Assembly of European Regions

Connecting regions, inspiring Europe since 1985

You are here: Home / Archives for Culture

This is the tag for articles in relations to culture

Final Declaration and Resolution for transparency in WTO negotiations and for Parliamentary vote on GATS

By

At the initiative of the AER, 150 regional Ministers and political representatives of culture and education from all over Europe and Canada looked at the consequences of negociations in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on public policies and services in the fields of culture, education and the media. They unanimously demand the organisation of wide public consultation and deliberation by national and regional Parliaments before opening up these sectors of major importance for the protection and promotion of cultural identities and diversity to privatisation and competition.

(Use Pop Out button to Download/Open)

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

The AER calls for increased transparency in WTO negociations and for Parliamentary vote on GATS

By

At the initiative of the AER, 150 regional Ministers and political representatives of culture and education from all over Europe and Canada looked at the consequences of negociations in the framework of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on public policies and services in the fields of culture, education and the media. They unanimously demand the organisation of wide public consultation and deliberation by national and regional Parliaments before opening up these sectors of major importance for the protection and promotion of cultural identities and diversity to privatisation and competition.

Important decisions on the future of public services in our countries and regions are gradually being taken by GATS negotiators without prior consultation or the agreement of elected representatives selected by the citizens to manage public affairs and defend their interests at either national or regional level” stated Liese Prokop, AER President and Vice-Minister President of level (A). “We cannot let the experts in international trade and Economic Interest Groups decide on the future of public service policies for us, particularly in fields such as education and culture. On behalf of the AER, I solemnly call upon all political representatives to act and to participate in later GATS negotiations. I hope that the messages in the Final declaration of the 2nd AER Conference of Regional Ministers of culture will be heard by governments at all levels and that, together, we will manage to make politics the priority in trade talks” added the President.

Bruno Hosp, President of the AER Culture and Education Committee and Minister of Culture for Bozen-Sudtirol (I), host of this Conference, insisted on the importance of protecting national and regional sovereignty in both of these fields. “We do not feel that privatisation in several sectors of culture and education be the right reaction to the needs of individuals and society as a whole. We are particularly against a change from the current education system, subject to the approval of public authorities and acting in the general interest, to a system meeting the needs of the market and of interest groups” stressed Dr. Hosp.

Whilst liberalisation in certain public markets may have a positive effect on global economic development and the future of public finance in general, culture and education are the sources of cultural identity and diversity and therefore represent highly delicate fields. For this reason, in the Declaration adopted at this Conference, the AER calls for both these sectors to be excluded from future GATS negotiations until clear agreement has been found for the inclusion of representatives from regional governments, particularly regions with exclusive or shared (with national government) legislative competences, in later negotiations. Article I-3a on GATS member status must be reconsidered in this light.

The AER also warns the European Commission, main EU negotiator within GATS, against following a unilateral strategy for the promotion of privatisation and reiterates its opposition to further modification of the EU Treaties which would allow the transfer of competences in education and culture to European level.

Download the Final Declaration:

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

The Regions of Europe debate the impact of GATS on their cultural and education policies

By

2nd European Conference of regional Ministers of culture and education organised by the AER

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) chose “Globalisation in culture and education – WTO and GATS – the consequences of the liberalisation of public services in the fields of culture and education” as the theme of the 2nd European Conference of regional Ministers of culture and education.

Over 150 participants – Ministers and regional politicians of culture and education as well as experts in these areas – have registered for the conference on 18th October 2002 in Brixen at the invitation of Bruno Hosp, Minister of Culture of the Province of Bozen-Südtirol (I) and President of the AER Culture, Education and Training Committee. Participants will ponder the following essential issues:

– will national quality standards and the decisive significance of the educational system for the cultural identity of nations and regions be preserved when liberalising market access?

– will international agreements on qualifications of foreign service providers impose extraneous constraints on the local cultural and educational system?

– will the simplification of national and regional traditions in qualifications destroy cultural and educational traditions that normally would qualify as simple trade barriers?

The Conference will end with the formulation of a common strategy for the protection of cultural diversity and quality public education in Europe.

Two additional AER meetings will also be held on 17th October in Brixen: – Plenary session of the Culture, Education & Training, Youth, Media et Sport’. – Executive Bureau, in preparation of AER political positions in view of the General Assembly in Naples – I (28th and 29th November 2002).

