Brussels, 10/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Sounded out at the Summit of Cities and Regions in Athens on 8 March , 77.5% of the members of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) unsurprisingly argued that the crisis calls for more Europe, and 84% of them that the voices of the citizens should be heard more by Europe.
No doubt illustrating this lack of a voice for regional and local parliamentarians, two seats remained empty during the debates on the European elections and the effects of the crisis on the local authorities - that of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament and currently campaigning for the post of president of the European Commission (and in Athens for another event on the same day), and that of the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
José-Manuel Barroso, the outgoing president of the European Commission, however, was present and made an hour-long speech. He did not sidestep the subject on everybody's lips - the devastating effects of the crisis in Greece. He acknowledged that the optimistic indicator figures had still not filtered through to everyday life. Whilst recognising the many and heavy sacrifices made by the Greeks, he played on the political fibre of the representatives of the regions of Europe, reminding them that all efforts have a price.
The mayor of Lisbon, the Socialist Antonio Costa, pointed out during the debate that if somebody breaks a leg, an operation alone is not enough: “you have to rebuild muscle during the recovery period. Europe needs more muscles! It will take vitamins and physiotherapy for the single currency to be of any benefit.” The participants would doubtless have liked to hear these words from the mouths of the European political leaders invited to attend the summit. (MD)