This Treaty main objectives are to make the EU :

  more democratic, meeting the European citizens’expectations for high standards of accountability, openness, transparency and participation ;

  more efficient and able to tackle today’s global challenges such as climate change, security and sustainable development.

The final text of the Treaty drawn up by the ICG was approved during the informal European Council in Lisbon on 18-19 October and will be signed by the Member States in December 2007. The signature of the Treaty will be followed by the ratification process in all 27 countries.

It is hoped that the new Treaty will come into force before the next European Parliament elections in June 2009.

The updated handbook examines various aspects of transfrontier co-operation, identifies the relevant legal instruments, the fields of action and the essential stages involved, and also tries to foresee what the combined efforts of European, national, regional and local authorities may achieve in terms of transfrontier co-operation in the future. Practical examples and models for transfrontier co-operation are also highlighted. Document

Structural Funds Regulations 2007-2013 : More growth and jobs for all regions and cities of the European Union - this message will be at the heart of cohesion policy and its instruments between 2007 and 2013. During that period, the greatest investment ever made by the EU through cohesion instruments will be worth € 308 billion (in 2004 prices) to support regional growth agendas and to stimulate job creation. 82% of the total amount will be concentrated on the “Convergence” objective, under which the poorest Member States and regions are eligible. In the remaining regions, about 16% of the Structural Funds will be concentrated to support innovation, sustainable development, better accessibility and training projects under the “Regional Competitiveness and Employment” objective. Another 2.5% finally are available for cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation under the “European Territorial Cooperation” objective. Certain spending targets have been agreed upon to pursue the objectives of the Growth and Jobs Agenda : In the case of the “Convergence” objective, the target is 60%, and in the case of the “Regional Competitiveness and Employment” objective, the target is 75% of the total available funding, which needs to be “earmarked” for interventions supporting, e.g. research and innovation, the information society and sustainable development.

Danuta Hübner : "Agreement on budget, a good news for Europe"

  The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hübner, has welcomed on the 22nd of december 2005, the agreement on the new European Union budget for 2007-2013 as good news for the Union, its citizens, and for cohesion policy. In a statement, the commissioner notes that the agreement provides the necessary time to finalise and adopt all legal and programming documents concerning cohesion policy before 1 January 2007. She points out, nevertheless, that the budget, as agreed by the Council, falls short of what the Commission proposed ; and that the resources made available to the Union for the coming years are insufficient to meet the goals and objectives that the Union has set itself. Commissioner Hübner notes that the Commission, in cooperation with the European Parliament and the Council, will try to further improve the implementation of the agreement regarding cohesion policy throughout the Union.

  Regions can make the most of EU money to bring growth and jobs if they are prepared sufficiently in advance, noted Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, visiting Greece, on the 21st of October. Commissioner Hübner is discussing in Athens the progress of current EU funded projects and also the impact new regional policy programs may have on the Greek economy. She is meeting the Deputy Minister for Economy and Finance Mr Christos Folias, the Minister of Economy and Finance Mr Georgios Alogoskoufis, the Deputy Minister for foreign Affairs, Mr Ioannis Valinakis, the Minister of Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Mr Georgios Souflias and Mr. George PAPANDREOU, leader of PASOK. She is also visiting the construction sites of the Attico Metro SA and the Citizen Centre at Vyrona EU funded projects in the Athens area. “I am convinced that our European regions are ideally placed to boost growth and create jobs. I am here to see with the Greek authorities how we can best achieve that in Greece. Over the past year we have managed to tackle some longstanding problems. Our Greek partners need to continue their efforts and implement current EU co-funded projects faster. There is no time to lose and we are here to help resolve any outstanding issues. We want to make sure that Greek regions and citizens enjoy the full benefits of the regional policy programs”, said Commissioner Hübner. She noted that the first discussions about the next period (2007-2013) show that the Greek authorities are making progress with their preparation on the basis of their current experience are now exploring new ideas about their strategy, structures and management. Commissioner Hübner highlighted that the Commission is helping Member States prepare carefully to absorb and best use EU funding. At the same time, preparation is also needed to enhance the increased role that cohesion policy will play in the concrete implementation of the Lisbon Agenda, promoting growth and creation of jobs across Europe. “To this end I am fully committed to further modernise the use of regional policy. The priorities will therefore be on innovation, research and development with the support of adequate innovative financial instruments”, added Danuta Hübner.

  European Commissioner Danuta Hübner meets today in Brussels ministers responsible for regional policy in Member States and candidate countries, as well as representatives of the EIB Group to discuss two major new initiatives for cohesion policy. In her address to the meeting, Commissioner Hübner said : “The two initiatives presented today, while quite different, are central to my reform agenda for the future of cohesion policy. Through the JASPERS initiative, the national and regional authorities will have access to expert help in bringing forward high quality projects in good time. In that way, they will be able to deliver the benefits of EU cohesion policy more quickly and more efficiently to their citizens. The JEREMIE initiative will help to increase access to finance in the regions to encourage more business start-ups and new ventures. Europe simply must do more in this field if it is to generate new jobs in innovative activities”.

  The European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot in charge of transport has asked Loyola de Palacio, former European Commission Vice-President to chair a High Level Group to identify and develop priority connections between major trans-European transport axes and the different neighbouring regions of the European Union. Composed of representatives from all EU and neighbouring countries and international financing institutions, the High Level Group held a plenary meeting in Brussels on 19-20 September to discuss the priority projects sent by 26 countries to be connected to the Trans-European network, involving the 25 EU member States and Romania and Bulgaria. “This is a very important step forward which is the result of extensive discussions since October 2004” said Loyola de Palacio. “On this basis, we will be able to define the main axes to be developed in order to facilitate more exchanges and secure trade between the EU and all its neighbours”. Vice-president Jacques Barrot has asked the High Level Group to complete its work and submit a final report by Autumn 2005.(Source :www.europa.eu.int)

  Danuta Hübner, Commissioner of Regional Policy, the 9th of June, at Sarrebruck, for a conference organised by the French, German and Austrian Urban Networks on the future of the urban « renewal » campaign :

« European cities are the motors of growth and of jobs, but they must face the problems of economic and social exclusion, delinquency, traffic and the loss of local identity. This is the reason for which the cohesion policy of the European Union was put into place, some years ago ; a specific approach to promote social and economic cohesion in cities. In the future, these community instruments should be better identified by field workers in order to induce more competitive and sustainable urban development, founded on solid local partnerships. »

  Danuta Hübner, Commissioner for Regional Policy, also declared, the 14th of June, after his meeting with Alan Johnson, British Secretary of State responsible for Commerce and Industry and Ian Pearson, Minister of State for European Affairs : « We are beginning a critical phase of our work relative to the preparation of a new programming period for cohesion policy. An agreement on the financial perspectives in near, an essential agreement if one wants to pass from one programming period to another without a problem. Any delay in the financial domain, experience shows, would create enormous problems on the terrain. » According to the European Commission, cohesion policy , under the British Presidency, should be marked by strong moments which reflect the tight cooperation between the instruments of cohesion and the European Investment Bank, as well as other international financial institutions. Danuta Hübner, on the 24th of November, will welcome in Brussels a conference on the theme of « Financing growth and cohesion in an enlarged Union ». The EIB and the ERDB, notabley, will be important actors in the local manifestation.

  José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, at Messine, the 4th of June, for the 40th Anniversary of the Messine Conference :

« It’s in a moment like this that we’re living where we could find lessons in the events of the Conference of Messine. We too easily forget that in 1954, the French National Assembly voted no to the European Defence Community, the shock felt by the leaders at the time comparable to what we feel now with the French and Dutch no. And, nevertheless, European leaders have not renounced their European ideals. On the contrary. The conviction was well present that one needed a strong and rapid reaction. Paul-Henri Spaak, who became the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed to convene a conference to prepare a re-launch. »

« To push the divisions around two political opposed camps does not render any service to Europe : the monotheism of the market and the monotheism of the State. None of the two will respond to all the problems and all the attempts to impose just one of these on Europe. Bound to failure. » « The temptation to attribute all unpopular decisions to Brussels has provoked a enormous prejudice in the past and continues to do it today. This is the case when one describes the meetings in Brussels as battles where the losers and the winners face off every day instead of presenting these as occasions to debate, to find a consensus and compromise on difficult but common problems. »

  Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission for Transport, in Dublin, the 3rd of June, on the occasion of the “Bike City 2005” Conference :

« The number of bike users is generally stable, which signifies that the bike is losing market to foot traffic and public transport. In the Netherlans, more than one out of four people use bikes, in Denmark, one out of six. »

« In order to better the security of cyclists, we will concentrate on three weeks of action. First of all, it is important to better the visibility of cyclists...Secondly, it is important that cyclists are protected in case of accidents. Since November 2003, a directive has aimed to make less dangerous the front of many cars in case of accident. The industry could also reflect on the need to equip bikes with a reflector strip, attached to the back of the bicycle...Our third domain of action is the education of young cyclists. The Commission co-finances several actions in this domaine...The best practices for bikes are put to common use on the Internet by ELTIS, the European Local Transport Information Service. »