CoR AND CPMR "MUST WORK SIDE BY SIDE TO ACHIEVE COMMON GOALS"

Belgian politician Luc Van den Brande has been the President of the EU's Committee of the Regions since February 2008. He is the eighth President of the political assembly, which gives local and regional government representatives a voice in European decision-making. A lawyer by profession, Luc Van den Brande started his political career in 1977 after being elected to the Belgian House of Representatives. He became a member of the forerunner of the Flanders Parliament in 1980 and was designated as a Community Senator in 1999.

According to Mr Van den Brande, who has been a member of the CoR since its creation in 1994, CoR and European associations “must work side by side to achieve common goals”...

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TERRITORIAL COHESION IS A TWO-WAY STREET
Mathernova explains to the CPMR

Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director General of DG Regio at the European Commission participated in the 36th General Assembly of the CPMR in Bayonne on 3 October 2008.

Her intervention focused on the “Introduction to the Principle of the Territorial Cohesion and its consequences on EU Future policies”. Mrs Mathernova participated in the General Assembly just a few days before the publication of the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion and will therefore be looking forward to receiving the CPMR’s contribution to the consultation on the Green Paper. This contribution will be presented at the CPMR’s Political Bureau meeting on 23 January 2009 in the Region of Midtjylland (DK).

EM: If I asked you to describe the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion in three words, what would you say?

KM: It is a policy document that sets the foundations for the concept of territorial cohesion. Hopefully, it will launch a very vivid public debate on what territorial cohesion brings in addition to economic and social cohesion...

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HOW TO RECONCILE THE GOALS OF TERRITORIAL COHESION WITH REDUCING THE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Aberdeen - 13/14 November 2008

The seminar organised in Aberdeen (Scotland) on 13 and 14 November 2008 by the CPMR “Energy” working group is being held at a particularly timely moment.

On the one hand, the European Parliament is currently carrying out examinations of the various legislative proposals of the “Energy/Climate” package. The CPMR has taken a very active approach to this issue, so that the role of the Regions is given more recognition in the promotion of a sustainable energy policy, to fully exploit the potential of maritime peripheries and in order to overcome various regulatory obstacles. Fortunately, the CPMR‘s commitment has just received the support of the Parliament’s ITRE Committee which has to a large extent included the proposals of our organisation in the Turmes Report.

On the other hand, the debate on the future of territorial cohesion policy is now underway with the European Commission’s recent publication of the Green Paper. This document also calls for comments and suggestions from the EU’s maritime peripheries.

In tackling the question of “How to reconcile the goals of territorial cohesion with the causes of climate change” during the seminar in Aberdeen, the CPMR find itself at a crossroads.

The CPMR intends to make the most of these two days to address this issue,...

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