Against the background of the subsidiarity principle, regulated in Art. 3b of the Treaty on the Foundation of the European Community (EC Treaty), the statutory provisions regulating a European Spatial Development Policy are to be arranged in a manner which would limit the political competencies of, and the current scope for political action by, Member States only to the extent that a Member State has itself willingly accepted such a restriction on its powers within intergovernmental agreements. A policy of this kind throws up a number of quite fundamental questions concerning the most expedient approach within the framework of Community law to institutionalising cooperation among Member States and the participation of regions in drawing up objectives, questions which need to be addressed equally by Community organs and by the Member States (and their internal subdivisions, e.g. regions).
The proposal made by the German Conference of Ministers for Spatial Planning (MKRO) of augmenting the existing political "pillars" (economic and monetary union, common foreign and security policy, incorporation of justice and home affairs) by adding a further pillar is a sound one from both a legal-policy and a legal-systems point of view. It has the unequivocal support of the ARL. This approach would invest European Spatial Development Policy with a solid foundation in the Treaty on European Union.
The German Conference of Ministers for Spatial Planning (MKRO) has proposed that the following paragraph should be added as a new paragraph (2) to Art. 3 EC Treaty:
"(2) The Community shall coordinate the policies of those departments whose activities have an impact on the development of the cities and regions of the Member States on the basis of the objectives for spatial development formulated by Member States for spatial development and a European Spatial Development Perspective (E.S.D.P.) to be drawn up in a process of cooperation among Member States".
In referring to "the policies of those departments whose activities have an impact on the development of the cities and regions of the Member States", the proposal provides a focal point for coordination within a framework of a European Spatial Development Policy which reveals clearly improved prospects for achieving the cooperation which is desired in the field of European spatial development policy. The reference to "cities and regions" also opens up the possibility of pursuing conceptional orientations for spatial development at the European level.
Even without explicitly using the term "European Spatial Development Policy", this task could be addressed by Art. 3 EC Treaty-assigned for example to the regulation of Community activities on "... strengthening economic and social cohesion" in Art. 3 little j EC Treaty-by adding to the text the words "sustainable and balanced spatial development of the Community territory", either as a supplement or preceded by a dash.
In order to observe the principle of subsidiarity (Art. 3b EC Treaty), it has become necessary to safeguard the envisaged structure of the tasks of a European Spatial Development Policy, characterised by Communityintergovernmental discharging of tasks, by creating in Community law as clear and definite a stipulation of the associated legal instruments (E.S.D.P.) and of the procedures to be followed within decision-making processes as possible.
The proposal tabled by the German Conference of Ministers for Spatial Planning, viz. amending Art. 3 EC Treaty by the insertion of a new paragraph (2) to clarify this point, has the full support of the ARL.
A case in point would be to amend Art. 130a (1) or 130b EC Treaty, for example by adding the aspect of "spatial cohesion", or by providing the instruments and procedures required by an E.S.D.P. and by instituting a duty to make periodic reports.
A further recommendation would be the inclusion of a provision to supplement, for example, Art. 130a EC Treaty, under which the Community would be required to support institutional cooperation between local and regional territorial entities in connection with cross-border cooperation in areas along EU internal frontiers and in the proximity of the EU's external borders.
If the approach of making merely selective amendments to existing provisions were to be followed, and if it also relied solely on the subsidiarity principle to implement itself and dispensed with the elaboration of instruments and procedures, the envisaged innovation for Community law associated with a new intergovernmentally supported policy area known as "European Spatial Development" would be called into question.
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