that the territorial impact analysis should become standard practice through the involvement, 
upstream of the policy decision, of the various actors concerned in order to understand the 
economic, social and environmental repercussions on the regions of Community legislative and 
non-legislative proposals; 

- 
reinforcing the territorial impact evaluation mechanisms ready for when substantial 
modifications are proposed to the original proposals during the legislative process; 

- 
developing the conditions for an ex-post evaluation in order to examine the local and regional 
impact of certain directives, or even the implementation at local and regional level of European 
legislative acts and have the findings incorporated by the Commission into its evaluation report; 

- 
that European and national statistics should reflect the diversity of the territorial situation in 
order to more accurately understand the impact of policies on the regions. 

Calls on the European Commission to: 

- 
ensure that its various road maps, established to measure the progress of certain key policies for 
European integration, include the variable of multilevel governance so as to evaluate the true 
impact of Community intervention, and stresses in this respect the need to reinforce the local 
and regional dimension of the Internal Market road map. 

Developing the potential of territorial cooperation 

Strengthening territorial cooperation is vital to meet the objectives of economic, social and 
territorial cohesion. Substantial efforts need to be made over the next few years to foster 
opportunities for vertical and horizontal partnership underpinned by a political, legal and financial 
framework for transnational cooperation enabling cooperation between several regions in different 
European states. 

Within a geographic framework, cooperation enables political authorities and administrations at 
different levels to collaborate and promote common interests by improving living conditions for the 
populations concerned and pooling resources and know-how. 

In view of the upcoming consolidation of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation and the 
revision of its regulations, the Committee of the Regions is drawing up proposals on how to get the 
best added value from this instrument. 

IX. The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) 
•The EGTC is a new European legal instrument (Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006) designed to 
stabilise territorial cooperation between the different tiers of government and across borders. It is 
particularly relevant in view of strengthening territorial cohesion policy. Around 30 EGTCs are 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 30 -


being set up in Europe and six have already been established. 

• 
The dimension of multilevel governance is at the heart of the process to launch, establish and 
manage an EGTC. The latter allows public authorities to be brought together, according to a 
variable institutional geometry, by virtue of their levels of responsibility and to promote an 
enlarged partnership with socioeconomic actors. The areas of application of the EGTC, according 
to emerging experience, are varied: from health to civil defence, from economic development to 
the protection and promotion of natural resources, from training to research and innovation 
policy, etc. 
• 
The Committee of the Regions is working in concert with local and regional authorities, the 
European Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States to optimise the potential 
of this tool and facilitate the creation of a public space for communication, information, analysis, 
research and pooling of expertise. 
The European Union’s internal strategy is also aimed at developing macro-regions. However, 
this innovative approach requires a high level of coherence in its design and integration within the 
European process and must without question be supported by a form of multilevel governance which 
defines a new type of partnership bringing together the strategic approaches of the internal and 
external policies of the Union. The lessons learnt from the implementation of the Strategy for the 
Baltic Sea region and from the forthcoming launch of the Strategy for the Danube, together with the 
possibilities created by the wider neighbourhood plan drawn up for the outermost regions, will be 
essential in determining the relevance of these macro-regions with regard to European governance, 
development of territorial cooperation and the objective of territorial cohesion. 

X. Strategy for the Baltic Sea region 
•The Strategy for the Baltic Sea region aims to reinvigorate cooperation within this maritime area 
in order to improve the environmental status of the region, support its sustainable economic 
development, increase its level of accessibility and add to its level of security. This integrated 
and participatory strategy, which is currently being developed, is a typical example of the 
implementation of multi-sectoral policies, led by numerous actors and focused on a European 
macro-region. It aims to integrate the different lines of programming and financing at European, 
national and infranational level, with the possibility of using the cohesion policy programmes as 
a reference framework. 

