| Drăghici calls on European Commission to put more investment in Rural areas | | 04 December 2014 | At the Committee of the Regions Plenary Session the Mayor of the commune of Vulcana-Băi and European Alliance Emil Drăghici called on the Commissioner for a Regional policy to ensure a balanced development of Urban and Rural areas and said that for too long Rural areas have been forgotten. The new investment package must also focus on areas ... |
| Buchanan pushes for a co-ordinated, humanitarian approach to European migration policy | | 04 December 2014 | Councillor Anthony Buchanan has today called for a more coordinated European migration policy with member states’ moral responsibility to tackle the crisis at its heart. Speaking at the Committee of the Regions’ 109th Plenary session in Brussels, Councillor Buchanan raised his points with Mr Domenico Manzione, Secretary of State for Internal Affai ... |
| Cooperation with the Congress of the Council Of Europe dominates CIVEX Agenda | | 17 November 2014 | On 17 November the CIVEX commission had its last meeting before the end of the current mandate. Most of the subjects up for debate see the CoR and the Congress of the Council of Europe working in close cooperation.
This is demonstrated by the fact that the CIVEX members adopted an opinion on the multilevel protection of the rule of law and ... |
| A Holy Alliance against Nations? | | 08 November 2014 | By Karim Van Overmeire, Marc Hendrickx on: Regions in Europe
Two hundred years ago, the crowned heads of Europe came together at the Congress of Vienna. Following the fall of Napoleon the revolutionary genie was finally back in the bottle. The great powers promised to join forces to stamp out any attempt to upset the new order they had sketch ... |
| Buchanan to participate in discussions on Albania progress towards EU accession | | 07 November 2014 | On 11 November 2014, the European Alliance group member Cllr Tony Buchanan will participate in the CoR Working Group on Western Balkans in Albania's second largest city, Durres. The meeting is an opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the country with regard to the progress towards EU accession and the impact of the enlargement process ... |
| Mr Szwabski calls for abolition of plans to block accession for next 5 years | | 27 October 2014 | During the JCC Montenegro which took place in Kotor on 27 October 2014 Mr Stanisław Szwabski, President of Gdynia Assembly, co-chair of the JCC Montenegro welcomed the progress made by Montenegro during last year. Macroeconomic stability has been broadly maintained and Montenegro continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria for EU members ... |
| COTER Commission endorses Alpine macro-regional strategy | | 22 October 2014 | On 22 October the COTER commission endorsed the new Alpine macroregion which will be the fourth macro-regional strategy, after the Baltic Sea, the Danube and the Adriatic and Ionian macro regions.
The macro-regional strategy for the Alps could help to improve policy consistency and can lead to a more effective implementation of some c ... |
| ARLEM holds talks on migration and cohesion policy | | 20 October 2014 | On 20 October ARLEM members met in Malaga to discuss issues of relevance for the economic and territorial cohesion in the Mediterranean.
The main debate focused on managing migration flows in the Mediterranean region which have substantially increased in recent times due to the political instability in the region.
Members were presen ... |
| Buchanan Seeks Assurances over TTIP Threat to Europe's Public Services | | 08 October 2014 |
EA Group member Cllr Tony Buchanan has today sought assurances from European Commissioner De Gucht that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not damage public services across Europe. Speaking at the Committee of the Regions 108th plenary session in Brussels, Cllr Buchanan called on the partnership negotiations to b ... |
| EA group call for action on more sustainable housing and living practices | | 08 October 2014 | There is no sustainable living without sustainable buildings. This is one of the key messages that emerged from the debate of the seminar "Developing EU policy and regional strategies towards sustainable living" hosted by the European Alliance Group (EA)in the context of the Open Days. The EA group members, experts and representatives of ... |
| Hendrickx demonstrates solidarity with Kurdish demonstrators | | 08 October 2014 | Member of the Flemish Parliament and European Alliance Group member Marc Hendrickx recently met with Kurdish demonstrators near the European parliament. He was accompanied by fellow Member of the Flemish Parliament Mr Karl Vanlouwe. They expressed their solidarity with the Kurdish struggle against terrorism and genocide in their homela ... |
| Silberg calls on further rebalancing of the Urban – Rural policy relationship | | 06 October 2014 | At the opening session of the Open Days week of Regions and Cities, Dr Uno Silberg, PThe Parliament magazine feature on Urban-Rural balance:resident of the European Alliance group called for further investment in rural communities. He said that there has been an over focus on urban areas and this needs to be re-balanced. It is only ... |
| Estonian Local and Regional Representatives visit the CoR | | 06 October 2014 | European Alliance group President Dr Uno Silberg hosted a meeting with local and regional representatives from Estonia on Monday 6th October 2014 at the beginning of Open Days the week of Regional and Cities. Dr Silberg said that it was important to hold such meetings to ensure that the EU dialogue is a 'two-way' process and that local autho ... |
| CORLEAP puts decentralization at the core of Eastern Partnership | | 29 September 2014 | On 29th September the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) held its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia to adopt its recommendations to Head of State and Governments of the Eastern Partnership ( EaP) ahead of the 2015 Riga Summit.
