74th plenary session of the Committee of the Regions held in Brussels on 9 and 10 April 2008

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1. Tekst

I. Statement by Ms REDING, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media

President VAN DEN BRANDE introduced the Commissioner, underlining that the

Committee of the Regions had prepared opinions on two projects, the e-Inclusion project and the

telecom package.

Commissioner REDING pointed out that 30 to 40 % of the EU's population did not have access to the internet. The e-Inclusion project aimed at bridging the digital divide which separated

in particular rural and mountainous areas from urban populations. Ms Reding urged that broadband

internet should be within reach for all EU citizens. She also referred to the potential of e-Learning,

which was becoming increasingly widespread. There was a need to empower teachers to raise their

students' awareness of both positive and negative aspects of the internet. Initiatives aiming at a

safer internet would appear in the near future.

Another recently launched project was e-Health, a project enabling people to link up with health systems. A pilot project was being carried out with twelve Member States participating,

aiming at giving citizens cross-border access to medication data.

Several projects had been initiated to anticipate the ageing of society, with forms of remote health monitoring at their core. Remote health monitoring enabled older people to stay at home

instead of moving into a home. In this context, Ms Reding announced a communication on

telemedicine. She also highlighted the economic aspect of these projects: they would lead to new

products being developed and to demand being generated for them.

Long-term experiments had been launched concerning Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and ageing. In Denmark, a project of "smart" house-building specially adapted

for older people's needs had been initiated. Another project was the "ambient assistant living

programme", which involved tele-monitoring for older persons living independently. EUR 600

million would be invested in such projects over six years.

Mr KISYOV (EPP, BG) expressed his support for the Commissioner's initiatives on e Inclusion. He said that it was the responsibility of national and local governments to promote

broadband access. Reforms were needed for a better and faster development of broadband, access to

information being very important for all citizens.

Mr SCHAEFER (PES, LU) also supported wider dissemination of access to broadband, in particular in less populated areas. With regard to the management of the frequency spectrum, he

took the view that this should remain a national or regional competence.

Ms CLUCAS (ALDE, UK) welcomed the initiative aiming to clean up the internet. With regard to e-Inclusion, she drew attention to the different uses older people made of new technology

(e.g. e-mails) as compared to the young generation, who favoured other means such as SMS and

MMS. This could create different sorts of demand and have an impact on labour markets and

industries.

Mr O'DONOGHUE (UEN-AE, IE) favoured some kind of positive discrimination for rural areas because technology and broadband internet could help combat the exodus of populations, in

particular of younger people. He also stressed that it was important to address the access of elderly

and disabled persons to modern technology. Concerning media, local television stimulated the

regions, and subsidies for local television initiatives would be helpful. He welcomed the reform of

roaming charges and asked for a comparable effort on SMS and MMS charges.

In a short reply, Ms Reding said that management of frequencies was a competence of Member States. However, in her view they were badly used. With digital television progressing,

fewer frequencies would be necessary in the future. Wireless broadband could make use of

frequencies and cover the whole territory of the EU.

II. Statement by Mr PIEBALGS, European Commissioner for Energy

President VAN DEN BRANDE introduced Commissioner PIEBALGS by pointing out that in

the years to come initiatives would be needed to be taken to build sustainable cities, to promote

local entrepreneurship and to focus on sustainable energy. The Covenant of Mayors was a step in

the right direction. By the end of April the Committee of the Regions would have completed its

report on this subject.

Commissioner PIEBALGS considered the forum organised by "Cities of the Future" a good way to encourage debate on the Covenant of Mayors. The Covenant defined measures to be taken in

the field of environment protection. There were particular challenges for the regional level. For

example, emission of green gases was particularly high in cities. The reduction target of 20 % by

2020 was ambitious but realistic.

63 cities were already participating in the Covenant of Mayors. The cities had made a commitment to reduce emissions and to promote public transport. The public was being informed

about the development action plan and its results.

The Covenant of Mayors wanted to facilitate an exchange of experiences. The Commission could provide technical support, especially to smaller cities. The Covenant of Mayors could not

provide financial support, but there were other possibilities for funding, such as the public transport

fund or funds from the European Investment Bank. The participating cities and the Community had

thus combined their actions in the fight against climate change.

