CLAUDIO MARTINI: CONSENSUS CANNOT BE REACHED ON THE BASIS OF COMPROMISE

Ireland says NO to Europe, or maybe the Irish are totally indifferent to it considering the low voter turnout. Claudio Martini, President of CPMR and of the Tuscany Region, was one of the six Presidents of European Regions who participated in the preparatory work of the Convention for the drafting of the Constitutional Treaty, which was subsequently rejected after the NO vote of France and the Netherlands. Today, Mr. Martini expresses his “deepest regret and concern for this vote that is a serious blow to the political integration process of Europe”.

EM: President, what is your first comment on the Irish NO vote?

CM: “The outcome of the referendum comes at a time when everybody recognizes that we need Europe even more: individual countries cannot solve the big problems that affect the modern world alone. Indeed, even large international institutions have more and more trouble in tackling the situation. Clear proof of this is the recent failure of the FAO Conference. This vote is a paradox if you consider that Ireland is the country that benefited the most from European policies and funding. In recent years Ireland has grown at an astounding rate thanks to Europe. I believe the vote was influenced by private and national selfishness and apprehension. There is a clear climate of widespread ingratitude vis-à-vis common efforts that have been made and this does not bode well for the future of the Union”.

EM: Does Europe not hold any responsibility?...

• Read the article       

SAMSØ, AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

"Socrates and Plato were teaching philosophy in the Athens’ agora in the 5th century BC. With the same commitment, the Energy Academy of SAMSØ (DK), is today a place where scientists and researchers from the whole world can meet and discuss renewable energies…” With these words Sören Hermansen, Director of the Energy Academy started his presentation to the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission in Samsö, a beautiful Danish Island that is 100% self-sufficient due to windmills and biomass.

Jens Peter Nielsen, Manager of the Samsö Energy Agency is an engineer who has been involved in the implementation of this worldwide example in terms of CO2 reduction.

EM: Mr Nielsen, what does your project consist of and how did you succeed?

JPN: In 1997, Samsö won a national competition formed by the Danish Energy Authority (The Energy Minister Svend Auken). The idea was to find an Island in Denmark where the energy system based on fossil fuel should be converted to renewable energy within a period of 10 years. As mentioned, Samsö won and the master plan had 3 major points: electricity, heat and transportation along with energy savings and energy efficiency. We believe that the success is based on a strong master plan; lots and lots of information towards the local society and local ownership...

• Read the article     

MEETING OF THE CPMR POLITICAL BUREAU

Mr Charalampos Kokkinos, Secretary General of the South Aegean Region, will host the CPMR Political Bureau which will be held in Rhodes on 27th June 2008.

Territorial cohesion, energy and agriculture will be the main issues of the meeting. Julie Gourden, Director at the CPMR and responsible for Regional Policy, will present a technical note on territorial cohesion. She will define the concept of territorial cohesion and how it can be put into practice in today’s Europe.

Should the CAP guarantee a safe and stable supply of foodstuffs for European consumers in compliance with the strictest standards of security, sustainability and protection of the environment, or not? Should CPMR Member Regions support a CAP focused on the production of food products? Is diversity within the European farming industry an advantage for the EU? Should a quality model complying with EU guidelines and recognised by consumers throughout European territory need to be consolidated? Patrick Anvroin, Director for Agriculture at the CPMR, will ask these questions, expressed in the document “Towards a CPMR contribution on the reform of CAP”.

Mr Claudio Martini, President of Tuscany and President of the CPMR, will chair the one-day meeting in the presence of Mr Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Minister of the Interior, Mr Yiannis Papathanassiou, Deputy Minister for Finance and Economy and Mr Yannis G. Valinakis, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, of Greece.

lejla.becirovic@crpm.org

• Read the article     

 THE CPMR ATLANTIC ARC COMMISSION RECRUITS ITS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

• Read the article     

---

• See all CPMR events