mr president first of all i would like to thank the members of parliament for their comments and remarks on different aspects of the strategy
your level of commitment demonstrates that the strategy will be a subject of interest in the forthcoming years which is good
i will be unable to respond to all comments and issues raised in the debate or in your statements
i would like just to refer to three broad groups of issues
first the shape
i would like to say that the strategy has been designed in line with the objectives and intentions of member states
the commission did not interfere in the selection of priorities
the commission did not shape the priorities so the ideas of including certain projects or modifying certain priorities is of course possible
however it is to be agreed in the future work related to the implementation of the strategy
i want to assure you that the strategy is a kind of living animal and it is to a great extent exposed to future modifications should member states and stakeholders wish so
second point on management and governance
here i would like to underline that there is a need for a clear division of tasks for a clear division of labour and responsibilities
i think that we should not delude ourselves
the responsibilities of member states of the commission and of other organisations involved in the management
at this moment i would also add that we want to involve local governments in the process of implementing the strategy as well as third countries as was already mentioned by the minister
of course we foresee reporting concerning progress made in relation to implementation to parliament
finally the last issue is financing
several members mentioned the need for additional funds for new projects etc
i want to explain that the principle of no new additional financing was adopted at the very beginning of the creation of the strategy
at present we have more or less three options
we can regulate the use of existing eu funds for example by changing criteria for selecting new projects
the second possibility is having recourse to other sources like international financial institutions and finally although it is difficult at a time of economic recession we can still try to use national resources
in this respect i look forward to the work of the conference to be held in stockholm because this is the conference which may shape the future approach of member states and the commission to the macro-regional approach in the future and it should also embrace the financing of potential future strategies
that is why i feel that it will be a good moment to look at the overall macro-regional approach in stockholm in the forthcoming days
