Miloš Koterec (PSE). – (SK) Regional development policy makes a clear contribution to the general wellbeing of EU citizens. It is already a social policy in principle and as such we in the Socialist Group in the European Parliament fully support it and are consistently developing it. I was recently asked by some people attending a public meeting why they should take the trouble to elect representatives to the European Parliament. After discussing how much and in what areas the EU contributes to the various European regions, along with concrete examples that affected millions of people, cohesion policy became for me one major argument as to why we should vote.

In addition to this I also mentioned what an important role the European Parliament plays in the process for approving both cohesion policy and budgetary resources and that this will increase enormously if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. I emphasised that, based on this Treaty, regional policy will also have a far greater direct effect on citizens and that there will be a greater role for local authorities and for all potential recipients in terms of managing regional policies, supporting their synergies and strengthening the development of territorial cohesion, including rural areas. Furthermore, I mentioned that regional development policy is one of the simplest and most flexible Community instruments for resolving crises such as the one we are currently experiencing. For example, regional policy is helping to solve unemployment, investment and also social problems. Provided it is implemented in a professional and transparent manner, regional policy easily proves itself to be a strong pillar of the EU. We will have to build much on this pillar in the future and increase its effectiveness, since it forms an important link between European citizens and European institutions.