Brussels, 25/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the Committee of the Regions will debate the special role of EU regions with legislative powers, which feel left out of the Committee and are multiplying separate initiatives (as shown by the organisation in Liege on 16 November of a conference of constitutional regions). The Committee's Bureau will, on this occasion, adopt a declaration on the "role of constitutional regions in the Community decision-making process", having first debated with some prominent personalities: the ministers-presidents of Flanders and Wallonia, Patrick Dewael and Jean-Claude van Cauwenberghe, Belgium's Permanent representative to the EU, Frans van Daele, and Alain Lamassoure MEP have been invited to take part in the debates. Th draft declaration puts the committee on the defensive. The first article stresses that "the Treaty erected the Committee of the Regions "to the single rank of Community organ representing local and regional authorities of all Member States, and, whence" "it necessarily reflects the different territorial organisations of the Member States". The draft declaration stipulates that the "Committee of the Regions shall respect the will expressed by certain constitutional regions of Member States of strengthening their co-operation and further aligning their European policy" but it asks them to do so in the framework of the Committee "using its own structures and applying its internal rules of procedure". The text also rejects any division of the Committee of the Region into two chambers.. The Committee should however stress that it is "in favour of increased participation of regional governments in the Council's work". The Committee would like the representatives of the local and regional authorities of Europe to give their opinion on this declaration in the framework of the debate on the future of Europe.
European Parliament plenary session