Wroclaw (PL), 19 May 2005

‘European economic growth, which has been dynamic for the past ten years, will be in danger, if the Constitutional Treaty is not ratified,’ warned Riccardo Illy, President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and of Friuli Venezia Giulia-I, during his intervention at the opening of the European Summit of Cities and Region organised in Wroclaw (PL) by the Committee of the Regions.

While opinions polls show a balance between the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ only a few days away from the French and Dutch referenda on the Constitutional Treaty, President Illy reaffirmed his commitment to the ‘yes’ camp and praises the Constitution: ‘The European Union must now reconsider its role and must express its full potential, or suffer decline.’

Following statements from the President of the European Parliament Josep Borrel and the Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner, Illy addressed the representatives of the regions and stressed that ‘the recognition of the strategic role of the regions is of crucial importance not only for the regions, but also for Europe itself.’ In this context, the regions call for a speedy adoption of the EU Regulation creating a ‘European Group for Territorial Cooperation’, a new legal instrument, which will further develop and strengthen cross-border cooperation. ‘This is a key element to the attainment of a new equilibrium in Europe, capable of guaranteeing a healthy relationship between decentralisation and territorial cohesion,’ concluded Illy.

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