• 
Governance will determine the degree of success of this strategy. Its development demands a 
multilevel approach, with reinforced cooperation between the European, national, regional and 
local levels and also at cross-border level and between the public and private sectors37 . 
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Role of local and regional authorities within the new Baltic Sea strategy 
(CdR 381/2008 fin). 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 31 -


To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
evaluate the relevance of macro-regional development strategies in the light of the involvement 
of local and regional authorities in their design, preparation, implementation, communication to 
the citizens and evaluation phases, and in their respective action plans, and in this case demand 
sufficient provision in the Community budget for appropriate financial mechanisms and 
resources; 

- 
cooperate with the European Commission, Member States and other institutions involved on a 
major action involving communication and operational support for the implementation of 
new EGTCs and for the exchange of good practices in the context of those EGTCs already 
established; 

- 
make its contribution with a view to a possible revision of Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 on 
the EGTC, based on the experience of its Group of Experts38, particularly with regard to greater 
integration of the socioeconomic partners, easier implementation at the external borders of the 
EU, greater flexibility in the installation procedures, a reference in the main European legislative 
texts particularly affected by the cross-border dimension (e.g. cross-border health), planning of 
stimulus measures, including legal, economic and financial stimuli, whether at European level or 
at national level, and promotion of this tool in the Community legislation in Europe. 

Recommends: 

- 
that additional resources should be allocated to the three aspects of territorial cooperation, 
due to its indisputable contribution to the process of European integration. 

Calls: 

- 
on the European Commission to announce, in its next evaluation/revision report on the EGTC 
Regulation, how it plans to fully exploit this legal tool; 

- 
on the European Commission and the Member States to increase awareness of this tool by very 
significantly expanding the internal information within the Directorates-General and Ministries 
and by enhancing its added value; 

- 
on the Member States to work closely with the regional and local authorities in the process of 
setting up EGCTs so that they can be rolled out and implemented diligently in accordance with 
the letter and spirit of Regulation 1082/2006. 

The Committee of the Regions has set up a group of experts from local and regional authorities and research institutes in nearly 
23 different countries. This group has the task of: 
-monitoring the adoption and implementation of the Regulation’s provisions at Member State level; 


- facilitating the exchange of experiences on the establishment of EGTCs at territorial level and sharing knowledge of best 
practices in the field; 
- identifying the potential exploitation of the EGTC as a tool for cohesive territorial development; 
- improving communication on EGTC opportunities and challenges at territorial level. 
Website: www.cor.europa.eu/egtc.htm. 
CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 32 -

Encouraging innovative and partnership-based methods of governance 

Economic, technological and societal developments force mentalities and practices to change. The 
Community method should be enriched by innovative and experimental practices benefiting 
from the experience and expertise of local and regional elected representatives who are, more 
often than not, required to implement the common policies and apply Community legislation. 

In that regard, experimentation is an instrument of good governance which enables actions to be 
implemented on a small scale to test their impact, with a view to wider implementation if the results 
are convincing, and allows policy-makers to base their decisions on data which has already been 
verified at the level of their territorial impact. 

Furthermore, the establishment of contracts which has generated, within Community regional policy, 
a phenomenon of ownership of the European strategic priorities by the national, local and regional 
levels and which has reinforced coordination of the public policies introduced and their administrative 
capacities should be extended to other European policies. 

To put multilevel governance into practice, the Committee of the Regions: 

Undertakes to: 

- 
submit proposals to support the use of experimentation at local and regional level in certain 
areas of intervention of the European Union, such as the strategy for growth and jobs, the social 
agenda, integration policy, innovation policy, cohesion policy, sustainable development and civil 
defence; 

- 
develop lines of action to make more frequent use of the method of controlled experimentation 
in order to understand the effects of wide-ranging reforms of the common policies, particularly 
the common agricultural policy; 

- 
defend the prospect of concluding contracts of agreed objectives, as envisaged in 2001, by 
proposing to readjust the political and legal terms of implementation, particularly with the aid of 
flexible and diversified tripartite instruments. In doing so, it is especially important to fully 
respect the Member States' institutional and procedural autonomy in transposing and above all 
implementing Community law. 

Recommends: 

- 
establishing European territorial pacts capable of bringing together, on a voluntary basis, the 
different competent tiers of government in order to adapt the implementation of the major 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 33 -


political priorities and objectives of the European Union on a partnership basis with the local and 
regional authorities39; 

- 
planning for European territorial pacts to include the commitment of an institution or agency of 
the European Union, the commitment of national authorities and one or more local and regional 
authorities, the identification of the European political objectives to be achieved, their breakdown 
into concrete aims in the region in question, a monitoring system and, finally, the definition of a 
budgetary structure bringing together the contributions of the various parties needed to 
achieve this. 