The members, while backing a different approach with EaP count ... |
| Silberg welcomes concrete actions for sustainable growth | | 12 September 2014 | During the Committee of the Regions bureau held in Turin on Friday 12th September, the European Alliance group President welcomed the focus on sustainable growth and the creation of jobs. He in particular welcomed a number of initiatives by the European Investment Bank especially their new initiative to be able to leverage funds for new rura ... |
| European Alliance member Mr Szwabski attends the Cohesion Forum | | 08 September 2014 | On 8-9 September a delegation of CoR members are participating in the Cohesion Forum, a major event attended by prominent representatives of European, national and local governments and experts.
The debate is expected to focus on the new Cohesion Policy programming period and on ways the reformed policy can support economic growth and job c ... |
| Long Term Financing of the European Economy on the agenda of next ECOS meeting | | 11 July 2014 | On 15 July ECOS Commission will hold its meeting in Brussels. There will be a discussion and adoption of an EA Member's Witold Krochmal opinion on Long Term Financing of the European Economy. Members will also discuss a European Platform against Undeclared Work opinion. EA political coordinator and Rapporteur, Mr Krochmal said that the effort ... |
| Macroregional Strategies Central in COTER Agenda | | 10 July 2014 | On 10 July COTER Commission held its meeting in the town of Fabriano in the Marche Region, Italy, which is widely known for the hand-made paper produced since the 13th century.
There was a discussion and adoption of an COTER opinion on mobility in challenged regions. Members also discussed current disparities and territorial divide in regio ... |
| Strong local democracy is needed for stability and prosperity in Ukraine | | 04 July 2014 | The Conference of Presidents delegation of the EU Committee of the Regions visited Ukraine on the 3rd and 4th July where they discussed the Ukrainian government's proposals for decentralisation reform with Volodymyr Hroysman, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for regional development.
European Alliance group President Dr Uno Silberg participa ... |
| CoR/EA Secondary Schools' Competition winners attend a CoR Plenary Session | | 25 June 2014 | On the 25th and 26th of June, the EA group welcomed 40 students and teachers to Brussels. The two-day event took place on the occasion of the annual secondary schools competition organised by the European Alliance group.
The competition was both an essay writing competition and also a multiple-choice quiz on the European Union. The winning studen ... |
| Member States should provide resources to Local Authorities to implement legislation | | 19 June 2014 | The ENVE commission on the 19 June adopted by overwhelming majority the Clean Air package opinion which intends to better enforce current existing air quality standards by 2020 while introducing further obligations to limit emissions until 2030. According to the Commission, proposing stricter air quality standards at this point in time may prove c ... |
| Future European Union Neighbourhood policy discussed by CIVEX | | 16 June 2014 | The CIVEX commission discussed on 16 June the European Neighbourhood Policy package, an annual reporting exercise including twelve country reports that take stock of the progress of the neighbourhood partners in implementing jointly agreed reform and objectives and that aim to addressing the main challenges facing both sides.
Some eastern o ... |
| EA Vice-President Jerzy Zajakala reports On Local Election Mission In Georgia | | 16 June 2014 | On 15-16 June, the EA group Vice-President Jerzy Zajakala took part in a joint CoR-Council Europe delegation to observe local elections in Georgia. The delegation, which comprised 22 members from 15 European countries, met with representatives of the Government, the Central Election Commission, representatives of political parties, candi ... |
| Žagunis' opinion adopted unanimously by NAT Commission | | 05 June 2014 | The opinion of Mr Žagunis on the aid scheme for the supply of fruit and vegetables, bananas and milk in educational establishments was adopted by the Members of the CoR's Commission NAT unanimously during the last meeting in Ponta Delgada, Azores on 5 June 2014. Both school schemes were established in order to promote the consumption of fruit ... |
| Van Overmeire Visits Skopje To Discuss Territorial Cross Border Cooperation | | 03 June 2014 | On 3 June, the EA member Karim Van Overmeire participated in the EU CoR-FYROM Joint Consultative Committee in the FYROM capital, Skopje.
The meeting provided the opportunity to discuss the latest political developments in the country with regard to the progress towards the EU accession and the impact of the enlargement process at local leve ... |
| EA President Dr Uno Silberg reports on local elections In Ukraine | | 26 May 2014 | The EA President Uno Silberg took part in an election observation mission in Ukraine on 23-25 May jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Committee of the Regions.The members had been assigned different polling stations where they could observe the voting procedures and report about any irregularity.
According to what the observer coul ... |
| COTER call for a White Paper for urban agenda and urban-rural balance | | 05 May 2014 | While there are currently a number of existing EU initiatives on urban policy, there is a lack of consistency between them and they lack a forward looking urban agenda at EU which matches the scope of the EU 2020 Strategy – this was one of the clear messages from the COTER meeting of the 5th May 2014.
