Brussels, 23/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of the Regions plenary on 25-26 will serve two purposes because the advisory body will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and will elect a new president. The current president Ramon Luis Valcarcel (EPP, Spain) will soon be joining the European Parliament after winning a seat there in the European elections (see Europe Debates in this issue). His successor is expected to be Michel Lebrun (Belgium, EPP), whose candidacy should be confirmed through a vote by members on 26 June (see EUROPE 11096).
The outgoing president is expected to put forward his recommendations at this event for the future of this advisory body in the form of a 50-point regional policy testament. At the plenary marking the 20th anniversary of the CoR and ahead of the new Parliament and Commission, CoR members are expected to adopt a resolution setting out CoR proposals for the new European mandate. During the plenary, the regions of Lisbon, Valencia and Northern Ireland will also be awarded the most “entrepreneurial” regions of Europe label. (MD)