Podstawowe informacje o opinii 

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- highlights that the aim of the enlargement process is to overcome the division of Europe and to contribute to the peaceful unification of the continent. Politically, EU enlargement has helped respond to major problems and has consolidated democracy, human rights and stability across the continent. Economically, enlargement has helped to increase prosperity and competitiveness, enabling the enlarged Union to respond better to the challenges of globalisation;

- wishes to make it clear that one of the CoR's major political priorities is to ensure the success of the enlargement process. For the Committee of the Regions, the role of local and regional representatives in the enlargement process is fundamental;

- actively tries to facilitate the task of the local and regional authorities in the enlargement countries in order to prepare them for their future responsibilities in the European Union, to obtain recognition of their role and to establish and develop contacts and cooperation with their EU counterparts;

- the EU should encourage candidate countries to make sure that the delegated powers reflect the level of responsibilities to be assumed when applying the community acquis at local and regional level; at the same time, these responsibilities should be supported by proportional financial means. Without these, LRAs remain powerless to properly implement reforms;

- stresses therefore that the enlargement countries have to continue to develop their respective governance models;

- underlines the very positive experience of the Local Administration Facility (LAF) programme, coordinated together with the DG Enlargement, TAIEX office of the European Commission, which help increase understanding on what the EU stands for at the regional and local level;