PRESS / Highlights
CoR President Delebarre endorses "A Soul for Europe" initiative
Michel Delebarre, President of the Committee of the Regions, has endorsed a German-inspired initiative called "A Soul for Europe" which aims to make culture a central component of the construction of Europe. Addressing a conference on the topic in Berlin on 17 November, M. Delebarre expressed his appreciation for the decentralised character of the project and its contribution to the European Commission's Plan D for dialogue, democracy and debate. He underlined that the CoR symbolises and incarnates "a plural Europe, a Europe close to the citizen, a Europe of the everyday".
The Berlin conference is the second since the launch of the initiative by Commission President José Manuel Barroso in 2004. Its motto was originally coined by former Commission President Jacques Delors.
"A Soul for Europe" brings together scientists and scholars, representatives of culture, politics and business as well as decision-makers from all areas of society and aims to promote "a Europe by and for Europeans". Its backers are building an international network based in Berlin and seeking support for its objectives from the cities and regions, Member States and Europe’s cultural, business and political sectors.
Speakers at the three-day conference also include Commission President Barroso, Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, responsible for institutional relations and communication strategy, Commissioner Ján Figel', responsible for education, training, culture and multilingualism, Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, responsible for external relations and European neighbourhood policy, Speaker of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert, former German president Richard von Weizsäcker and President of the Open Society Institute George Soros.
CoR President Michel Delebarre to address Conference of Presidents of EU Regions with Legislative Powers
Michel DELEBARRE, President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and Mayor of Dunkerque, is to address the 7th Conference of Presidents of EU Regions with Legislative Powers (REGLEG) in Cardiff on 17 November 2006.
The conference, hosted by Rhodri MORGAN, First Minister of Wales, will focus on Europe's Future and the Constitutional Treaty after the period of reflection, communication with citizens about European issues and cooperation between the CoR and REGLEG.
Mr Delebarre will call on local and regional authorities not to diminish their efforts to preserve the main lines of the EU Constitutional Treaty which contains major political breakthroughs for the authorities in the European system of multi-level governance. "We have to pay attention that this extremely important political achievement does not disappear during a possible renegotiation of the Treaty," he will caution.
Speakers at the conference include Geoff HOON, Minister for Europe in the UK Government, Mercedes BRESSO, President of the Piedmont Region and CoR member, Britt LUNDBERG, Europe Minister from the Aland Islands (Finland), and Franz SCHAUSBERGER, president of the CoR's Inter-regional group.
The conference will conclude with the adoption of the Cardiff Declaration by REGLEG members.
CoR celebrates 50th anniversary of Treaty of Rome under the slogan "Together in Diversity"
At the invitation of the region of Lazio, the Committee of the Regions will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome on 22-23 March 2007, in holding a plenary session and special ceremony at the Auditorium di Santa Cecilia in the Italian capital.
The CoR, chaired by Michel DELEBARRE, Mayor and member of Parliament for the French city of Dunkerque, hopes that the occasion will be an opportunity to raise awareness of the reality and diversity of the regional, or territorial, dimension in EU affairs and to contribute to the re-launch of the European project following the 'period of reflection'.
To this end, a political 'Declaration of the cities and regions for Europe' will be adopted at the ceremony. It will highlight the major themes and objectives which the public and local/regional authorities see as priorities, as well as the means of achieving them. The declaration will be sent to the Informal European Council, gathering heads of state and government, which meets in Berlin on 25 March 2007.
RELEX seminar considers role of regions and cities in the "Northern Dimension" of the EU's external relations policy
A seminar on "Cross-border co-operation in the Northern Regions of Europe" organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in partnership with the Municipality of Inari, the Regional Council of Lapland, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland will be held in Saariselkä, Finland on Monday 20 November.
The event, hosted under the auspices of the Finnish Presidency, will focus on the importance of cooperation across the EU's internal and external borders in the Northern Regions of Europe. The seminar will be opened by Roger KALIFF, Chairman of the CoR's External Relations Committee (RELEX) and features statements from Esko LOTVONEN, Executive Director for the Regional Council of Lapland and Reijo TIMPERI, Mayor of the Municipality of Inari. Other expected speakers include Mari KIVINIEMI, Member of the Finnish Parliament, and Jukka NIKULAINEN, 1st Secretary at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
"Cooperation between EU regions and their neighbours is a vector for building good relations between people, as well as a major contributing factor to economic growth in this sparsely populated area" says RELEX Chairman Roger Kaliff who is head of Kalmar Municipal Council, Sweden . "Sharing rich resources and a fragile ecology further emphasises the interdependency of the citizens of the region and reinforces the need for enhanced cooperation."
