WEBVTT 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:14.500 Hello, my name is Babette Nieder and my topic is the European impact on municipalities. 00:00:14.530 --> 00:00:20.890 But before I get to that, some words on my personal background. German by birth, 00:00:20.890 --> 00:00:27.490 French by choice, Ive got the dual citizenship while waiting to simply put European 00:00:27.490 --> 00:00:35.600 in my passport. I come from Herten, a city of 60,000 inhabitants, in between 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:44.800 Paris and Berlin. I was born in 1963 in the region of the Ruhr, during the industrial boom phase 00:00:44.800 --> 00:00:53.200 in Germany, already under the European Coal and Steel Community. 7 00:00:53,200 --> 00:01:01,700 In 1963, President De Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer signed the Elysée Treaty. 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:11.400 This treaty established links between civil society with the creation of the Franco-German Youth Office 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:18.800 for which I later became Secretary General. But my European adventure 00:01:18.800 --> 00:01:29.200 and my passion for France started later. At 16 I went on a four-week 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:36.300 adventure thanks to the InterRail European railway pass . My encounters 00:01:36.300 --> 00:01:44.200 on trains, in large cities and small towns showed me 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:50.640 that learning languages ??is useful. At the time, English had not yet taken over 00:01:50.640 --> 00:02:00.000 linguistic diversity. This trip was an introduction to three key themes 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:08.000 that accompany my professional life: Europe, Youth exchange and Innovation. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:16.100 At the end of my studies, I worked as a language assistant at Châtellrault 00:02:16.100 --> 00:02:23.500 while preparing for the competition to enter the European Commission, when Edith Cresson, at that time 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:31.000 mayor of Châtellrault and Minister for European Affairs told me "Europe is more 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:38.500 than Brussels". This is the dimension of Europe I want to talk about now. 00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:48.000 At Herten, I realise European policies on competition and environment, 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:56.100 as well as the implementation of European funds in the field. Constraints 00:02:56.100 --> 00:03:07.800 and potential of Europe 's legislation in Herten. Competition, everyone says 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:16.400 that it is a constraint that Europe imposes. Yes, it is a constraint, but I will tell you 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:27.300 how this constraint has also allowed us to evolve. With the closure of 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:36.400 the last mine, 150 years of coal mining at Herten ended in 2008. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:44.600 The closure as well as the loss of 20,000 jobs are a direct result of this 00:03:44.600 --> 00:03:51.800 competition policy. Extracting coal over 1000 meters deep 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:59.400 is not profitable. The German government, the state of North Rhine Westphalia and the consumers 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:06.600 have been subsidising this activity. The European Commission considered that 00:04:06.600 --> 00:04:15.900 this financial aid is incompatible with European law. Therefore Germany 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:29.500 committed itself to close all coal mines until 2018. Herten once 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:38.800 did nothing than extracting a raw material that is at the bottom of the value chain. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:48.300 Today the city produces energy and has a unique expertise in the storage of renewable energy. 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:55.800 "Blue sky over the Ruhr", this famous campaign slogan of Willy Brandt, 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:04.300 became a reality. The coal mines are a memory of brotherhood and cultural mix. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:14.200 But the price to pay was very high in terms of pollution, accidents 00:05:14.200 --> 00:05:23.000 and health. Another effect of competition policy, it is the opening up of local 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:30.600 energy markets, in Germany these are traditionally managed by municipal utilities called: 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:39.700 Stadtwerke. Nowadays these Stadtwerke are subject to competition. 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:46.169 But to everyone's surprise, they did not only withstood their competitors but they even 00:05:46.169 --> 00:05:55.200 gained market share on major capitalist groups in the region. 00:05:55.200 --> 00:06:03.600 Finally, as the third well-known area, municipality is obliged to make European tenders 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:11.600 when it awards contracts. I am speaking to you with full knowledge of the facts. All those saying 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:18.700 that this leads to always favouring the one who uses price dumping to the detriment of 00:06:18.700 --> 00:06:28.200 quality are wrong! Qualitative criteria such as the carbon footprint or the degree of innovation 00:06:28.200 --> 00:06:35.400 may absolutely be taken into account when it is transparent 00:06:35.400 --> 00:06:45.100 and mentioned in the specifications. Another European policy that has an impact on local life 00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:52.700 is environmental policy. The cost of the remediation of contaminated soil, 00:06:52.700 --> 00:07:01.300 landfill closures or the installation of filters in funnels is important. 