Brussels, 01/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of the Regions wants to take part in the MEPs' hearings of the new commissioners at the parliamentary committees (second half of September), before the College of Commissioners is approved by the European Parliament.
The president of the Committee of the Regions, Michel Lebrun, is currently raising MEPs' awareness about this issue, particularly among those who are closest to the advisory body: Mercedes Bresso (S&D, Italy) and Ramon Luis Valcarcel (EPP, Spain), both of whom are former CoR presidents. Lebrun is also expected to meet the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz on 9 September and the chair of the parliamentary committee for regional affairs, Iskra Mihaylova (ALDE, Bulgaria) on 3 September, to discuss, inter alia, possible options.
The advisory body is hoping to be invited to the audition of the two, or perhaps three, future commissioners and, in particular, that of the commissioner who will be in charge of regional development. One source explained that, although there are not really any rules governing this area, it is more than likely that it will be the presidents of the parliamentary committees who will take the initiative for formulating such an invitation. The advisory body will not, of course, have a say in the approval of the commissioners or directly ask candidates questions.
In 2004, the CoR president was asked to make a statement during the first hearing of European Commissioner for Regional Development Danuta Hübner. (MD)