The seminar will explore the challenges and potential of cross-border cooperation in the region while highlighting examples of best practice. The aim of the event is to identify recommendations for improving the impact of EU policies at local and regional level in the forthcoming EU-Russia cooperation and under the new Northern Dimension Policy Framework that governs the modalities for cooperation between the EU, Russia , Norway and Iceland . A panel debate and discussion will also be called with members of the public on how Europe can contribute to delivering services for citizens in the region.
The seminar will be followed by the external meeting of the RELEX commission to be held in Saariselkä on 21 November. During this meeting the members of the RELEX Commission are expected to adopt the Saariselkä declaration on "Cross-border co-operation in the Northern Regions of Europe" which will call on the EU to strengthen local and regional involvement in the Northern Dimension Policy, guarantee adequate financial resources for cross-border cooperation in the region and do more to promote sustainable economic development in the area.
Sweden leads the way in elderly care in the EU
The Committee of the Regions will host a conference on caring for the elderly in the EU, showcasing the advanced techniques in senior care by the City of Solna, Sweden. The seminar aims to tackle the challenges facing European local and regional authorities regarding the ageing population and the future care of the elderly.
The seminar will provide Solna with an opportunity to demonstrate its work in this area to other regions in the EU and find potential investment partners ahead of coming rounds of applications for project funds. Since 2002, the Office of Care Services for Elderly and Disabled citizens in the City of Solna has based its research on the needs of elderly people to create innovative techniques to ensure good elderly care in the community. Representatives from the City of Solna will share their experience in developing methods to guarantee high quality treatment and competent personnel in senior citizen care.
Speakers at the seminar will include Mrs Liane WALLERSTEDT-JOHANSSON, Head of Office of Care Services for Elderly and Disabled-Elderly care in the city of Solna, Mrs Azita EMAMI, Assistant professor and Senior lecturer at the Department of Nursing in the Karolinska Institute and Mrs Christina TALLBERG, Member of the COR's PES political group.
Europe and decentralisation should be centre-stage in France, CoR President Michel Delebarre tells Paris conference
France should put Europe and decentralisation at the heart of its political agenda, Committee of the Regions President Michel Delebarre told a conference of top civil servants and academics in Paris today, 15 November 2006.
M. Delebarre, Mayor of Dunkerque and a former Minister of State, said the country needed to face the fact that, nowadays, as in other Member States, European issues had become less and a less a matter of "foreign" affairs and more and more about domestic affairs. France's Minister for European Affairs should be N°2 in the national government to reflect this reality, he declared.
It was also "high time" for France to "dare to launch" major decentralisation reform, he told the meeting hosted by the influential Conseil Général des Ponts et Chaussées (General Council of Bridges and Highways).
M. Delebarre, who became President of the CoR in February this year, said that his experience in the job had strengthened his views about the need for a real partnership approach, based on multi-level governance.
Michel Delebarre, le Président du Comité des régions: "La primauté des services d'intérêt général sur les règles de concurrence doit figurer parmi les objectifs de l'Union"
En ouvrant à Bruxelles, au Comité des régions, le 14 novembre, un séminaire du Comité européen de liaison sur les Services d'intérêt général (CELSIG), Michel Delebarre a estimé que dans le débat sur la relance du processus constitutionnel "il faut d'ores et déjà revendiquer que la fourniture des services d'intérêt général, composante essentielle du modèle européen de société, ainsi que le principe de la primauté des missions d'intérêt général sur les règles de concurrence, principe rappelé par la Commission dans son Livre Blanc sur les services d'intérêt général, soient élevés au rang d'objectifs de l'Union et figurent par conséquent dans la première partie de toute nouvelle ébauche de traité constitutionnel."
Pour le Président de l'assemblée européenne d'élus régionaux et locaux, il est important de constater que plusieurs acteurs-clé des services publics convergent pour compléter la seule revendication d'une directive-cadre par la préparation et la formulation in extenso de propositions de texte concrètes, juridiquement rigoureuses et opérationnelles. Le CdR avait pour sa part joué un rôle précurseur en publiant au printemps 2005 une étude sur les services d'intérêt général qui comprenait en son annexe une première proposition de directive-cadre.
Audiovisual Media Services: CoR and EESC jointly present their positions on future directive
On 8 November, Rapporteurs from the CoR and EESC gave a "Joint Public Presentation" on the opinions recently adopted in both institutions on the revision of the Television without Frontiers Directive, in anticipation of the Council meeting and Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) vote next week on this dossier.
