​At this week's European Committee of the Regions mid-term mandate plenary session, Mr Karl Vanlouwe succeeded Mr Stanisław Szwabski as EA Group President. 

A lawyer by profession, Mr Vanlouwe has been a member of the Senate-the upper house of Belgium's Federal Parliament- since 2010, where he has acted as a chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense (2010 – 2014) and currently is First Vice-President (2014 – present).

Since 2014 he is also member of the Flemish Parliament where he is working on the Committee for Foreign Policy, European Affairs and International Co-operation (Commissie voor Buitenlands Beleid, Europese Aangelegenheden en Internationale Samenwerking), as well as on the Committee for Brussels and its Flemish Periphery (Commissie voor Brussel en de Vlaamse Rand). Mr Vanlouwe was first elected to the European Committee of the Regions in 2015.

Coming from the Flemish coastal area, Mr Vanlouwe today lives in the Brussels municipality Ganshoren together with his wife Annelies. He is fluent in Dutch, French and English. In his spare time, he likes to read or to go cycling in the Brussels Laarbeekbos. Mr Vanlouwe is also active in several associations, such as the Veeweyde animal shelter in Anderlecht (Brussels).

During today's Group meeting, the newly elected President said: "As a regionalist group, the European Alliance has a big role to play in the years to come. There will be the Brexit debate, where we need to consider the position of regions within the United Kingdom that clearly voted against a Brexit. Likewise, we need to deliberate the impact of Brexit on the Good Friday Agreement, as well as on the economy of Flanders amongst other regions. There will be the Catalan referendum on the first of October. Moreover we are witnessing troublesome political developments in Eastern Europe." The President underlined the European motto 'In varietate concordia' and emphasized that it is the strength of the European Alliance Group to promote this diversity.

Mr Stanisław Szwabski, Member of Gdynia City Council (Poland), has been elected Vice-President of the Group.