During the first half of this year, when Europe will be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, Germany takes on the presidency of the EU Council with the fundamental challenge of relaunching debate on the treaty which is to establish a European constitution.
Catalonia’s agenda, too, has always been marked by European policy priorities, and this year will be no exception. So far as it can, the new Catalan government elected last November and led by President José Montilla, will do everything in its power to play a full part in the road map being worked out to unblock the current EU’s institutional crisis.
One of the most significant contributions Catalonia will be able to make on this will be through its motivated, pragmatic and effective exercise of the annual presidency of REGLEG, the group of EU Regions with Legislative Power.
REGLEG 2007: Catalan Presidency
The aim of this group, founded in 2001 by 73 regions, is to promote an enhanced role for regions with legislative powers and to encourage the EU to recognise their very specific and differentiated political and legal status in all domains of EU-governance (legislative, executive and judicial power), according to their competences and responsibilities. Those regions with legislative powers apply Community law, implement EU policies and are in many cases the member state’s maximum legislative organ for the transposition of EU law to that state’s legal system. Hence they are key players from both a constitutional and democratic point of view, so it is desirable that the EU should recognise them as such.
Objectives in line with EU agenda
Following the policy guidelines adopted by all the REGLEG members in the Cardiff Declaration of November 2006, the Catalan presidency has programmed the following main lines of action for 2007:
- Exhaustive monitoring of the German presidency’s programme of work, particularly regarding the relaunching of the debate on the constitutional treaty, with the intention of avoiding the abandonment of articles that could strengthen the contribution of the regions with legislative power to the democratic life of the Union.
- Contribution to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Treatiy of Rome with the adoption of a political declaration that recognises the role of the regions in member states.
- Stimulation of structured dialogue between the European Commission and European regional associations, for the advocacy of direct, continuing consultations with those regions with legislative powers before new legislation is proposed.
- Evaluation of the functioning and results of the REGLEG-CALRE intergroup on the Committee of the Regions. This intergroup, which is also supported by the Conference of Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), was formed under the Welsh presidency of REGLEG at the proposal of the Presidents’ Declaration in Munich 2005 and seeks to increase the visibility of the regions with legislative power within the Committee of the Regions as well as to allow for better tracking of legislative proposals in relation with the principle of subsidiarity. REGLEG considers that the European Commission ought to implement a mechanism to monitor subsidiarity in accordance with the legal basis and structured procedure laid down in the constitutional treaty (even though it has not come into force). The Catalan Presidency will work to advocate that the European Commission consult directly the regions with legislative powers before proposing new legislation that affects their areas of competence.
- Improved communication with the people of Europe and the role of the regions with legislative powers to bring Europe and its institutions closer to the citizens.
- Exhaustive monitoring of European cohesion policy (2007-2013), particularly regarding the application of the Regulation on a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation.
Therefore, during its presidency of REGLEG, Catalonia, which has extensive experience in European regionalism, will continue to work in pursuit of the common interests that bind all these regions together so as to obtain a louder, clearer voice in the process of European construction.
http://www.gencat.net
Barcelona, host of the Galileo Supervisory Authority and aerospace hub of tomorrow
Galileo, the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), is one of the most significant European projects in the realms of new technology. Its benefits will be felt by humankind and it set to become an icon of European success.
As a deeply committed partner in the endeavour, Spain has proposed the city of Barcelona as host to the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA). Spain believes that the Galileo programme is an example of European leadership that perfectly reflects Spanish determination to contribute to Europe’s success at a global level.
A number of reasons lie behind Barcelona’s candidacy. The first is historical: The early 20th century saw Barcelona’s first piloted flight and in 1919 the city’s aviation committee was formed, later to become the airport management committee, chaired by the city’s mayor, with the aim of ensuring that Barcelona should have a national airport. After the Civil War, though, aeronautical activity in Catalonia almost disappeared for many years.
But the Catalan economy’s rapid growth and modernisation means that the aerospace sector today offers important opportunities for diversification for a number of industry sectors, allowing them to extend into new and very high added-value industrial research activities.
BAIE (Barcelona Aeronautics and Space Business Platform) was created in November 2000 to promote the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona and Catalonia as a competitive setting for a wide range of activities related to the aeronautical and space industry. It aims to bring together public institutions, private companies and other key players, and both the Catalan and Spanish governments were among its founding members. BAIE now has more than 90 members, and its main goals are:
• To develop aerospace clusters in the Barcelona region and throughout Catalonia.
• To attract investment and related aerospace industries.
• To boost the education capabilities of the region.
• To foster personnel and R&D co-operation within the aeronautical and space community, especially with the Toulouse area.
The development of applications related to Galileo stands out in BAIE’s plan as strategic. The Technology Centre for the Aeronautical and Space Industry (CTAE) – a private foundation formed in 2005 by Catalonia’s public authorities and universities, BAIE and six companies in the industry with the aim of providing aerospace companies with research and development services – has given priority to a development and testing laboratory for satellite navigation applications, particularly Galileo. Its first researchers started last year, and 2007 will see its first projects. Coordination is handled by CTAE’s Assessment Committee grouping Catalan public authority experts, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Spanish industry ministry’s Centre for Industrial Technology Development, the main companies in the navigation sector, and the Spanish Navigation Institute.
Spain has considerably increased its contribution to ESA for 2007, while the government of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council intend to give substantial support to industry participation in European space programmes. As a founder member of the European Space Agency, Spain has long believed in the European vision of satellite navigation, and as the seat of the GSA, Barcelona will be more firmly committed than ever.
Barcelona is not just a high-tech industrial centre and aerospace hub of tomorrow. It is a city with an excellent quality of life. For the ninth year running, it has been ranked No 1 city in Europe’s quality of life league. Barcelona’s mild climate has an average of almost 2,500 hours of sunshine a year, the nearby Pyrenees offer over 600 km of ski slopes and even has 5 km of beaches right in the heart of the city, and reachable by metro. On top of all that, Barcelona’s avant-garde design, architecture and cuisine, have long made it a European cultural landmark.
www.bcnaerospace.org
www.bcn.es
This section is sponsored by the Government of Catalonia.
