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"The CoR will be more courageous and persevering in its political action", says newly-elected CoR President Mercedes Bresso.
The newly elected President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso (IT/PES), has invited the Assembly to be more courageous in pursuing its political aims. The leader hailed the enormous political progress the institution has made in 15 years and underlined its key mission to effectively represent the common interest of all sub-national authorities in Europe. "The institutional debate is over. It's time to bring the Treaty of Lisbon to life. We will no longer just ask that regional and local authorities are taken into consideration. We will not just be the yes-man. We will enter the political debate with substantial proposals and we will not – if it is required - shy away from political controversy."
Mercedes Bresso, a former member of the European Parliament and longstanding CoR member, was President of the CoR's PES group from 2006 to 2010. She is the first woman to be elected CoR President. In her speech, delivered immediately after her election, the President of the Piedmont Region sketched out the priorities of her two-and–a-half year presidency.
The fight against climate change, the launch of an overhauled Lisbon strategy, the improvement of Europe's cohesion policy – and by no means, its renationalisation -, the integration of regional and local interests in the debate on the EU's financial perspectives, the successful implementation of the new legal instrument of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), but also the development of a European strategy for services of general interest respecting local and regional competences will be cornerstones of Mercedes Bresso's presidency. "Regional and local authorities can serve as Europe's reference point on all these issues. As they are on the frontline in times of crisis and have always been the real laboratories for economic, social or environmental innovation, I invite the other EU institutions to make good use of this expertise," said President Bresso. "This also involves defending the new rights conferred on the Committee of the Regions by the Lisbon Treaty politically, or if necessary, before the European Court of Justice", she added.
The new CoR President also announced that the institution would assume its responsibility in the concrete implementation of the citizens' initiative created by the Lisbon Treaty. "Drawing from their vast experience regarding citizens' initiatives in our member states, regions and cities will play a role in initiating, federating and carrying forward European citizens' initiatives. This will make Europe more transparent, democratic and diverse."
Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso (ES/PPE), President of the Spanish region of Murcia, has been elected as the First Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions. He will hold this office until 2012 when he will, according to an agreement between the CoR's PES and the EPP Groups, take over the presidency from Mercedes Bresso.
Author: Committee of the Regions
