Brussels, 11/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, share the same ambition for a strong European budget which is capable of bringing Europe out of the crisis, and also for greater European integration. After their talks on Tuesday 11 September, Valcárcel said that he liked the idea of a “United States of Europe, as other leaders have alluded to this idea”. He was also pleased about the easy exchanges between the Council and the CoR. Indeed Van Rompuy welcomed the role of the CoR in bringing the Europe of local communities closer, and its ability to strengthen the impact of Europe on the ground. It is thus a message of support that the new president of the CoR received from the former prime minister of Belgium. Van Rompuy will make a speech at the next plenary session of the CoR on 8 October, coinciding with the Open Days week which is dedicated to the regions of Europe. (MD/transl.fl)