"I would like to see more smart regions"

Due to the recent terrible events in the Mediterranean: One of the core problems of this question of the „refugee-problem" seems to be the distribution of refugees in Europe. Statistics published last week calculates the current admission quotas for refugees on the basis of population figures. Sweden thus met "his" rate to almost 700 percent, Portugal comes to 3 percent. How can the CoR react here? Especially since the representatives of the local and regional level sit in their ranks - the people to whom the refugees are then brought?

Markku Markkula: The recent events in the Mediterranean are a tragedy. The EU has a responsibility to tackle this crisis and prevent the loss of any more lives, in cooperation with the countries of origin and transit. You are right that local and regional authorities have significant responsibility in the areas of migration and specifically the admission of refugees and are therefore directly affected by such tragedies. When I spoke to the CoR member and mayor of the city of Catania in Sicily, a port where thousands of migrants have arrived in recent days and months, Enzo Bianco insisted that the city residents bear no ill will toward the migrants, but that they simply cannot absorb the ever-growing numbers. Some EU countries like Austria and Sweden are accepting more refugees per capita than most other EU countries; we need to show solidarity and find a better balance across the EU. The CoR has urged EU leaders and the Member States to reinforce rescue operations in international waters and to provide regional and local authorities with the necessary means to respond effectively to emergency situations stemming from immigration. We would also like to see more migration and integration partnerships between cities and regions in the countries of origin and destination countries so that cooperation and mutual trust can be strengthened. The European Committee of the Regions is currently working on concrete proposals to change the European Agenda on Migration and we will discuss them in the coming months with the European Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos.



Europe has not yet overcome the economic crisis even if in some EU Member States the signs of a slight recovery are visible. Many people are still unemployed, especially young Europeans. How can more growth and jobs be created in Europe and what role do local authorities play?

Every institution and every politician in Europe must have jobs and growth at the heart of its priorities and I believe that this means effective reforms at the local, regional, national and European level. Simply speaking, we need to reduce red tape at all levels, simplify rules and support schemes so that we can unlock Europe's investment and innovation potential, boost growth and get young people back into work. On the other hand, we need to create favourable conditions for a more bottom-up movement: every city and every region can develop new, smart initiatives to renew the urban agenda and territorial cohesion in an innovative manner. In this way, cities and regions will be able flourish in the new global and digital world that we live in.



The European Committee of the Regions supports President Juncker's investment program. What does this new program do with its 315 billion euro for local authorities? Are significant resources diverted to the weaker regions as the COR recommended last week?

Yes, we broadly welcome the so called "Juncker plan" and the explicit mention of local and regional authorities in identifying, supporting or managing the investment projects. Let us not forget that in 2013 approximately 55% of total public investment in the EU was carried out by the EU's local and regional governments. But you are also right to point out our concerns: we must ensure that the European Fund for Strategic Investment targets all regions and avoids further regional disparities. In this regard, I would encourage an inclusion of more soft, innovative components within the project plans. The first four projects that have been proposed by the European Investment Bank focus on innovation and infrastructure in Croatia, Ireland, Italy and Spain, but they also support regional economies and provide jobs on the ground. Looking ahead, we have joined forces with the European Investment Bank and are currently preparing implementation of an annual action plan. We trust this good dialogue with the EIB will help to simplify procedures and speed up the implementation of quality EU projects for European regions and cities, which will benefit both citizens and local businesses.



Shouldn’t the CoR in such investment packages not play a stronger role than just a suggestion part?

Alongside the CoR's rapporteur, Claude Gewerc, President of Picardie region in France, I have warned that without cooperation with regions and cities, the Investment Plan will not have the appropriate leverage effects on the real economy. To make this plan a success it must focus on small-scale, local, quality projects and pull on the expertise of Europe's cities and regions. We also want to see strong synergies between investment projects and the regional innovation strategies that are funded by the EU's structural funds. Regional smart specialisation plays a crucial role in creating European Partnerships to take full advantage of the European knowledge. Lastly, we have proposed the creation of regionalised investment platforms, which are jointly managed by local and regional authorities and regional and national development banks.



