Brussels, 17/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - During the constituent session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 16 February in Brussels, Michel Delebarre (PES, France) was elected as the Committee's president and Luc Van den Brande (EPP, Belgium) the first vice-president. Both had a very large majority (227 out of 235 voters in favour), with a two-year rotation for each during a tenure lasting from 2006 to 2010. The election result came as no surprise as the four political groups of the CoR (EPP, PES, ALDE and UEN-EA) had agreed on both candidates during the meeting of the Committee Bureau on 15 February. The Committee also proceeded to elect the 56 members of its Bureau, including 25 other vice-presidents (one per Member State), Laurent Thieule, CoR spokesman, told the press. For the fourth time since its creation in 1994, the CoR has seen its 317 full members (and alternates) renewed, a press release recalls, noting that Mr Delebarre has held seven ministerial portfolios under the presidencies of François Mitterrand and that he holds regional as well as national office.
Stressing that he will continue along the lines of his predecessors, Michel Delebarre set out for 2006-2008 (the two years during which he will preside the Committee) two main challenges facing the CoR: (1) a political challenge which is to strengthen its identity as a political assembly able to contribute to rekindling debate on Europe drawing as close as possible to the citizens; (2) a challenge of influence: “The CoR must be more incisive because the day may well come when it will have to draw on all its courage and resist a legislative proposal from the Commission that, for instance, infringes the principle of subsidiarity”, the new CoR president said. “We must ensure that the EU draws closer to its citizens by proving its ability to protect them from the ill effects of globalisation and by meeting their expectations in establishing a genuine European socio-economic model. People have a right to expect the CoR to help clarify the EU actions and raise awareness of local issues upstream and downstream of the EU decision-making process”, Mr Delebarre told the assembly. He went on to explain: “Improvements in the CoR's impact will be measured by the ability to ensure that the local and regional dimensions are taken into consideration across the board in the preparation of EU legislation and by our ability to contribute to better governance in the European Union”. According to Mr Delebarre, two priority strategic policies are to: (1) anchor the committee in the debate on the future of the EU. On the subject of the constitutional treaty, Michel Delebarre pointed out that “although the text may give rise to some reservations, it is important not to reject the process itself or certain aspects of its roadmap for the future”. (2) involve the Committee in reactivating the Lisbon Strategy: “At a territorial dialogue to be held on 1 March, on the eve of the Spring Summit, the CoR will remind Commissioner Hübner and Commissioner Verheugen that it is impossible to exclude local and regional authorities when setting out strategies for competitiveness, growth and employment because these authorities are generally in direct contact with economic development and social cohesion in their territories”, Mr Delebarre recalled. Furthermore, the CoR president hoped that, once an agreement has been reached on the financial perspectives for 2007-2013, regional and cohesion policy will have the means to meet the aims of solidarity and competitiveness in the EU territories. As such means are limited, it will be necessary to ensure that “the implementation of the structural funds relies entirely on partnerships with regional authorities, guarantees that the urban dimension and cohesion policy will be taken into account, and enables effective regional cooperation”, Michel Delebarre added.
Speaking to the press, the newly elected president regretted Europe's lack of visibility and the lack of citizen confidence in Europe. The first vice-president, Luc Van den Brande said Europe must appear as a community of values. A partnership Europe is what is needed, he went on, explaining this meant local, regional, national and European democracy.