Citizens come to us because national or local authorities do not comply with EU legislation, for example, with regard to the protection of human health or the environment.

5. Agrees therefore to develop a more coherent and integrated network approach, reflecting the needs for intermodal connections for citizens and freight; emphasises therefore that priority must be given to rail, ports, sustainable maritime and inland waterways and their hinterland connections or intermodal nodes in infrastructure links with and within new Member States and that particular attention must also be paid to cross-border transport links, as well as to better links with airports and sea ports in the trans-European networks; underlines that attention should be paid to the different but complementary needs of both passengers and freight ; recommends Member States and regional authorities to improve intermediate sta ...[+++]tions and local interconnections as links to TEN-T in order to minimise the costs associated with a peripheral situation;

EU citizenship, as established in the Maastricht Treaty (Article 17 of the ECT), guarantees citizens a number of rights (right to move freely within the territory of the Member States, to vote and stand as a candidate in local and European Parliament elections, to diplomatic protection outside EU borders, and to correspond with the EU institutions, which includes the right to petition the European Parliament), and the EU institutions stand as guarantors of those rights.

- Processing: The EU presence could, where needed and requested, assist local authorities, or UNHCR, in carrying out refugee determination.

- Information dissemination: The EU presence would deliver accurate and authoritative information to potential migrants and local authorities on the immigration and asylum options on offer in the EU, and the risks of human smuggling.

Universities and their networks form nodes of regional research and innovation partnerships, taking different forms, ranging from nurturing links with the local SME community (Aalborg University, Denmark / University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom) to broader approaches in a regional context (Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France) [18].