The European Commission's work programme, adopted on 31 March, does not fully reflect the political changes that have come to be with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, states the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).

Indeed, CEMR believes that the Commission continues to put forward potential actions without providing information as to how it intends to apply the new provisions of the treaty when implementing policies. These provisions include the respect local and regional self-government, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, the cooperation with representative associations and Services of General Interest.

The Commission's main instrument in getting the EU out of the economic and financial crisis and on to the path of recovery is the Europe 2020 strategy. However, CEMR maintains that the strategy lacks real vision and that the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation process will have to be taken into account when the Commission tackles its main challenge of ensuring a strong commitment from member states.

CEMR also defends that the impact of EU policies and actions at the territorial level should be added to the 'smart regulation" and impacts assessment initiatives as many EU policies, notably in areas such as transport, environment, energy and cohesion, have a strong impact at the local and regional levels.

The next step is for 'the Commission [to] work very closely with the European Parliament and the Council, as well as stakeholders, to ensure a broad ownership on the overall approach on individual initiatives," a statement CEMR hopes will be fully applied.

The 2010 work programme includes a list of 34 strategic priorities to be implemented before the end of the year. The four main areas of action will be (1) the crisis and European social market economy, (2) citizens at the heart of European action, (3) external agenda with global outreach, and (4) modernisation of EU instruments and ways of working.