The Minister for Territorial Policy and Third Vice President of the Spanish Government highlights the importance of involving the different levels of government in the success of a more effective and sustainable economic policy for the EU, known as the 2020 Strategy, which will be the subject of the next European Council. Beforehand, Chaves chairs the Informal Council of European Ministers for Territorial Policy on 17 and 18 March.

   1.

      What will Spain contribute to European territorial policy during its Presidency?
          The keys to the proposal of the Spanish Presidency are co-ordination and co-operation.Why?Because there are different levels of government within the EU. It's not only about the EU-level bodies, the Commission or the Council of Ministers, it is also about the regions and, of course, local authorities. Therefore, if we want to overcome the economic crisis and if we want to resolve the serious problem of unemployment that currently concerns and affects citizens, the most critical thing is co-ordination and co-operation between States, regions and local authorities to face up to this crisis.

   2.

      What future do you see for the regions in the European project?
          For the first time the Treaty of Lisbon has established territorial scope as an objective of the EU. And to carry out this objective means establishing what is called multi-level governance, in other words, economic governance of the EU in which all European institutions, States, regions and of course local authorities - the local councils - participate.Participation in the design, drafting, implementation and monitoring of European policies both from an economic as well as a social point of view.The challenge for the European Union, and what we intend to promote during the Spanish Presidency, is to implement this multi-level governance.

   3.

      What are the specific objectives for the ministerial meeting in Málaga?
          On the 16th and 17th March we will be holding a meeting of the ministers for territorial policy. We will be inviting representatives from local councils and from European regions.We have already had several meetings with European local councils and this issue is about taking the necessary steps, the practical steps to apply this multi-level governance and to see how we are going to develop it.When we talk of multi-level governance, when we talk of territorial scope and when we speak about co-operation and co-ordination between the different levels of government administration, what we are talking about is not just rhetoric, not merely words, instead it's that we understand, we are able and we have the ability to take the necessary steps to establish the practical mechanisms for co-ordination and co-operation.

   4.

      What is the role of the Committee of the Regions in this new plan?
          The Committee of the Regions has an important role because the Treaty of Lisbon itself establishes an active entitlement upheld by the European Court to defend the interests and rights of regional and local authorities, in addition to recognising the principle of subsidiarity.I believe that the regions and local authorities are very clear about the role they wish to play in the development of the 2020 Strategy. What is important is that the States that make up the core of the EU also assume, recognise and accept mechanisms to allow local and regional authorities to participate in developing the 2020 Strategy.