Governance and citizenship

Michel Delebarre, Mayor of Dunkirk (France) and member of the Group of the party of European Socialists (PES) has been elected president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union on 16 February in Brussels.

 

Luc van den Brande, Senator of the Flemish Parliament (Belgium) and member of the European People's Party (EPP), has been elected first vice-president.

 

In his speech at the CoR's plenary session, Michel Delebarre 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... The local and regional dimensions must be taken into consideration across the board in the preparation of EU legislation.

 

Michel Delebarre added that he wants to turn the Committee of the Regions into a genuinely political European assembly with the ability to contribute to re-launching a debate on Europe. The CoR must be more incisive because the day may well come when it will have to draw on all its courage to resist a legislative proposal from the Commission that, for instance, infringes the principle of subsidiarity.

 

Speaking 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". He also identified the Lisbon Strategy as one of the CoR's strategic priorities.

 

The Committee of the Regions has 317 members designated by the Council of Ministers of the European Union, on the basis of national lists provided by each Member State. Its president and first vice president's mandates last two years.

 

Link to the Committee of the regions' website