'The EU must not use the economic crisis as an excuse to weaken its commitment to social and environmental issues'.

The successive economic and financial crises currently buffeting Europe must not dampen the EU's desire to combat social exclusion and climate change. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) and its members do, however, share the European Commission's view of the urgent need to tackle the economic challenges facing us today.

The aim in 2010 is to combine two approaches: to address the immediate difficulties affecting quality of life in Europe – managing the fallout of the economic crisis and combating poverty, for example by adopting sound tools for achieving sustainable economic growth – and securing the resources required for territorial cohesion and rural development.

To achieve this goal and to secure long-term benefits, no effort should be spared to share responsibility, harness all stakeholders and assess the effectiveness of policies. One of the CoR's concerns is to ensure that when any issue is tackled, it is the most competent and effective body that takes action, using the most appropriate tools, at the level closest to the citizens.

In the resolution adopted by CoR members on their political priorities for 2010, they clearly indicated that their institutional partners should take note of the new state of affairs created by the Treaty of Lisbon. The implementation of territorial cohesion has become one of the EU's main goals, as all sector-specific policies must now contribute to this objective. Furthermore, the CoR calls on the Commission to be systematically involved in territorial impact assessments of any legislative proposals.

In the immediate future, the CoR's main concerns are the economic and financial crises and their implications. In order to carry out the structural reforms needed to ensure sustainable growth, closer coordination between economic policies is required at the European level. This should be based on an open but inclusive form of decision making. CoR members therefore welcome the fact that the Europe 2020 strategy proposed by the Commission makes cities and other local and regional authorities partners in designing and implementing the new strategy.

In more general terms, cities and regions have been affected unequally by the economic crisis and, as a result, regional disparities have increased. This undermines the very idea of social, economic and territorial cohesion within the EU and calls for the role of cohesion policy to be strengthened. The aim of this policy is to help all regions make the most of their potential for development. The policy's rationale is contained within the Treaty and should not be seen simply as a financial instrument for supporting European strategies. Here too, any form of re-nationalisation must be avoided, in order to enable all Europeans, wherever they live, to enjoy equal access to the opportunities provided by European integration.

A spirit of partnership should prevail throughout the EU as this would help to avoid the duplication of effort and support the development of cooperation. The CoR hopes that its partners recognise the importance of the local and regional levels in public policy. Their involvement in drawing up and implementing policies does not constitute individual or exceptional circumstances but rather forms part of the normal and legitimate workings of the European institutions as a whole.

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.