Voorzitter Comité van de Regio's Bresso: hoge begrotingstekort in strijd met subsidiariteitsbeginsel (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Comité van de Regio's (CvdR) i, gepubliceerd op vrijdag 16 juli 2010.

The European Commission's recent proposals to impose sanctions on countries with excessive deficits could be in breach of the EU's subsidiarity principle, Mercedes Bresso, President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), told the Extremadura regional parliament in Mérida, Spain, on Friday. She called on all regional and national governments to form a "coalition" with the CoR to defend the subsidiarity principle, if necessary before the Court of Justice.

President Bresso said that the Commission's communication on economic governance published earlier this month had sounded the alarm bells because one of the key sanctions proposed on member states with excessive deficits would be the suspension of funding linked to cohesion, agriculture or fisheries policies.

"We immediately saw that there was a serious risk that this would breach the principle of subsidiarity: the question is, is it legally possible for the European Union to impose conditions on regional and local authorities reducing their freedom to adopt their own budget rules, by threatening them with financial sanctions?" she said.

President Bresso underlined that the Committee would not be rushing to the courts to defend its case - the CoR believes that such a recourse should only ever be taken as a last resort - but that it would highlight this issue in its opinion on the Commission's communication, which is due in the autumn. She added that the CoR's subsidiarity monitoring network - which includes a large number of regional and national parliaments - would assess whether a breach has occurred and stressed that the support from these coalition partners would lend significant weight to the Committee's case. She also called upon all regional parliaments to coordinate their efforts with the CoR and to join its subsidiarity monitoring network. She explained that it should be seen by regional parliaments as a complementary way to make their voice heard, in addition to the early warning mechanism outlined in the Treaty.

Juan Ramón Ferreira Díaz, president of the Extremadura regional assembly, said: "The treaty of Lisbon recognises the principle of subsidiarity and establishes mechanisms for its implementation and defence, giving the CoR a key role. We are convinced that you will use your new authority wisely, and we will continue to collaborate with you to build a strong Europe and to overcome the current economic crisis." He added that the regional assembly would continue to play an active part in the CoR's subsidiarity monitoring network.

The Lisbon Treaty effectively gave the CoR the role of the defender of subsidiarity, with the right to go directly to the European courts if it believes that a breach has occurred - a responsibility that President Bresso said she would not shirk. In her inaugural speech as president of the CoR, she said that the Lisbon Treaty would bring new life to the Committee: "We will no longer just ask that regional and local authorities are taken into consideration. We will not just be the yes-man. We will enter the political debate with substantial proposals and we will not - if it is required - shy away from political controversy."

Note to editors

President Bresso's speech (in French)

Visit the CoR's website: www.cor.europa.eu

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

For more information, please contact:

Chris Jones

Tel. +32 (0) 2 546 8751

christopher.jones@cor.europa.eu

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