Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
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development of Trans-European Networks (Art. 129b, para. 1 EU Treaty);
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preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment (Art.
130r, para. 1 EU Treaty);
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prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources (Art. 130r, para. 1 EU
Treaty); and
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respecting the national and regional cultural diversity (Art. 128, para. 1 EU
Treaty).
The Maastricht Treaty also for the first time mentions 'town and country planning'
(Art. 130s EU Treaty) explicitly, although this is done under the environment title.
However, the treaty clarifies that town and country planning is restricted to unani-
mous voting of the member states, and that therefore any future decision related to
planning matters could be subject to a national veto of a single country.
The Amsterdam Treaty (1997) acknowledged the harmonious, balanced and
sustainable development of the European territory as one of the essential aims of
the European Community. One of the most significant aspects of the Amsterdam
Treaty is that it introduced the term 'territorial cohesion' in Art. 16 of the consoli-
dated version
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(which has since replaced the term 'spatial planning' in the European
Commission's vocabulary, albeit a clear definition of territorial cohesion is yet
missing (cf. Faludi, 2005)). Whereas the promotion of social and territorial cohesion
is a Community and member state task within their respective competences, the
Amsterdam Treaty emphasised the significance of environmental protection and of
improvement in environmental quality as Community tasks (Art. 2) (CSD, 1999).
The Treaty of Nice (2000) laid the ground for keeping European institutions
well balanced in the light of enlargement of the EU. In May 2003 the Convention
on the Future of Europe formally submitted a wide range of proposals for EU
policy-making, the division of powers, the functioning of European institutions and
voting systems. The draft 'Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe' includes a
clearer reference to the territorial dimension of cohesion, and defines territorial
cohesion as one of the goals of the EU besides economic and social cohesion
(Art. 3) and as a competence shared between the Union and the member states
(Art. 13). However, many proposals in the draft Constitution have caused signific-
ant debate, and, following rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by France and the
Netherlands in 2005, the process of ratification has been delayed.
INITIATIVES ON EUROPEAN SPATIAL PLANNING
Although the European Community has no direct competence for spatial planning,
there are a number of initiatives that are relevant for the spatial development of the
European territory. In 1968 the Council of Europe (CoE) recommended the setting
up of a permanent Conference of Ministers (CEMAT), which held its first