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

AER Summer School 2002: The Regions’ follow-up to the Johannesburg Summit

By

 


Opatija, Primorsko-Goranska (HR), 8 – 12 September 2002

Roughly 200 participants from 50 Regions in 19 European countries – both inside and outside from the European Union – attended the Summer School 2002, along with high-ranking representatives of European and Croatian national authorities. Mere days after the Johannesburg Summit (26 August – 4 September), this year Summer School focused on concrete implementation policies of sustainable development at regional level and was supported by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The Summer School encouraged exchange of concrete experience and know-how among the participants in various fields of environmental protection and sustainable social and economic development.

As a concrete outcome of our work, the organising Adriatic regions – Primorsko-goranska, Istarska, Dubrovacko-neretvanska (Croatia) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) – launched the “Adriatic Agenda 21”. The “Adriatic Agenda 21” initiative aims to establish a permanent cooperation network between Adriatic regions and towns on sustainability issues in order to stop degradation of the environment within the Adriatic basin and improve quality of life.

“Sustainable development is the only way that can prevent Adriatic countries in transition from repeating development mistakes made by the most developed countries. Yet, it is also a complex process that cannot happen spontaneously. Therefore, a cooperation network through which sustainability principles will be promoted, a common vision of the future of Adriatic space will be made and practical actions will be planned and initiated, is very much needed there” said the Presidents of the signatory Regions in their common Final Declaration.

The AER is determined to support the process that has been started in Opatija, therefore AER co-signed the Opatija Declaration. “We indeed believe that with joint efforts, such as the Adriatic Agenda 21 initiative, we can preserve remaining European areas of unspoiled nature and areas with specific culture which are both threatened by dominating development trends” explained Paul Diemel, Coordinator of the AER Summer School Organising Committee.

Another interesting outcome of the Summer School 2002 was the parallel organisation of the 1st AER Youth Summer School. As a result of this combination, more than 40 young people from all over Europe had the opportunity to discuss their proposals for a more sustainable future directly with regional experts and elected representatives.

Background:
Initiated in 1996, the AER Summer School is a truly interregional project. The Summer School 2002 was organised by Bruxelles-Capitale (B), Gloucestershire (UK), Noord-Brabant (Netherlands), Thüringen (D), Vienna (A) and Wallonia (B), with the special support of the above mentioned Adriatic Regions.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

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

By

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!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Consensus between the Regions of Europe for a sustainable European Union

By

At Stuttgart, the President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) took up position on the future European Constitution. “The development of regionalism in Europe may continue if the Regions act together. What can be said for the Member States of the European Union, can also be said for the Regions: consensus is needed in order to maintain diversity in regional identities. The aim is to ensure that the Regions are fully borne in mind in the European Treaties and that the internal organisation of Member States is respected along with that of the Regions and Local Self-Government”, declared Dr Palmer, Minister for European Affairs for Baden-Württemberg-D and President of the AER Institutional affairs Committee, at the AER Presidium meeting.

On 24th and 25th June 2002, the AER will present its conception of the future European Constitution in Brussels at the Convention on the future of Europe. The AER represents the largest regional group in Europe with 250 member Regions.

“A sustainable European Union requires initiative and creativity at all levels”, stated Dr Palmer, Minister of European Affairs. In the context of enlargement, consideration and action in a regional perspective must be developed and reinforced. The AER speaks in favour of greater coordination between the Regions. “Throughout the whole of Europe, the search for wide consensus is decisive. This is the only way for the Regions, which seek to incorporate their status as Nations into the European Constitution in an appropriate manner, to ensure that their interests – legislative competences for example, be taken into consideration”, concluded Dr Palmer.

The AER emphasises to the Convention that a bottom up Europe can only be fully understood if the Regions and Local authorities are specifically mentioned in the Treaty. In the future, the distribution of competences must lay out clear indications and be respected in the interests of the Regions. The main political fields of Member states such as internal organisation, regional structures, local self-government, culture and the application of Community regulations must be guaranteed by the Constitutional Treaty. The Regions expect the Treaty to put essential values and decisions in priority and to define the principles governing competences such as the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity. “The principle of subsidiarity included in the Treaties must also mention national and local levels”, declared Liese Prokop, AER President and Vice-Minister President of Niederösterreich. The Regions also expect European solidarity to be re-defined and EU assistance to focus on the Regions present clear weaknesses.

Enlargement is one of the key themes for the AER. The Danish government has placed this issue on its list of priorities for the EU Presidency (2nd half 2002). “We are in favour of rapid progress for enlargement. Initial accords may be signed before the end of this year”” said Liese Prokop. “The AER insists on the need to differentiate between applicant countries depending on individual progress. The “Copenhagen criteria” remain essential for all countries. Countries meeting criteria can join the EU without any hesitation” she added. In this perspective, the AER will co-organise, a Conference entitled “Enlargement in a local and regional perspective” with the regional and local representations in Brussels, on 5th July 2002 in Brussels (B).

