More "local and regional responsibility" and drawing more people into regional decision making are two aspects that will change under the Lisbon Treaty according to the Chair of Parliament's Regional Development Committee Danuta Hübner. The former Polish minister of European affairs turned MEP spoke to us on 3 December.

Ms Hübner is clear that "more power means more responsibility" and believes that cooperation across difference committees is vital. She said, "the sector based approach when energy, environment, industry were treated separately has now come to a dead end. Today everything is heavily interdependent."

More "local and regional responsibility"

She is looking forward to the EU's financial framework which will allocate budgetary priorities after 2013. With MEPs now on equal legislative footing with national Ministers meeting in the Council, "Parliament must be and will be heard in the discussion on the shape of the regional politics".

Building on what will change in regional policy due to Lisbon, she said that the treaty introduces more "local and regional responsibility". She went on to say that "another thing new is the concept of territorial cohesion, before we only had the notion of social cohesion".

However, one the most important aspects of the changes will be that "academics, local and regional representatives, business leaders and climate activists" will be involved in formulating policy. She is clear that they will be involved as "innovation and combating climate change are the priorities". In particular she feels that the distribution of regional funds will help lift Europe out of its current economic crisis.

"Satisfaction" at term as EU Regional Commissioner

Ms Hübner was EU Commissioner for Regional Policy from November 2004 to July this year. One of her key tasks was to ensure that the large amounts of structural investment funds that were promised to the new members states was spent properly - especially amid concerns over corruption, waste and lack of administrative ability to absorb the investment inflows.

Looking back on her record, she says, "I feel satisfaction. I remember in past debates there was a lot of scepticism about whether the new states would be capable of utilising this financial support from the EU budget. They forecast that only about 50% of the funds would be spent".

"In the period 2000-2006, the new member states used their funds in total - except for the social fund in one country. This was beyond expectations," she said.

When Poland joined the EU, "the development gap between the richest and the poorest region in the EU was like eleven to one! All have the same rights to use the benefits of the internal market. When one is underdeveloped, one can not participate," she said. "This is why cohesion policy is about solidarity but also about simple profit. A better developed market is more interesting for investors."

Ms Hübner said she was pleased to say "that we succeeded in boosting growth and that we attracted new members to the family of the European regions that cooperate, learn one from another and build competitiveness investing in new technologies".