1. Points out that regional quality branding is particularly important for local territories and rural economies, as it highlights the connection to a specific and valuable territory in terms of the origin of products and services, and fosters productive regional economic development; is of the opinion that at a time of globalised economies, regional quality brands can serve as significant promoters of territorial, local and regional identity, on which they should provide essential information, and can contribute to the preservation, transmission and promotion of local and regional traditions, history and territory-specific characterist ...[+++]ics, which will help improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of rural territories;

8. Stresses the need to promote forms of association between different regions and a cross-sectoral partnership, so as to be capable of competing; recognises the role of representative bodies, such as associations, at regional, national and European level which provide for the promotion of regional brands and enhance and strengthen the growing region’s visibility; calls for greater attention to be paid to regional branding initiatives as a possible common theme in European territorial cooperation and European funding initiatives, and as a tool that represents an investment in the long-term vitality of the region’s competitiveness;

15. Highlights the role of State aid in economies which have been particularly hard hit by the crisis and for which public funding under Cohesion Policy might be the only source of investment; proposes, in this connection, that consideration be given to specific regional derogations outside the regional aid maps, to allow Member States to tackle the backlash effects of the crisis; points out that, as regards economic development, the period 2008-2010 and, as regards unemployment, the period 2009 - 2011 are to be used by the Commission as a basis for State aid eligibility, despite the fact that those years cannot yet constitute a measur ...[+++]e for the territorial impact of the disruption caused by the crisis and by natural disasters; asks the Commission to act on the basis of more recent and specific data; proposes that, in order to avoid a gap, the Commission should extend the validity of the current RAG and regional maps by at least 6 months, since the new maps will not have been approved in time; welcomes the Commission’s intention to carry out a mid-term review of the regional maps of the ‘c’ regions in 2017;

19. Believes that no specific blueprint for regional strategies for industrial areas for the EU as a whole exists, and that a local and regional approach is most suitable for developing regional strategies; calls on the Commission to support regional economic research in the context of the initiative Horizon 2020, which enables the development of regionally adjusted strategies for additional old industrialised regions;

First, on the weighting criteria, currently only 10% is allocated to regional production, and we recommend bumping that up to 25%. Also, in the English-language drama stream, we recommend that regional production access 50% of these reserves, and we also recommend the reintroduction of a 5% regional bonus under both the broadcaster performance envelope stream and the English-language drama stream to supplement licensee top-ups for regional productions.

Let me name just a few of the hundreds of organizations that support Bill C-71, as I would not have the time to name them all: the Association des cardiologues du Québec, the Association des médecins de langue française du Canada, the City of Montreal's public health branch, all the hospitals in the Montreal region and across the province, all the CLSCs, l'Association des étudiants du Département d'éducation physique de l'Université Laval-these people definitely have an interest in sports-the Association régionale du sport étudiant de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Association régionale du sport étudiant du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the Ass ...[+++]ociation régionale du sport étudiant Laurentides-Lanaudière, the Gouffre school board, in school board, the Fédération québécoise du sport étudiant, the Maison des jeunes d'Amos Inc., the Maison des jeunes de Desbiens, l'Illusion, the Maison des jeunes de Saint-Jovite, the Maison des jeunes du Bas-Saguenay, the municipality of Lotbinière, the municipality of Saint-Bruno-de-Kamouraska, the municipality of Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski, the regional county municipality of Rivière-du-Loup, the City of Deux-Montagnes, the City of Rimouski, the City of Roberval, the City of Saint-Félicien, and hundreds of other cities, CLSCs, sports organizations, etc.