Such investment initiatives were used already. Is there empirical values means, which use has brought most and which were perhaps not so ideal? Say a database in which the projects and their successes are recorded so that we do not always have to "reinvent the wheel"?

Until now we have seen regional investment plans co-funded by EU cohesion policy, which are mainly based on public funding of projects, subsidies and direct incentives for innovation. Alongside those, we have a number of EU financial instruments aimed at supporting urban development and innovation, provided by the EIB. Here, there is a lot of empirical evidence to show that the large part of these projects had a real impact. Let's look at the last Cohesion Report, published last summer: without investment plans the crisis in Europe would have been much worse, job losses seriously higher and many key innovation projects would not have been funded. This investment plan is different because it integrates all of the available tools to mobilise private and public investment, including national and regional promotional banks credit facilities, EIB existing tools, EFSI, etc. We have no time to waste reinventing the wheel; we need a forward looking strategy to re-launch public and private investment after the dramatic drop of the last years and the means to measure its success.



The EU's negotiations with the United States on a free trade agreement (TTIP) are in Austria by many people very critical seen - even in the municipalities. What is your position on this trade agreement and what does the CoR mean?

TTIP will be subject to approval by the European Parliament and ratification by all 28 EU Member States. Depending on the law of each Member State, this means that governments, parliaments and chambers representing the regional level may also need to approve the agreement. It is therefore important for the CoR to have an official position on the agreement and our rapporteur, Markus Töns, was responsible for this. Our starting point is that TTIP offers us an opportunity to boost growth and employment in the EU by providing market access for trade in goods, services, investment and public procurement. However, the CoR also understands that an agreement of such global scope entails risks as well as opportunities. Central to our position is the safeguarding of the democratic participation and the powers of local and regional authorities as well as high European standards of protection for EU citizens and products. We are in a constant dialogue with the European Commissioner on Trade, Cecilia Malmström, with whom we had frank debate in February. I remember that on this occasion Landeshauptmann Kaiser from Carinthia made a strong statement as regards the necessity to review the investment protection clause in TTIP. The Commission has announced changes on this very item and we will not fail to raise our voices again if we are not satisfied.



You are an advocate of the „Smart City" concept. What does it mean in your opinion, to be a "Smart City"?

Smart cities use digital technologies and new thinking to enhance their performance and wellbeing. This leads to new services with reduced costs and consumption and enables them to engage more effectively with its citizens. I want to stress that new innovative developments lead to something we have termed "human sustainable cities". To reach this target we need to encourage regions to form European wide partnerships based on the priorities of their smart specialisation strategies. A Smart City does not try to solve its challenges by using only or even primarily its own staff, but uses the knowledge and enthusiasm of its citizens and other stakeholders, especially companies, universities and third sector voluntary organisations to its benefit.



As Smart City you are by definition a city. Should smaller communities in the countryside try to become a «Smart region»?

I see this question in two ways: firstly, all regions, municipalities, towns and smaller communities should strive for excellence and to be smarter. In a global marketplace, everyone needs to be competitive to survive and be sustainable. Secondly, I think that regional governments should encourage and promote collaboration between smaller municipalities and towns so that they can benefit from economies of scale. Here, I would underline that cities do not exist in a vacuum. I would like to see more "smart regions", in which cities work with neighbouring cities and the areas around them so that as many people as possible can benefit from their strengths. This is central to the concept of innovation ecosystem renewal and breaking the traditional industrial clusters. This development has been so successful in my hometown of Espoo, the second largest in Finland.



You are, inter alia, rapporteur on innovation issues such as the „Digital Agenda for Europe“. What is this agenda and how is it on its way?

The Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. It aims to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits based on fast and ultra-fast internet and interoperable applications. However, for the Digital Agenda for Europe to reach its goals, much more needs to be done to complete the Digital Single Market. We look forward to the Commission proposals on 6 May and will be ready to share our views on growing a successful and vibrant pan-European market for the creation and distribution of legal digital content and online services, as well as giving consumers easy, safe and flexible access to digital content and service markets. I stress the strong move to open innovation being the driver of progress, with a new mentality for entrepreneurial experimenting, piloting and sharing the results throughout Europe.



After the last European elections and the success of Eurosceptic parties the mood for Europe is not very good. 9 May is „Europe Day“, but it is often not perceived by citizens. What does this mean for you and the Committee of the Regions? What can be done?

We must remember that whilst many Eurosceptic parties got seats in the European Parliament, the majority of members are committed to working for a strong EU and want to see it thrive. In this context and given the trust that voters place in their locally and regionally elected politicians, the Committee of the Regions should be understood as a bridge between the European institutions in Brussels and the people living in Europe's regions and cities. May 9^th is an excellent opportunity to highlight the benefits of EU membership and to hold a dialogue on its added value. What we need in Europe is not only better communication, but rather a new understanding that all political levels need to engage in a transparent and open debate with citizens on European issues. I would therefore like to invite all Austrian Mayors to celebrate Europe Day on 9 May in their municipalities by organising information days and events over the coming weeks. I am sure that the CoR members in their regions will support them wherever they can.



In Austria, many municipalities have appointed EU municipal councils, it means Local councils, who care about the agendas of the European Union and spread the EU's information to the people. Have you as President of the CoR a message to these elected representatives?

This is an excellent initiative, which the CoR helped to promote together with the Städtebund and the Gemeindebund some years ago by awarding the prize of the "Austrian EU mayor". I strongly encourage all Austrian municipalities to nominate such a councillor and ask you to keep close contacts with the CoR members from your region so that we can inform citizens better about European issues. And not just informing citizens, but encouraging and inviting citizens to take an active role in different forms and dimensions of European collaboration. We all have the responsibility to care about the developments in the European Union and to spread this EU's information accurately to the people.



How do you want to point the CoR under your presidency? Or in other words: What are the goals of the current functional period?

As we have all discussed, every institution and every politician in Europe must have jobs and growth at the heart of its priorities. This will therefore be an important part of the CoR Presidency priorities, which will be presented in June. We have to find ways and means to get Europe back on track. But we must also focus on our core business and that is to advise the EU institutions on the impact and sustainability of EU policy at the level of local and regional authorities, who by the way are responsible for implementing approximately 75% of EU legislation. We want to make this legislation better, not only by doing less, but by doing it more efficiently.



What are the medium and long- term goals of the CoR? Are things like a veto for the CoR is intended or planned?

The CoR is not there to make the EU legislative machine more difficult to understand, less reactive, more bureaucratic and slower. On the contrary, we are there to help the European Commission to better choose where to act. In Europe, you have topics where the national, regional or local level can get better results and other fields where a European level initiative is needed. In other words, we have to help the process to work according to the principle of subsidiarity, where decisions are taken at the best level of governance. I wish the CoR, and therefore the representatives of regional and local authorities' in Brussels, can get even more involved in the legislative process in the future so that we can better defend our opinions and views with the Parliament and the Council.



One change of subject: You are - or were - a reserve officer of the Finnish armed forces. After Russia is „almost within sight“ of Espoo: What means under the present circumstances and in view of a military upgrading of the Baltic States for you "security"?

The CoR would like to maintain its cross-border and cultural dialogue with Russia, despite confirming our strong position in condemning the illegal occupation of Crimea in Ukraine, instability in the Donbass and the territorial threats imposed by Russia to Moldova and Georgia as well as the political and economic challenges against EU members and bordering area. Security for me is being part of a large, strong European family, where in case of troubles; you can count on your partners because you are sure they will never leave you alone.