The members of the COTER commission called on ... |
| ENVE Delegation visit South West Wales and Swansea University | | 29 April 2014 | On 29 April, a delegation of ENVE Members visited Swansea University, on the invitation of the EA Group political coordinator Cllr. Linda Gillham. Swansea University is a highly regarded research-led university that has a long history of working closely with local government, business and community groups. The participants also included ... |
| ENVE engage to enhance cities' sustainability and promote biodiversity | | 24 April 2014 | On 24 April, the ENVE commission, after appointing Mrs Maria Luisa Coppola as new chairwoman, discussed in depth the 7th Environmental Action Programme opinion, particularly with regard to the priority objective related to sustainable cities.
Members expressed different views as to possible measures that could be put in place to encou ... |
| Žagunis' opinion on fruit and milk scheme discussed at NAT Commission | | 08 April 2014 | The 19th meeting of the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the Committee of the Regions saw a presentation and an initial discussion of the working document on "the aid scheme for the supply of fruit and vegetables, bananas and milk in the educational establishments", drafted by Mr Povilas Žagunis, Mayor of Panevėžys District Muni ... |
| CIVEX to set the vision for future EU home and justice affairs and Ukraine | | 07 April 2014 | With the Stockholm Programme coming to an end, the CIVEX commission has adopted on 7 April a report setting the vision of the EU local and regional authorities on the future political priorities for justice and home affairs.
Significant progress has already been made over the past five years but much still remains to be done. Ensuring that fundam ... |
| Cllr Gillham calls for 80% reduction and ban of free plastic bags | | 03 April 2014 | The CoR adopted on 3 April the opinion of the EA member and Runnymede Borough Councillor Mrs Linda Gillham on reducing lightweight plastic carrier bags.
The CoR opinion sets out far tougher proposals than those laid out by the European Commission as it calls for an outright ban of free plastic bags by 2020, mandatory EU targets to reduce the numb ... |
| Silberg discusses the Danube Strategy in the European Parliament | | 18 March 2014 | At the invitation of Ms Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Vice-chair of the European Parliament's TRAN Committee, Dr Uno Silberg participated in an exchange of views on the implementation and future developments of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, held on 18 March in the European Parliament.
The Danube River and its basin are a vital link for Eur ... |
| ARLEM to focus on migration and waste management in 2014 | | 24 February 2014 | On 24th February the Euro Mediterranean Assembly of local and regional authorities (ARLEM) held its annual meeting in Tangers, Morocco. At the meeting members of the CoR and its counterparts coming from the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean took stock of the state of decentralisation in the region where three years after the Arab S ... |
| Thomas tells Commissioner Lewandowski to address co-financing problems in EU projects | | 13 February 2014 | On 13 February, the Committee of the Regions' Ad hoc commission on the EU budget (BUDG) held its first meeting in 2014. The meeting gathered prominent participants, including EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget, Mr Janusz Lewandowski, chair of the budget control committee in the European Parliament, Mr Michael Theurer, Deputy Dire ... |
| ENVE adopts Gillham Opinion on Reducing Plastic Bags | | 12 February 2014 | The ENVE commission adopted at its meeting on 12 February the opinion of Cllr Linda Gillham on reducing the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags.
The proposal of the Commission requires Member States to take measures to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags with a thickness below 50 microns. The opinion of ... |
| CIVEX discuss Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy | | 10 February 2014 | At its meeting on 10 February, the CIVEX commission adopted the opinion on the enlargement strategy drafted by Arnoldas Abramavicius which highlights the progress achieved by candidate and pre candidate countries in their road towards EU accession while drawing attention to the role of LRAs in preparing these countries, their administration at dif ... |
| CoR Plenary adopts Cllr Meaney Opinion on NAIADES II | | 31 January 2014 | On 31 January, the CoR Plenary session approved the opinion of Clare County (Ireland) Cllr Brian Meaney on the NAIADES II package, which aims at improving the performance of inland navigation in comparison to other transport modes with respect to volumes of freight transported and with respect to sustainability.
The package sets out actions to im ... |
| Silberg meets delegation from Kyrenia | | 29 January 2014 | A delegation led by the Mayor of Kyrenia Mr Glafkos Cariolou was met by European Alliance group President on the margins of the committee of the Regions plenary session. The delegation updated Dr Silberg on their efforts to return to hold a mass in a church in their town Kyrenia (which they are in exile from). The also asked Dr Silberg ... |
| The EU must take clear action in Ukraine, says Dr Uno Silberg | | 23 January 2014 | EA group President visited Kiev as part of a CoR delegation fact finding mission on the 22-23 January and was horrified by the level of violence against protestors in Maidan square. Dr Silberg condemns in the strongest manner any violence and calls for dialogue to find a solution to the exceptionally difficult situation in Ukraine. The ... |
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