Brussels, 26/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - At its plenary session on Thursday 26 June, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) elected a new president. Michel Lebrun (EPP, Belgium) will succeed Ramon Luis Valcarcel (who is joining the European Parliament).
Lebrun has over 20 years of political experience, serving the Wallonia region in Belgium. Now at the head of the CoR until February 2015, his focus will be on growth and jobs, he says, and more specifically on implementing the youth guarantee (as only five countries currently use this), on green jobs (such as in renewable energy and waste recycling) and on jobs in information technology and communication. “Training must be accelerated in order to have access to these new jobs”, Lebrun told EUROPE. Migratory pressure on local communities will also be one of his concerns. “There is not only Frontex. We need to be able to welcome these migrants”, he said. The situation in Ukraine will also be a focus of his attention - especially the promises of decentralisation - and there are already plans for Lebrun to travel to Ukraine in the near future. In addition, Lebrun intends to work actively in the coming months on applying the agreement for collaboration with the European Parliament so that the synergies between the two institutions can be strengthened (sharing translators, access to the Parliament's study department, and inviting rapporteurs). “I took part in the negotiation on this agreement - which is of a financial, human, administrative and especially political nature. We now need to make it take off”, he said.
Lebrun has not yet said whether he will be a candidate to continue in the post after February 2015 when the new five-year mandate starts again. The plenary assembly on 26 June also appointed Catiusca Marini (PES, Italy) as vice-president of the CoR as, like Valcarcel, Mercedes Bresso (PES, Italy) will also join the European Parliament. (MD)