Hande Özsan Bozatli, AER President, met on 6 June the European Commission’s President José Manuel Barroso, together with the President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the representatives from the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), EUROCITIES, Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies and the Conference of European Regions with Legislative Powers (REGLEG); to exchange views on the preparation of the Commission’s work programme 2014 and other priorities on the agenda.

Mrs Özsan Bozatli expressed AER concerns about the younger generation: “We, as regions from all over Europe, need to ensure that our policies help the young generation to find good and satisfying jobs and take into account the environment, for the welfare of next generations. Regions have the tools to reach these goals, through mobility schemes such as the AER Eurodyssey programme, which is fostering the exchange of trainees throughout Europe, or thanks to relevant structures which foster youth entrepreneurship education throughout Europe.”

About the Eastern Partnership, Mrs Özsan Bozatli asked for the full recognition of the role regional governments play in implementing the goals of the Eastern Partnership road maps and action plans, as it is the regional level which is crucial when it comes to the territorial socio-economic development. Since the early 1990s’, AER has established cooperation with regions of Eastern Partnership countries.