Brussels, 09/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - For the first time since his appointment as President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy will address the Committee of the Regions (CoR) meeting in plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday 11 May. He will hold an exchange of views on recent developments in the implementation of the EUROPE 2020 strategy and the increased role that local and regional authorities must play to ensure its success. He will also be asked about migration from the southern Mediterranean, an issue facing many local authorities. On Thursday 12 May, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Competition Joaquín Almunia will present the recent proposed reforms in the rules on services of general economic interest (SGEI).
The May plenary session will also see the adoption of three opinions focused on the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP): (1) the first from Luis Durnwalder (EPP, Italy), Governor of the autonomous province of Bolzano-South Tyrol, on the Commission's proposals for a new CAP after 2013; (2) the second from René Souchon (PES, France), President of the Auvergne Region, on the role played by quality products in boosting Europe's farmers on the global stage; (3) and finally from Emilia Müller (EPP, Germany), Minister for Federal and European Affairs at the Bavarian State Chancellery, on the challenges and opportunities facing the dairy sector following the proposed reform of milk market regulations.
The Committee announces, too, that two key issues for Europe's regional and local authorities will be debated in plenary session: the first is the provision of basic public services to citizens, such as water supplies, waste recycling or hospitals, which could clash with tough EU state aid rules, and the second is recent plans to reform these rules on services of general economic interest (SGEI). At the same time, the CoR notes, the EU is overhauling its legal framework for public procurement, which also covers regional and local authorities. Henk Kool (PES, Netherlands), a member of the Executive Council of The Hague, will present his proposals for a more efficient European public procurement market.
Among the other opinions up for adoption on the agenda are those by Norbert Kartmann (EPP, Germany), Member of the Hesse State Assembly, on European disaster response, and by Jesús Gamallo Aller (EPP, Spain), Director-General for International and EU Affairs, Regional Government of Galicia, on EU development policy.
Ahead of the plenary session, the Committee has announced that will devote this Tuesday, 10 May, to a forum on social innovation. Innovative approaches to tackling exclusion and poverty at local and regional levels will be central to discussions at this forum. For further information, go to: http://www.cor.europa.eu (G.B./transl.rt)