The AER also decided to act in the field of regional twinning, which, although existing in various forms, has no legal nor institutional status. The AER institutional affairs Committee is entrusted with creating a working group on regional twinning in the aim of distributing information and promoting the concept and seeking formal recognition with the European institutions. The Presidium is also in favour of a “Year of local and regional twinning” at European level.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

How to ensure a sustainable future for our European citizens? The regions’ answer

By

More than one hundred regional leaders from all over Europe (EU and non-EU), experts from the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (Council of Europe), will gather in Bödo, Capital of Nordland (N), on 14th and 15th June 2002, to prepare a global political action plan for sustainable regions and towns.

In view of the upcoming Earth Summit (Johannesburg, 26th August – 4th Sept. 2002) and the 1st Conference of Regional Ministers of Spatial planning, organised by the AER for 14th and 15th Nov. 2002 in Pècs (Baranya, H), this meeting organized by the AER Regional policy Committe aims:

– to assess the regional dimension of sustainable development in the various fields (management of local natural resources, agriculture and the rural world, transport, tourism…),
– to compare innovative regional practices in favour of sustainable development,
– on this basis, to make recommendations in view of the reform of European policies such as CAP, regional and cohesion policies, and of the new transport policy,
– and finally, to find out the best issues and solutions for sustainable development at regional level.

On 15th June, the participants will attend a seminar “The Regional Level- Trends and Future Propects” organized by the authorities of Nordland which will focus on recent developments in the EU as well as in the Nordic countries such as the Swedish Pilot Regions and the Norwegian debate on the need for a pertinent regional level.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Decisions in Devon: Exeter, Capital of Regional Europe for a day

By

 

Exeter, Devon (UK), 11 April 2002

The Executive Board of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) met on 11th April, in Devon County Hall, and decided the following:

• The AER continues to play an active role vis-à-vis the European Convention, and has recently launched its latest political discussion platform on this matter. The contributions received in this wide consultation process via internet will form the basis for an initial AER position to be presented on June during the hearing organised by the Convention. Each opinion is important to the AER, so please do not hesitate to make your views heard on the AER Website : www.are-regions-europe.org

• To provide real follow up to the successful step towards giving European regions one united voice, as decided by the Presidents of the European interregional Organisations in Linz on 21st March, by forwarding their common Declaration to the European institutions.

• A Conference on Public health and Social affairs of regional Ministers and political leaders. Major topics for this conference are the improvement of training of professionals in the sector of elderly care with a certain harmonization of qualification standards. Milano-I will host this Conference on 8th November.

• A Conference on Spatial planning with regional Presidents, Ministers and political leaders: “Towards a common regional project for a new cohesion policy: from Region’s experience to new strategies of sustainable development in an enlarged Europe”. The two main ambitions for this event are: – to bring the attention of European and national authorities to the Regions’ project for a new cohesion policy in view of influencing the decision-making process on this matter, – to encourage the exchange of regional innovative and good practices in favour of sustainable development, particularly via the presentation of representative “success stories” of Structural funds, in order to transmit useful know-how to future EU partners as well as to promote interregional projects. This event will take place in Pécs-H on 14th-15th November 2002.

• A Conference on Culture with regional Ministers and political leaders, which will focus on increasing the Regions’ awareness of their responsibility towards their cultural heritage and their duty to promote culture. European “added value” is the result of cooperation between the Regions, the guarantors of cultural diversity. “Regional cultural autonomy means that supra-national law cannot oblige the Regions to promote or not promote a particular cultural sector” declared Liese Prokop, AER President. localisation, unlike globalisation, means the possibility to direct and the means to promote local culture”.

This AER Conference will be held in Brixen-I on 18th October 2002.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

A successful step for giving European regions one voice

By

 


Linz, Upper Austria (A), 21 March 2002

On 21st March 2002 in Linz (A), the Assembly of European Regions united the Presidents of the European interregional organisations to built up a real common policy. For the first time in many years, these organisations have made a major step in joining their forces to defend and promote the role of the regions in the future of Europe. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe were also actively involved in the debates.

