Community Strategic Guidelines
As published in the Third Cohesion Report and draft regulations issued by the Commission in July 2004, the Commission is most definitely committed to strengthening the strategic approach regarding the 2007-2013 programming period.
In this regard, the Commission put forth the proposal in the general draft regulation for the Council to endorse a comprehensive strategic document (Community Strategic Guidelines) in connection with the cohesion policy prior to the start of the new programming period, which document includes the position of the Parliament defining – according to the concept of the Commission - explicit priorities vis-à-vis the cohesion policy for the entire Community, member states and regions.
The strategic approach would serve as a guideline for policy implementation, and would also imply increasing connecting political responsibility. It would help to define cohesion policy more accurately, as well as the level of cooperation to be implemented between the Lisbon and Gothenburg Action Programmes, in addition to increasing harmony between the General Economic Policy Guidelines and the European Employment Strategy. European institutions would, according to the proposal, each year assess progress made in the case of strategic priorities, as well as results reached by member states on the basis of the Commission report summarising the situation reports of member states. The simplified programming documents, namely the National Strategic Reference Framework replacing the National Development Plans of member states, must ensure that member states use structural assistance in compliance with Community guidelines.