VAUZELLE, MACRO-REGIONS ALREADY EXIST
Former Minister and French MP, Michel Vauzelle is currently President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and President of the CPMR’s Inter-Mediterranean Commission.
On 1st July 2010, Michel Vauzelle chaired a seminar held at the European Parliament on Europe and its neighbourhood: towards macro-regions? He spoke in favour of implementing a structural convergence policy in the Mediterranean, underlining the need to employ neighbourhood policy coherently with EU regional policy.
Enrico Mayrhofer: President Vauzelle, why macro-regions?
Michel Vauzelle: Because the macro-region is a fact. As far as the Mediterranean is concerned, this is something that I have always believed, and I affirm today it in my capacity as President of a Mediterranean region for the past 12 years. Among the 5 million inhabitants living in my region, many are Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan. These people are not neighbours, but are living together with us. They are French citizens who maintain very close human and family ties with the countries around our coast, where some of their family resides in Marseille and others still live in Algiers or Tunis. So the macro-region already actually exists, and it is not only this historic and cultural but also human reality, which means that the way our common destinies overlap is such that Europe cannot turn its back on what is happening in the Mediterranean. The Euro Mediterranean is only one part of a whole, and while the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has suffered a near total failure, it still remains a very concrete project in terms of future prospects. The Regions, supported by Europe, need to be able to play a role in this entity if we want to avoid the worst. If we as Regions do not help this process along, there will be an explosion generated by racism, homophobia and clannishness, which will result in something resembling fascism over here and fundamentalism across on the other side.
The macro-region is a fact in the process of emerging. It is up to us now, the Regions, to organise what shape it should take, without being excessively formal about it. Let us try and control how the phenomenon will unfold, in order to make this reality develop in a positive way.
Read the entire interview of Michel Vauzelle 
THE 38TH CPMR GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROACHES
Maria Damanaki and Johannes Hahn, European Commissioners for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs and for Regional Policy respectively, will participate in the 38th General Assembly of the CPMR.
The General Assembly will take place from 29-30 September and 1 October 2010 and is organised at the invitation of Aberdeen City and Shire (UK).
Peter Stephen, Lord Provost of Aberdeen City Council will open the debates which will focus on the role of the territories in the European strategy and budget for 2020, on regional policy as a driving force of a new model for European development, on integrated maritime policy…
For the European Parliament, Danuta Hübner, President of the Regional Development Committee (REGI) and Corinne Lepage, Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee and Chair of the Seas and Coastal Zones Intergroup will make speeches during the debate.
This General Assembly will also be an opportunity to pay tribute to and to thank Claudio Martini, former President of Tuscany and President of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) since 2002. A new President will be elected to take over the presidency of the CPMR during this General Assembly.
A General Assembly not to be missed…register now online!
Read the article on the 38th General Assembly
Recycling screens to make building materials
What should we do with television or computer screens that we do not use anymore?
With the emergence and price reduction of LCD and plasma technologies in television and computer screens, these devices are being replaced very rapidly. The waste from televisions and traditional computer screens requires special management as it is mainly composed of Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT). These tubes are made up of glass that can be dangerous for our environment after removal if they are not treated appropriately.
Thus, the Diputación de Valencia and other partners have enrolled in a project which will create a pilot plant for transforming e-waste into materials for the construction sector and the ceramic industry.
Read the entire article on Ecovitrum
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW