In recent weeks, measures have been proposed to support growth and jobs in the EU. The Commission's proposals have focused on reprogramming "unspent" structural funds and on deploying "action teams" to help the European countries with the highest youth unemployment rates to deliver effective National Reform Plans by mid-April.

A large number of Member States have also finally put forward concrete proposals, such as the letter of 20 February from 12 governments to the EU, which focused on completing the single market in all strategic sectors, "debureaucratisation" and labour market reforms.

Regional and local authorities are considering each of these proposals with great attention in a spirit of cooperation. We are actively supporting these efforts, by using our direct knowledge of the specific needs of local communities and by identifying best practices from three years of tough anti-crisis commitment.

Nonetheless, EU citizens are suffering more and more from the recession and the effects of austerity measures. They expect democratic institutions at all levels to produce new, effective initiatives to improve their situation. This pressure can lead to a barrage of announcements and proposals that may serve to hide a lack of substantive action, since the conviction remains that the overall priority is still financial consolidation.

In this light, President Barroso's words to the last CoR plenary are particularly relevant. "Europe already has its own growth strategy, namely the Europe 2020 strategy" he said, adding that "we cannot reinvent the wheel every day, even though it would be easier to announce a miracle every morning".

This reminder of the relevance of the Europe 2020 strategy is more than welcome. If followed by consistent initiatives, it could help to overcome some of the obstacles that have until now prevented the strategy from really taking off.

First, despite some efforts to bring the new strategy onto the political agenda, it has not been possible to achieve real ownership by all Member States and all European institutions. If the moment has come to take this challenge seriously, regional and local authorities are ready to give their full commitment and contribution.

Such a contribution is also crucial to overcome a second set of obstacles, related to the implementation of the strategy. Each Member State is required to prepare a National Reform Plan, committing it to achieve clear targets through selected and effective measures. So far, the preparation of these plans has generally been a sort of technocratic exercise, managed by the Commission and the central governments without any real public debate and without sufficient involvement of regional and local authorities.

If those National Reform Plans do not succeed, there is a danger that most of the recently announced measures for growth, as well the new austerity rules adopted through the fiscal compact, will be  largely ineffective. That is why there is an urgent need for the Member States to put into practice the commitments that they have assumed under the Europe 2020 strategy, with the active support of local and regional authorities.

In recent years, regional and local authorities have made a major contribution to defining and promoting that strategy. They have started actions and established networks to ensure its implementation and are committed to agreeing an EU budget for the period 2014-2020 that will be equal to the task of delivering the strategy's objectives.

The main solutions to the crisis are already within reach. To succeed, they need consistent, agreed National Reform Plans and sufficient funding from the current and future financial frameworks as well as the timely introduction of innovative tools such as project bonds and the financial transaction tax.

In this context, the way out of the crisis is by working together to take all the steps necessary, every day, to implement the strategy we all support.