The Lisbon Treaty impact on the EU cohesion policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

European and national parlamentarians discussed the repercussions for the EU cohesion policy following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The interparliamentary debate took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 12 July 2010. 

The meeting, chaired by Danüta Hübner, included interventions from Rudy Demotte, Minister-President of the Walloon Region and of the French Community, Gian-Carlo Giorgetti, Chairperson of the Budget Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Vytautas Kurpuvesas, Chairperson of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Lithuanian Parliament and Johannes Hahn, the Commissioner for Regional Development.

The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on 1 December 2009, is the first treaty to enshrine "territorial cohesion" as a fundamental objective of the European Union. The treaty also recognises local and regional autonomy and provides for greater subsidiarity monitoring by national and regional parliaments with legislative powers. Moreover, in the area of economic, social and territorial cohesion policy, the ordinary legislative procedure has become the rule for enacting all EU legislation.