Barroso, Verheugen, Fischer Boel and ®agar to address assembly
On Wednesday 6 February, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) will elect a new President to serve for the second half of its current four-year term, which runs to February 2010. The first plenary session of the year, which will take place in the European Parliament, will also see the election of the CoR's new First Vice-President, 27 Vice-Presidents of the national delegations and other members of the Bureau.
Current First Vice-President Luc Van den Brande, Belgian senator, former Minister-President of Flanders and a member of the Flemish Parliament (EPP/BE), is expected to succeed Michel Delebarre, Mayor of Dunkirk (PES/FR), as President. This follows an agreement between the CoR's political groups for the two politicians to switch functions half-way through the mandate.
Mr Van den Brande will hold a joint press conference with M. Delebarre in the European Parliament press conference room at 17:00 on 6 February (interpretation: FR, DE, IT, NL, EN, ES, PL).
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Vice-President Günter Verheugen (enterprise and industry), Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel (agriculture and rural development) and Ivan ®agar, Slovenian Minister for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy, have been invited to address the members. The assembly will adopt 10 opinions and a resolution on the partnership for growth and jobs, which will be submitted to EU leaders at the European Council summit in Brussels on 13-14 March.
President Barroso (15:15-16:00, 6 Feb) is expected to focus on the importance of maintaining strong ties between the Commission and the CoR, particularly in terms of reinforcing the involvement of regions and cities in the policy areas where they can make the biggest impact eg delivery of the climate change action and renewable energy package, Lisbon Strategy (jobs and growth), and communication.
Vice-President Verheugen (18:00-18:30, 6 Feb) will make a statement about the new Enterprise Europe Network, a CoR-backed initiative aimed at providing SMEs with information on policies and funding opportunities so that they can develop their full potential. The Commissioner and new CoR President will officially launch the network at a press conference on 7 February (Berlaymont press conference room, 12:30) and at an exhibition taking place at Brussels' Tour & Taxis site.
Regional Policy Minister Ivan ®agar will discuss the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU (10:15, 7 February): he is expected to emphasise the importance of partnership and cooperation, as well as highlighting the new European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), an EU instrument aimed at facilitating the management of cross-border, transnational and regional projects. The CoR and the Presidency will also promote a new joint publication on their shared objectives, which includes an interview with Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša.
Commissioner Fischer Boel's intervention (11:00-11:30, 7 Feb) is linked to the vote on the CoR's opinion on the Common Agricultural Policy "Health Check".
The resolution for the Spring European Council, which will be discussed and adopted on 7 February, will reflect the findings of a new CoR report, requested by EU leaders in 2006, on the effects of the revised Lisbon Strategy and outlook beyond 2008. Members are expected to ask the Council to mandate the CoR to regularly report on the issue. They will also draw attention to the 'Lisbon paradox', which shows that whilst regions and cities are fully engaged in achieving growth and jobs objectives, a majority of them feel that their involvement in the achievement of these objectives is underestimated.
Plenary opinions due for adoption (6 February)
· More efficient support for research and innovation in EU regions. Rapporteur: Jyrki Myllyvirta (Mayor of Lahti, FI/EPP)
· Mid-term review of the strategy on life sciences and biotechnology. Rapporteur: Karl Dohler (Member of the Landtag of Bavaria, DE/EPP)
· A strategy for Europe on nutrition, overweight and obesity related health issues. Rapporteur: Mario Magnani (Regional councillor/President of the Trentino-Alto Adige Region, IT/ALDE)
· Green Paper on urban mobility. Rapporteur: Sir Albert Bore (Member of Birmingham City Council, UK/PES).
Plenary opinions due for adoption (7 February)
· Towards Common Principles of Flexicurity – More and better jobs through flexibility and security. Rapporteur: Dave Quayle (Member of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, UK/PES)
· The contribution of volunteering to economic and social cohesion. Rapporteur: Declan McDonnell (Member of Galway City Council, IE/ALDE)
· Common Agricultural Policy "Health Check". Rapporteur: Seamus Murray (Member of Meath County Council, IE/UEN-EA)
· Promoting the active citizenship of young people through education. Rapporteur: Claude du Granrut (Regional councillor for Picardy, FR/EPP)
· White Paper on sport. Rapporteur: Helma Kuhn-Theis (Member of the Saarland Landtag, DE/EPP)
· Black sea synergy - a new regional cooperation initiative. Rapporteur: Krasimir Mirev (President of the National Assembly of the Municipalities of Bulgaria, Mayor of Targovishte, BG/PES)
The Committee of the Regions
Around two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities in EU Member States. The Committee of the Regions was created in 1994 to give representatives of local government a say over the content of these laws. The CoR organises five plenary sessions a year, where its 344 members vote on reports, known as opinions, issued in response to the proposed legislation.
Author: European Commission
