Brussels, 16/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The host of the end of the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, has spoken directly with the representatives of the local authorities, who adopted an opinion in favour of more multi-level governance and a resolution regretting the inter-governmental turning point Europe is taking, particularly in its management of the crisis. Barroso spoke along the same lines, stating that “the inter-governmental route is not our preference”. He also pleaded for greater involvement for society in implementing the EU 2020 strategy: “This strategy will not succeed if there is not a commitment at all levels, including the regional level.” In the view of the leader Uno Silberg (UEN-AE, Estonia), “this is a crisis of confidence, and it is a shame to turn to the local authorities when there is a problem but not before”. The president of the Commission stressed the need for greater solidarity and responsibility (a reference to Greece, amongst others). The Socialist leader, Catiuscia Marini (PES, Italy), said: “We can clearly see the social consequences, because we are the closest to the citizens, it is up to us to suffer some heavy consequences, and we fear for social cohesion.” Despite the differences of opinion and the questions put to Barroso by the CoR which remained unanswered, the members of the committee all welcomed the renewal of the cooperation agreement with the Commission, which Barroso signed at the session. (MD/transl.fl)