Invites: 

- 
any discussion of the issue of funding European territorial pacts to be focused on potential 
synergies between, on the one hand, at European level, existing budget headings in the policy 
areas concerned and the Structural Funds and, on the other hand, budget resources available at 
local, regional and national level, without creating an additional Community regional policy 
instrument or applying for additional funding to achieve the aim in question; 

- 
local and regional authorities interested in committing to such a process to indicate their 
interest as part of the consultation on the implementation of the White Paper. 

5. Implementing and monitoring the White Paper 
By publishing this White Paper, the Committee of the Regions has taken the initiative to submit its 
vision of the Community method, based on a mode of governance which involves local and regional 
authorities in the formulation and implementation of Community policies . This vision is based on 
progress made following the European Commission’s White Paper on European Governance adopted 
in 2001 and sets out the stakes and challenges of shared governance in Europe. The development of a 
European culture of multilevel governance is a permanent challenge. It will therefore regularly 
evaluate the progress made in its implementation and will present, every three years, a report on the 
state of multilevel governance within the European Union. 

On the publication of the White Paper, the Committee of the Regions will commence a process of 
consultation with the Community institutions with a view to clarifying the lines and commitments 
presented. 

It is also beginning a general consultation in order to gather the opinions of the authorities, 
associations and interested parties and invites them to submit their observations on the best way to 
implement multilevel governance in Europe. Comments may be submitted up to 30 November 2009 
to the following address: 

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Establishment of European territorial pacts: proposal for a revision of the 
tripartite contracts and agreements (CdR 135/2006 fin). 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms 
.../... 


- 34 -


Committee of the Regions of the European Union 

Forward Studies Unit 

Office VMA 0635 

101 Rue Belliard 

B-1040 Brussels 

or by email to: governance@cor.europa.eu40 

Based on the results of the general consultation and the lessons learnt from its consultation with the 
institutions and stakeholders, the Committee of the Regions will draw up an action plan to implement 
its recommendations. 

Brussels, 17 June 2009 

The President 
of the Committee of the Regions 


Luc Van den Brande 
The Secretary-General 
of the Committee of the Regions 

Gerhard Stahl 

* 

* * 

The process of monitoring the White Paper will be accompanied by the activities of the Ateliers of the Committee of the Regions 
www.cor.europa.eu/ateliers. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms .../... 


- 35 -


II. PROCEDURE 
Title White Paper of the Committee of the Regions on 
Multilevel Governance 
Reference(s) -
Legal basis Treaty Article 265(5) 
Procedural basis 
Date of Council referral/Date of letter 
from Commission 
-
Date of President’s/Bureau’s decision 25 November 2008 
Commission responsible Commission for Constitutional Affairs, European 
Governance and the Area of Freedom, Security and 
Justice 
Rapporteur(s) Luc Van den Brande (BE/EPP), Member of the Flemish 
Parliament 
Michel Delebarre (FR/PES), Mayor of Dunkirk 
Analysis Working document (CdR 371/2008) and (CdR 371/2008 
rev. 1) 
Discussed in commission 6 May 2009 
Date adopted in commission 6 May 2009 
Result of the vote in commission Adopted by majority 
Date adopted in plenary 17 June 2009 
Previous Committee opinions Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Better 
Lawmaking 2005 and 2006 CdR 397/2006 fin41 
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the White 
Paper on European Governance CdR 103/2001 fin42 
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on The Follow-
Up to the White Paper on European Governance 
CdR 19/2003 fin43 

41 
OJ C 305 of 15.12.2007, p. 38. 
42 
OJ C 192 of 12.8.2002, p. 24. 
43 
OJ C 256 of 24.10.2003, p. 24. 

CdR 89/2009 fin FR/EXT/RS/GW/ym/ms .../... 


 
EUROPEAN UNION 
Committee of the Regions 
EUROPEAN UNION 
Committee of the Regions 
Rue 
Belliard/Belliardstraat, 
101 
_ 
1040 
Bruxelles/Brussel 
_ 
BELGIQUE/BELGIË 
Tel. 
+32 
2/282 
25 
29 
_ 
Fax 
+32 
2/282 
23 
30 
www.cor.europa.eu 