The recommendations presented by the two Rapporteurs, Mr Karl-Heinz Lambertz, First Minister of the Government of the Belgian German-speaking community and member of the CoR's PES political group and Mr Hernandez Bataller (EESC) on the scope of the Directive, product placement and advertising as well as consumer protection, prompted extensive feedback from Ms Ruth Hieronymi, rapporteur of the European Parliament, Mr Olli-Pekka Rantala, Chairman of the Council's Audiovisual Policy Working Group and Mr Gregory Paulger, Director from the Directorate-General for Information Society and Media.
The Chairmen of both the Committee of the Regions' EDUC Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee's TEN Section, Mr Jyrki Myllyvirta and Mr János Tóth, welcomed the joint effort undertaken to integrate both institutions' views into the ongoing legislation-making process.
E-stonia on a roll: Minister to address ALDE group in Tallinn
Estonia's pioneering use of e-technology as a means of making government services more accessible will be one of the main topics at the ALDE group's external meeting in Tallinn on 10 November. The members, who will be welcomed to the capital by Paul-Eerik Rummo, Minister for Population and Ethnic Affairs, will hear how Estonia has successfully rolled out a range of e-governance services including internet voting, secure financial transactions and e-ticketing for public transport.
The meeting, hosted by Toomas Vitsut, chair of Tallinn City Council, will also be attended by representatives of Estonia's Liberal parties, Center and Reform.
- More information: ALDE Secretariat. Tel: +32 (0) 2 282 2059.
All aboard: CoR hosts conference on public transport accessibility, 9 November
The Committee of the Regions is hosting a conference to assess the results of the EU-backed UniAccess project, aimed at improving access to public transport for groups such as pensioners, the disabled, pregnant women or parents with babies.
The conference, to be opened by CoR Secretary General Gerhard Stahl, takes place on 9 November and will provide an opportunity for representatives from the European institutions, public transport industries, local authorities, customers and other stakeholders to share their views on the current state of play with regards to making public transport easily accessible for all users.
Six Finnish cities present blueprint for competitiveness (8 November)
Six Finnish cities will present their blueprint for innovative partnership and competitiveness during a seminar at the Committee of the Regions on 8 November.
The event, entitled 'Cities as Engines for the Growth and Jobs Agenda', will be opened by CoR Secretary-General Gerhard Stahl and feature contributions from Jussi Pajunen, Lord Mayor of Helsinki, Juhani Paajanen, Mayor of Vantaa, Mikko Pukkinen, Mayor of Turku, Marketta Kokkonen, Mayor of Espoo and Päivi Laajala, Deputy Mayor of Oulu.
MEP Jean Marie Beaupuy, chairman of the European Parliament Urban-Logement Intergroup, Aivars Aksenoks, Mayor of Riga, representing the BaltMet Network, Catherine Parmentier, Chief Executive of Eurocities and Jeremy Smith, Secretary-General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, are among the other speakers.
- Click here for programme
- Presentation of Helsinki
- Presentation of Turku
- Presentation of Oulu
- Baltic metropole network
- The urban dimension in the growth and job agenda
- More information: Adrian Solitander. Phone: +32 (0) 2 551 13 46.
European Disability Forum to host mainstreaming conference at CoR (6-7 November)
The European Disability Forum (EDF) will host a two-day conference entitled 'achieving disability rights through mainstreaming at regional and local level' at the Committee of the Regions on 6-7 November. The purpose of the event, gathering representatives of disability organisations and public authorities from across the EU25, is to ensure that disabled people are more deeply involved in policy planning at the decentralised level.
The EDF will present results of a pilot project in eight EU countries – Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia – aimed at raising awareness of the importance of integrating disabled people in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policy. Speakers at the conference, opened by EDF President Yannis Varakastanis, include CoR members Jean-Paul Boré (Vice-President of Languedoc Roussillon Regional Council, France) and Peter Moore (Sheffield City Council, UK).
- Click here for programme
- More information: Aurelie Baranger. Phone: +32 (0) 2 286 51 83.
DEVE to hold seminar on wine-sector reform, La Rioja, 10 November
The impact of proposed European Commission reform aimed at making the wine sector more competitive will be the focus of a seminar on 10 November at Logroño, in the heart of Spain's world-famous La Rioja region. The event, organised by the Commission for Sustainable Development of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Presidency of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, will examine how regional economies with large wine-growing sectors could be affected and will analyse how a sustainable industry can be maintained.
The seminar, entitled 'the wine sector: a driving force for regional development', will be opened by Pedro SANZ ALONSO, chairman of the Commission for Sustainable Development (DEVE) and President of La Rioja. The discussions are expected to feed into Sanz Alonso's upcoming CoR opinion on the reform proposals, due for adoption at the Committee's plenary session on 6-7 December.