Cities' leading role in economic growth

A year ago our prime minister and his EU counterparts launched a strategy for growth and jobs which aims to enhance Europe's economic competitiveness by promoting innovation and research. This strategy follows on from the Lisbon strategy, launched by the European council in March 2000, which included ambitious targets on economic growth, employment and social cohesion.

The Lisbon strategy raised great expectations but the results thus far have been disappointing. One of the main reasons is that not enough attention was paid to ensuring the active involvement of local government. It is simply not possible to make significant progress in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs without harnessing the full potential of Europe's cities, which are the places where most economic activity takes place. Indeed the UK government has expressly recognised the significant potential of our cities in its recent State of the Cities report. On March 23 and 24, Europe's political leaders will meet again in Brussels to discuss the implementation of the growth and jobs strategy - including the 25 national reform programmes which aim to underpin its delivery. I have therefore written to the prime minister on behalf of all 15 UK members of Eurocities to voice our concerns and request a greater level of involvement in the coming months and years.

We remain committed to working in partnership with national government to promote sustainable economic growth and a more cohesive society for all our citizens. There is a real danger that by not recognising the crucial role of local government, the UK government and the EU as a whole will repeat the mistakes of the past.
Cllr Richard Leese
Leader, Manchester city council; president, Eurocities

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