09/03/2017 (Agence Europe) – After the Committee of the Regions (CoR), it is now the turn of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) to speak against the idea of linking structural funds to taking in refugees and respecting the rule of law. Frédéric Vallier, the Secretary-General of the CEMR subsequently informed EUROPE on Thursday 9 March that, “The cities, municipalities and regions cannot be taken hostage to the political choices of their central governments”. For Mr Vallier, such an approach will simply undermine the ties between the EU, regional authorities and their inhabitants. The CEMR therefore appears to support the CoR’s position, which voted during a committee meeting earlier in the month for a report that rejects this possibility (see EUROPE 11738). The idea of linking structural funds to respect for the rule of law and taking in refugees, similar to what is being done at an economic level, is being developed at both the European Commission (see EUROPE 11736) and European Parliament (see EUROPE 11740). (PH)