Search Results for: mental health

Anchoring regions in the European Constitution

4 July, 2003 By Editor

Strasbourg (F), 4 July 2003

The Presidium of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), meeting in Strasbourg today, evaluated the work of the European Convention and expressed satisfaction on its initial results.

In effect, Part I of the Constitution regarding the Definition and Objectives of the Union took into consideration a large number of the amendments formulated by the AER intended to anchor the Regions in this new Treaty and to reinforce their role in the new European architecture.

The AER commends in particular the limitation of EU competencies, the best formulation of the subsidiarity principle yet extended to regions, the recognition of the role of regional and local authorities, and most importantly the preservation of cultural diversity in Europe guaranteed by the draft constitution.

However, two of AER’s provisions were not incorporated in the Constitution presented to the European Council in Thessaloniki:

• One relating to the possibility of Regions to bring cases before the European Court of Justice when the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality have been transgressed;

• Another relating to the principle of “loyal cooperation” which must equally include the Regions.

“Much progress has been obtained to reinforce the role Regions in Europe. However, we must continue to pursue our influential work with the members of the European Parliament and of the national Governments to ensure that Regions are integrated as full partners into the Union under the final version of the Treaty to be agreed at the next Intergovernmental Conference” said Liese Prokop, President of AER. Prokop added, “our work with the Convention must be pursued as well. Our actions continue with Part III of the Constitution regarding the politics and functioning of the Union, which is currently under debate and concerns all European Regions. AER must be particularly vigilant regarding its final draft”.

The AER Presidium adopted in this judgment a series of amendments on matters concerning public health policies, social policies, economic and social cohesion, culture, and education formulated by Committee guidelines. These propositions will be addressed to the Presidium and to members of the Convention. They will also be promoted by AER with respect to the Intergovernmental Conference.

Download the Convention:

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!

The 1st follow-up conference to the Johannesburg summit!

11 September, 2002 By Editor

“The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg has just ended. As Chairman of the Assembly of European Regions’ Youth Sub-Committee, I am very proud of the fact that we can focus on the follow-up, so soon after this international event” said Jörgen Hedberg in his opening speech to the 1st AER Youth Summer School.

The 1st AER Youth Summer School, which is running from 9th-12th September in Opatija (HR), is devoted to the concept of environmental sustainability. During these four days, 42 young people aged between eighteen and twenty-five, coming from eleven different countries, will be discussing the issues that are vital to their future, such as democracy, consumption patterns, natural resources, health and life-styles. Their common objective is not to reach a new general declaration on sustainable environment but to find genuine solutions immediately applicable in this field. In fact, each participant has been asked to prepare the working sessions in the form of a home assignment with well-defined projects and ideas on how to improve his/her local environment in practice.

“The future belongs to the young people of today. It is essential for a political organisation such as the AER to encourage their involvement in public life as active citizens. Only then we can achieve our vision of environmental sustainability in practice. We hope that this AER Youth Summer School will contribute to serving this objective” concluded Mr Hedberg.

The 1st AER Youth Summer School is organised by the AER member regions Sörmland (S), Vestfold (N), Catalunya (E), Devon (UK), Niederösterreich (A), and Harghita (RO).

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!

The AER to consult its Regions about the recent European Commission’s CAP mid-term review

11 July, 2002 By Editor

On 10th July, as announced, the European Commission presented its plan for the EU farm policy mid-term review. Its key aspects are:

– decoupling direct support from production: “Farmers will be able to produce the crop or the type of meat where they see the best market opportunities and not the highest subsidies” Mr Fischler affirmed;
– requiring farmers to fulfil stricter environmental and quality criteria and to reduce direct payments in order to redirect the money saved into rural development schemes: “ In future, farms will not be paid for overproduction but for responding to what people want: safe good, quality production, animal welfare and a healthy environment”, Mr Fischler ensured.

Can these plans be seen as a concrete strategy in order to solve the famous “dilemma” between supporting farming incomes and reinforcing rural development dimension? Can the announced designed instruments to promote both sustainable and competitive agriculture in less favoured areas effectively protect our least developed and outermost Regions? What will be the impact of CAP mid-term review on the Enlargement process? These questions are important to the diverse European Regions and their rural development.

“As from now, we call for full Regions’ involvement in the establishment of the future common framework of environmental standards and implementation criteria, alongside with EU and member States” said Liese Prokop, AER President. “We insist on the need of a coherent and balanced strategy of sustainable development, which imply support for all our regions, including least developed and outermost ones. We also recommend coordination between future Cohesion Policy, CAP and all other EU policies with strong structural impact, as Transport policy, for example” she added.

“We will assess possible impact of Mr Fischler’s blueprint, and its feasibility even, by consulting our member Regions” Brian Greenslade, President of AER Committee on ‘Regional Policy’ announced. “As it represents more than 250 Regions from all over Europe, both inside and outside from the EU, the Assembly of European Regions has a fundamental role to play in this debate. We will thus identify our Regions’ expectations, their needs, their current experience of CAP and their opinion on the new ideas for a revision of CAP”, he concluded.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!

