Brussels, 18/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Cypriot Presidency is hoping the Committee of the Regions (CoR) will prove a key ally in its work programme over the next six months, and especially in increasing the standing of the EU in the eyes of the public. This was the message delivered by Cypriot Deputy Europe Minister Andreas Mavroyannis to Europe's regional elected representatives at their plenary session meeting on Wednesday 18 July. Referring to the CoR as the body closest to European citizens, Mavroynnis said he was counting on the Committee's knowledge of local differences to bed in European policies. The Cypriot Presidency is keen to win back the confidence of the public and believes that locally elected representatives are the ones best placed to achieve this aim. It is about restoring the credibility of the European Union so that “the EU is seen as the solution and not as the problem”, Mavroyannis said, repeating the earlier words of CoR President Mercedes Bresso.
CoR members took advantage of the presence of the Presidency representative to make specific demands. The leader of the EPP group, Michael Schneider (Germany) pressed him to ensure that negotiations on the structural funds and on the multiannual financial framework were successfully concluded. The leader of the Socialist group, Karl-Heinz Lambertz (Belgium) urged the Presidency to ensure a “no” vote in the Council on the macro-economic conditionality proposed by the Commission for the forthcoming planning period from 2014 to 2020. (MD/transl.rt)