Europa-Tag - Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft

14 Strategy Annual Report on European Activities 2011 Strategy Annual Strategie Report on Europa-Jahresbericht European Activities 2011 2011 15
Munich’s infl uence on Brussels
and Strasbourg via political bodies
One key factor in Munich’s
European strategy is its strong
pres ence in city networks and
other organi zations with a bearing
on local government concerns.
Munich’s local politicians not only
engage in informal dialogue with
their European peers, but also play
an active part in building networks
and shaping European policy.
In this way, the City of Munich
is seizing the opportunity to increase
its infl uence in Brussels and draw
closer to the epicenter of EU policymaking.
The issues covered range
from regional policy, transport and the
environment to equal opportunities,
governance, employment and social
policy.
Council of European
Municipalities and Regions
Munich has been a member of the German Association
of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
(CEMR) since 1972 and currently has eight delegates in the
Delegates’ Assembly, the German Association’s highestranking
governing body. Since 2010, the City of Munich has
also had a regular seat on the Policy Committee (Councilor
Claudia Tausend, SPD) and two deputy seats in the
Exe cutive Bureau (Councilor Lydia Dietrich, Bündnis 90/Die
Grünen, and Councilor Walter Zöller, CSU). At the present
time, Munich is also actively represented in the working
group on environment. The Council of European Municipalities
and Regions – the umbrella organization of which the
German Association is a part – represents some 100,000
local and regional authorities in 39 European countries.
In May 2011, City Councilor Claudia
Tausend attended the 101st committee
meeting of the German Association
of the CEMR in Berlin. From
Munich’s perspective, the discussions
surrounding the future role of local
government were the most interesting.
In an address aptly entitled “Governing
in Partnership”, Dr. Wolfgang
Schuster, President of the CEMR and
Lord Mayor of the City of Stuttgart,
outlined a European Union government
model to realize the Europe
2020 strategy. He called for a form
of networking in which the local and
regional levels and society at large
could be involved alongside the national
and European levels. The concept
was ratifi ed by the German Association
of the CEMR in Halle in early
December 2011. At the Annual Meeting
of the European CEMR Association
in Brussels, however, the same
subject provoked heated debate as
some delegates saw a risk of being
co-opted.
At a joint meeting of the Policy
Committee and Executive Bureau in
Halle/Saale on December 8, 2011,
the German Association of the Council
of European Municipalities and Regions
ratifi ed a resolution to submit a
declaration of support for European
integration in light of the European
public debt crisis. The resolution
stresses the importance of working
together as partners on all levels
and calls for the European Union to
become a European fi nancial union
in order to safeguard the stability of
the euro and place public budgets
on a sounder footing. In addition, the
resolution identifi es the regulation
of fi nancial markets as one of the
necessary conditions for a social market
economy, one important element
of which (in Germany) is the Sparkasse
(savings bank) organization.
Committee for Collaboration on
Development
In 2011, the CEMR also resolved to
set up a committee for collaboration
on municipal development. The City
of Munich requested a seat on this
committee in order to underscore the
importance attached to collaboration
on development work. Councilor
Dr. Florian Vogel (Bündnis 90/Die
Grünen) was proposed as a member
of the new committee. The Offi ce for
International Cooperation was commissioned
to set up a working group
to this effect within the City Council.
Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRA)
represents local and regional authorities throughout the EU
within the Council of Europe, whose goals it primarily
pursues. During their 2011/2012 tenure, Councilor Gabriele
Neff (FDP) and Councilor Walter Zöller (CSU) each held a
deputy seat. On March 22, 2011, Gabriele Neff was also
elected Vice President of the Liberal Group within the
CLRA. The CLRA essentially monitors, inspects and evaluates
compliance with the European local self-government
charter across the 47 member states on the Council of
Europe. It also dispatches delegations to monitor elections
in member states.
Benefi ting from partnerships:
The Eurocities network
For cities, lifelong learning is
in creasingly becoming a vital factor
of success. The value of qualifi -
cations erodes much more quickly
these days, making con tinuous
development and learning a necessity.
That is perhaps why more than
70 re presentatives of local governments
from over 15 European
countries attended the Eurocities’
Economic Development Forum on
Lifelong Learning in Munich on April
6 – 8, 2011.
The winning entry in the Eurocities photo competition, from
Mahir Cetin: a barbecue scene in the Flaucher riverside leisure area
These experts from cities throughout
Europe came together to discuss
strategies to promote lifelong learning
and present their own cities’
strat egies and projects to launch this
process and maintain momentum.
Munich showed its guests a broad
spectrum of tools, projects and
campaigns on the subject of lifelong
learning. One example involved the
“Junge Arbeit” (“Young Work”)
training workshop in the Hasenbergl
district. The workshop is open
to young people who fi nd it diffi cult
to become integrated in the labor
market due to family, social or health
problems.
In November 2011, 250 local government
offi cials and representatives of
municipal administrations – including
a delegation from Munich – then
convened in Genoa for Eurocities’
Annual Conference. Urban development
planning was the central theme
of the event, which focused on issues
such as the early involvement of residents
in local government planning
processes. Arguing for a vibrant city-
scape, keynote speaker Renzo Piano,
Genoa’s star architect, demanded
improvements and guarantees for
the quality of life in and amenity value
of public spaces. To mark its 25th
anniversary, Eurocities had run a photo
competition, inviting young people between
the age of 15 and 25 to submit
a picture of their city. The picture of
Munich was sought out in collaboration
with jetzt.de, the youth portal operated
by the infl uential daily Süddeutsche
Zeitung. The winning entry
was a barbecue scene from the
Flaucher riverside leisure area.
Right now, the Eurocities network is
focusing its attention on efforts to
review and add concrete detail to
European competition policy. The aim
is to ensure that local authorities can
continue to provide services of general
interest. At the same time, they
have been working hard preparing position
papers on Europe’s funding policy
for the period from 2014 through
2020. At the invitation of the City of
Munich, the Eurocities Cultural Forum
and a number of workgroups will meet
in Munich in the course of 2012.