The architecture of tomorrow’s Europe – the Regions of Europe prepare

1 February, 2001 By Editor

Chaired by Liese Prokop, First Vice-Minister of Niederösterreich (A) and President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the new AER Presidium, elected last December, held its first meeting on 31st January 2001 in Strasbourg – where the Assembly of European Regions has had its headquarters since its creation in 1985 – in the aim of fixing the organisation’s priorities for the coming two years.

Bearing in mind the decisions taken at the Intergovernmental Conference in Nice (8th – 9th December 2000): to continue the debate on architecture and consider the ambitions of an enlarged Union in view of a further Intergovernmental Conference in 2004, the AER Presidium established its main aim as the mobilisation of all member Regions and interregional organisations concerning these important stakes in the future of Europe. “The political representatives of the Regions of the European Union and applicant countries must make their position clear and be considered as a source of proposals for this important debate for the future of Europe” stated Mrs Prokop. “In order for the enlarged Europe to be governable and governed, whilst remaining at grass roots level, competences must be clearly distributed between the various levels of government and the concept of subsidiarity must be given a more concrete and clear meaning in the European Treaties and the role of the Regions must be better defined in the construction of Europe” she added.

The institutional affairs Committee of the AER, chaired by Willi Stächele, Secretary of State for European affairs of Baden-Württemberg, received the mandate of preparing a draft AER position both for the next IGC and the White paper on governance in the Union which will be published next July by the European Commission. This Committee will meet on 8th – 9th February 2001 in Berlin. Over 70 European Regions (EU and non-EU) have already confirmed their participation.

In addition, the Presidium approved the Action programmes of the three other AER Committees for the period 2001- 2002:
– The Social Affairs Committee: Social protection and wellbeing in Europe post enlargement – Economic and social policy in the EU concerning the Regions post 2004 – Health, pensioners, equal opportunities
– The Regional policy Committee: Enlargement and future European regional policy – Report and forum on cohesion in Europe– 6th European environmental action programme – Trans-European Networks – and, of course, considering the current agricultural crisis, Sustainable agriculture and consumer protection.
– The culture Committee: Involvement of young people in public affairs at regional level – Adult education and training – Regional and Minority languages within the year of languages – Sport in the Regions.

The Presidium introduced the idea of organising two Conferences of Ministers and regional representatives in the field of environment and culture in 2002.

The Presidium also decided to give a more political dimension to the AER training programmes such as Centurio and the Summer School which aim at training regional elected representatives and managers of the CEEC as well as Eurodyssey which allows young Europeans to gain experience abroad for the first time.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!

Meeting of the AER political Bureau

12 May, 1999 By Editor

Brussels, 12 May 1999

The first meeting of the AER political Bureau, in its new composition issued from elections at the General Assembly in Linz (A) in last December, will be held on 12th May in Brussels. Several subjects will be discussed and in particular:

• Regions faced with the situation in Kosovo;

• Project of the European Constitution, the Subsidiarity, the EU Enlargement, the next Intergovernmental Conference (IGC);

• Regionalisation in progress: results of elections in Scotland and Wales, development in Hungary;

• Adoption of resolutions and decisions made by the AER Committees (January to May 1999):

Commission A ”Institutional Affairs and East-West Cooperation”
– Programme of Seminar “Strong Regions for a strong Europe” (27-28 May, Stuttgart-D),
– Project of the Conference “Regions and EU Enlargement process” (21-22 Sept., Wroclaw-PL),
– Information relative to the Summer school (28 August, Istra-HR) and Centurio, two AER training programmes;
Commission B “Social Cohesion, Social Services, Public Health and Employment”
– Resolutions and decisions which will be made at the next meeting (6 May, Trondheim-N),
– Declaration of Turin relative to the men-women equality;
Commission C ”Regional Policy” (Meeting of 18-19 March, Umea-S)
– Views on the last Environmental Action Programme (EAP) of the EU and contribution to the next EAP,
– Views on the respect of environmental norms in tourism,
– Participation in the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign and in the next Earth Summit,
– Role of the Regions and interregional cooperation in the implementation of ESDP,
– Declaration of Grado – Interregional Organisations common position on the Interreg III,
– Regional twinnings ;
Commission D “Culture, Education/Training, Youth, Medias, Sport” (Meeting of 19- 20 April, Nyborg-DK)
– Preparations for a pan-European Conference of Regional Cultural Ministers (2000) and support to the initiative of creating a network for exchanging information via the Internet between regional public libraries (“Culture” Subcommittee),
– Requests for amendments of Community programmes, especially following the nonadmission of EU candidate countries to the pilot project “Parliaments representing the Youth of Europe” (“Education & Training” Subcommittee),
– Creation of a programme of solidarity for Romanian street children and orphans – ”Streetkids-Romania 1999”- organised by the Region of Piemonte (I) and proposal put forward by the Region of Odessa (UKR) to organise a conference on the “Participation of Youth in management and public life at regional level” by spring 2000 (“Youth” Subcommittee).

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!

Anchoring regions in the European Constitution

The 1st follow-up conference to the Johannesburg summit!

The AER to consult its Regions about the recent European Commission’s CAP mid-term review

The architecture of tomorrow’s Europe – the Regions of Europe prepare

Meeting of the AER political Bureau

Library

Join AER!

Website map