00:07:01.300 --> 00:07:12.100 But the climate balance of Herten today is 6.8 tons of CO2 per habitant 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:19.300 German average is 11 tons. Think about it: a city that for fifty years 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:27.300 had the largest coal production in Europe is now one of nineteen 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:36.000 model cities in Germany leading the way to the "zero CO2 emission"-goal supported by 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:45.100 the Ministry of the Environment in Berlin. Another aspect where we all got angry, 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:52.800 was the environmental policy: "No more factories in the cities!" 00:07:52.800 --> 00:08:00.600 However, many companies are telling us something else these days. Production is no longer black smoke 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:11.300 and heavy mechanics. BMW, Volkswagen and Porsche have settled right 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:20.100 in the city centre of Dresden and Leipzig. The trend is the return to the manufacture. We are 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:26.880 no longer heading to the city centers as temples of consumption. We go there to 00:08:26.880 --> 00:08:36.400 taste local products. We go there as well for the so-called repair cafés where handymen 00:08:36.400 --> 00:08:47.400 repair bikes or household appliances together instead of buying new products made ??in China. 00:08:47.400 --> 00:08:56.000 Finally, a great project related to European wastewater policy. The outline of 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:06.700 the Ruhr is formed by three rivers: the Rhine: transport axis; the Ruhr: 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:15.300 drinking water reservoir; the Emscher: an open sewer that for a hundred years 00:09:15.300 --> 00:09:24.900 carried wastewater. Now we are constructing a huge channel for nearly five million inhabitants 00:09:24.900 --> 00:09:36.800 along the Emscher which finds its natural course. The miners' houses along the Emscher 00:09:36.800 --> 00:09:45.900 regain value. A prohibited area has become a haven for cyclists, 00:09:45.900 --> 00:09:54.300 hikers, and perhaps soon even for fishermen. Ten thousand people 00:09:54.300 --> 00:10:07.000 will be working for twenty years on this project of the century. Everything has its price. The 4.5 billion 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:18.300 are partially paid by the water bill, but also by European funds. 00:10:18.300 --> 00:10:27.800 Europe supports the transformation. As the mayor Uli Paetzel said: "Without EU funding, 00:10:27.800 --> 00:10:36.800 cities like Herten could not invest in their future." Here are some examples. 00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:46.000 First, the renovation of deprived neighborhoods. Secondly, the development 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:55.300 of the former site of the mines. Thirdly, the rearrangement of the Dewald site that 00:10:55.300 --> 00:11:05.300 nowadays provides 1,300 jobs. Fourthly, the H2 Herten center with its hydrogen production 00:11:05.300 --> 00:11:15.000 from a wind turbine. This system allows the storage of electrical energy and produces 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:22.600 clean hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles and for industrial usage 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:32.900 such as the production of ammonia. All this is possible with structural funds 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:38.239 but also research funds. And with the Horizon 2020 program, 00:11:38.239 --> 00:11:46.100 research funds will support energy and innovation even further. The European Social Fund 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:55.100 supports the upgrading of educational qualifications and vocational training programs. 00:11:55.100 --> 00:12:02.400 Leonardo has allowed us to create a European platform Cleantech with businesses, 00:12:02.400 --> 00:12:10.400 schools and chambers of commerce and trade. If you want homes 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:17.420 that meet high environmental standards and electric cars, you have to build an intermediate sector: 00:12:17.420 --> 00:12:27.300 craftsmen, technicians, skilled workers. Vocational training, 00:12:27.300 --> 00:12:34.800 urban planning, technology, all this is very important. But it makes no sense 00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:43.100 if there is not also a change in behavior and civic attitude. 00:12:43.170 --> 00:12:48.480 That is why I was very pleased that the Maison déducation pour tous is 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:57.600 involved in a project, called Grundtvig, on the reception of applicants for asylum in Germany, Italy 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:10.700 Greece and Great Britain. In conclusion, Europe is a new horizon and the encounter 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:21.800 with the other. Europe is present in our communes. It is in our every-day life. 00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:32.200 And if we accept this challenge and understand this new reality, 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:42.700 it is a great potential for economic, ecological and social renewal, as in Herten. 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:52.100 The vote in the European elections on May 25, will also be a vote 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:54.839 on the future of your commune. 00:13:54.839 --> 00:14:02.000 [Applause]