Brussels, 24/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The excellent cooperation between the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) was highlighted at the CoR plenary in Brussels on 18 June 2008 by the presidents of the two institutions, Luc Van den Brande (CoR) and Dimitris Dimitriadis (EESC).
We are sister organisations - the CoR represents cities and regions and the EESC represents organised civil society, Dimitris Dimitriadis told the plenary, thanking Luc Van den Brande and his predecessor Michel Delebarre 'for always keeping the door open' between the two consultative bodies. Dimitriadis said the two assemblies had to cooperate because in the absence of cooperation, there could not be a Europe. The EESC President commented on a lack of awareness of European history among new generations and stressed the importance of building a Europe with a human face. He added 'We must prepare the next generation of Europeans' so they had a better understanding of Europe.
The issue of concern to the speakers at the debate in plenary was the Irish no vote on the Lisbon Treaty and the impact on the two organisations of potential failure to ratify the Treaty. Konstantinos Tatsis (EPP, Greece) asked whether the CoR and EESC would be in danger if the treaty were not ratified. How will you cooperate to re-build our vision of Europe? Cooperating is vital to ensure peace and security are within the reach of citizens, commented Dave Quayle (PES, United Kingdom). Our roles complement each other in the grand scheme of the European project and our voters must be respected, said Flo Clucas (ALDE, United Kingdom). Seamus Murray (UEN-AE, Ireland) highlighted again the disappointment of all the members of the Irish delegation after the Irish referendum. We have not turned our backs on Europe. We want to have the reflection option for Ireland and for Europe. The decision was made democratically by the people of Ireland. What we have to try to do is set out a path for the future, he said.
Answering these concerns, Dimitris Dimitriadis said they had to speak honestly among themselves. He said that if the same question had been put to a referendum in Greece, he thought the majority would oppose the Lisbon Treaty because Greeks have other priorities in their daily life than those of the treaty. He added that people could vote against the treaty because of rising prices, for example, because people don't know Europe and are not interested in what happens in Brussels. For this reason, Dimitriadis concluded that EESC-CoR cooperation had to continue. (G.B.)