Mr JOSEPH (PSE, FR) was of the opinion that the Commission's latest initiatives were positive, although the regulations adopted on the use of renewed energy did not mention the waste

of sustainable energy. The Covenant of Mayors had undertaken to reduce emissions by 10 %. It

would take time to evaluate the outcome of these initiatives.

Mr PÜHRINGER (PPE, AT) stressed that industrial regions suffered the most serious problems. The relocation of the companies and factories within the European Union caused

environmental damage and also cost money. A European solution to this problem was insufficient,

global solutions were necessary to avoid loss of jobs and damage to competition.

Ms BAKER (ALDE, UK) expressed her concern about the impact of fuel prices on poverty and the cost of living. She cautioned that the rapid rises in food prices all over the world could

cause unrest. The Covenant of Mayors could have an important impact. Therefore everyone needed

to be involved and informed. Ms BAKER pleaded for the use of smart meters as an important

instrument to inform the people how much energy they were using.

Mr ZAJAKALA (UEN-EA, PL), President of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the Committee of the Regions, wanted to promote the initiative of the Covenant of Mayors and to

have an opinion delivered to the Commission by the end of April. The Covenant of Mayors should

also include smaller cities, which would make financial support necessary. Its communication

policy needed to be improved in order to reach all potential stakeholders such as social interest

groups and elderly people.

Mr KOOL (PSE, NL), Vice-President of Eurocities, considered this forum to be important. Bringing together the Committee of the Regions, the Commission and non-governmental

organisations created a fruitful dialogue. Eurocities stood for the promotion of sustainable and

accessible public transport in order to combat pollution, in particular high pollution levels in cities.

In autumn a declaration on climate change would be signed. The cities held the key to sustainable

development.

III. Opinions adopted during the session

· EU Budget Review : reforming the budget, changing European

CdR 16/2008 rev.1 - Ad hoc Temporary Commission

Rapporteurs : Mr Delebarre (Mayor of Dunkirk, FR/PES) and Mr Van den Brande

(Member of the Flemish Parliament, BE/EPP)

· Strategy for the Outermost Regions : Achievement and Future Prospects

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the EP, the EESC and the CoR

COM(2007) 507 final

CdR 309/2007 rev.1 - COTER-IV-0158

Rapporteur : Mr Rivero Baute (President of the Autonomous Community of the Canary

Islands, ES/ALDE)

· European i2010 initiative on e-Inclusion

COM(2007) 694 final

CdR 5/2008 rev.2 - EDUC-IV-021

Rapporteur : Mr Szalay (Municipal Councillor, Veszprém, HU/ALDE)

· Green Paper on urban mobility

COM(2007) 551 final

CdR 236/2007 rev.3 - COTER-IV-012

Rapporteur : Sir Albert Bore (Member of Birmingham City Council, UK/PES)

· The future common European asylum system

Green Paper

COM(2007) 301 final

Proposal for a Council Directive

COM(2007) 298 final - 2007/0112 (CNS)

CdR 177/2007 rev.3 - CONST-IV-013

Rapporteur : Mr Santarella (Mayor of Candella, IT/UEN-EA)

· European Ports Policy

Communication from the Commission

COM(2007) 616 final

CdR 237/2007 rev.2 - COTER-IV-013

Rapporteur : Mr Harlinghausen (Member of Hamburg Parliament's Committee for

European Affairs, DE/EPP)

· An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the EP, the EESC and the CoR

COM(2007) 575 final

CdR 22/2008 rev.1 - DEVE-IV-024

Rapporteur : Ms Kalev (Mayor of Jõgeva, EE/UEN-EA)

· Opinion on the White Paper - Together for Health : A Strategic Approach for the EU

2008-2013

COM(2007) 630 final

CdR 24/2008 rev.1 - DEVE-IV-023

Rapporteur : Mr Petersen (Member of South Denmark Regional Council, DK/PES)

· Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2007-2008 - candidate countries

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council

COM(2007) 663 final

CdR 245/2007 rev.2 - RELEX-IV-009

Rapporteur : Mr Nica (Mayor of Dude tii Noi, Romania, RO/ALDE)

· Addressing the challenges of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament

COM(2007) 414 final

CdR 313/2007 rev.2 - DEVE-IV-020

Rapporteur : Mr Camps Ortiz (President of the Generalitat of Valencia, ES/EPP)

· European electricity and gas markets : third legislative package