The participants of the Linz Conference decided in particular to invite their respective governments to support the draft European Charter on Regional Autonomy in order to have this text rapidly adopted as an international treaty by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Convinced that strength can only be achieved through unity, the participants of the Linz Conference decided together as follows:

Governance and the future of Europe

We :

• demand that, alongside with the CoR, the large European representative organisations of local and regional authorities be invited to be heard by the Convention and be directly involved in its activities in order to deal with issues linked to the role of the Regions and local authorities in the EU;

• recommend the drawing up of a Code of Conduct by which the Commission would commit itself to cooperation with the Regions and their representative bodies in the decision-making process, from the consultation process until decisions are taken. This would represent an important step towards real dialogue between the EU, Regions and cities;

• stress that good European governance should be built on representative and participation-based democracy;

• reiterate that the discussion on Governance did not concern further competences, but rather a clear and correct distribution of competences between the Union, the States, the Regions and Local authorities and call for a more precise definition of the distribution of competences between the Union, member States and their Regional and Local authorities in order to enhance democracy, legitimacy of European action and coherence between public policies;

• insist on the possibility of legal control via either a specialised Chamber of the European Court of Justice or a specific organ, when the competence distribution is not respected;

• call for the reinforcement of the role of the Committee of the Regions.

Regional Policy and Cohesion

• with regard to the impacts of the European Unification and the Globalisation, this policy must increasingly encourage a polycentric development of the Community, particularly by means of the EU Community Initiatives;

• such a policy not only requires common objectives, but also the recognition that the diverse socio-cultural basic structures in Europe as well as transeuropean cooperation are the basis for a sustainable economical development;

• the GDP seems to be unsuitable as the only or essential scale for European structural and cohesion policy. A new allocation of European funds should therefore consider the actual competitivity ability of the Regions;

• a harmonisation of the currently different criteria for the individual EU policies (ESDP, Structural Funds, research and innovation) will be possible: key criteria, i.e. GDP and employment, need to be complemented by other relevant factors such as economic structure, innovation, accessibility and workforce skills;

• “Community Initiatives” imply that the EU assumes responsibility for all issues which are of major importance for the Community as a whole and for the future development. This is why INTERREG must continue to cover all parts of Europe and address all types of problems (and not only those of economic nature), which continue to exist or newly arise.

One solution would be to separate community initiatives from the structural funds as from 2007 and to define them as an independent EU task.

Transport networks in Europe

The measures which are suggested in the White Paper on Transport do not meet the increasing need of intermodality and – above all – do not take into sufficient account the transport needs of specific regions and areas.

• Regions have to be recognised as “statutory consultees” of European and national authorities in this field: they already have – to varying degrees – competences for transport planning, public transport provision, road transport infrastructure and maintenance, traffic management and road safety. They usually also have responsibility for the complementary social environmental and land use policies because of their involvement in these fields, Regions must be associated in defining and implementing EU transport policy;

• Due to transport’s huge impact on social, economic and territorial cohesion, Regions should ask that the development of a balanced and integrated transport be a key objective for the future structural funds.

Sustainable agriculture and protection of rural areas

• Multi-functional agriculture must make an essential contribution to environmental conservation and rural planning. These are missions of public interest which must be supported by public funding as the market will not take them into account. The appreciation of these functions and their means of allocation will lay the conditions for sustainable European agriculture in a decisive manner.

• Cohesion, multi-functionality, competitivity and sustainability must represent the foundations of the new model for agriculture. Alongside of quality and food safety standards, these elements could help the future CAP to gain credibility with European tax payers. The idea of quality must be recognised, reinforced and promoted in such as way as to differenciate between agricultural products. The registered origin label is one factor for differenciation and a means of meeting the quality requirements of consumers/citizens : Tradition, quality and safety.

• Europe must protect its wealth of rural landscape, characterised by the great diversity of its Regions. In order to preserve the social and economic importance of the rural world in the European context, the future must make full use of regional potential.

In order to reach these objectives, Regional Authorities which are close to territorial realities must be associated to the drawing up and implementation of future common agricultural and rural policies.

Sustainable development

The European interregional organisations call on the Commission of the EU to declare the period 2003-2012 the European decade for sustainable development and 14th June as European sustainable development day.

For more information: [email protected]

 

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

The AER asks the European Union to review its level of involvement in culture and education

By

Considering the EU Convention an opportunity to achieve the comprehensive and full-fledged application of the principle of subsidiarity, AER Committee D (Culture, Education, Training and Youth) appealed to its members to insist that the EU reviews on this occasion its involvement in certain policy areas, in particular culture and education (TEU articles 149-151). “Members should also insist that these domains remain in the competences of members states and regions, with the obligation of unanimous voting” said Committee President Dr Bruno HOSP at the meeting on 28th February and 1st March in Kielce (PL).

These issues will also underpin the 2nd European Conference of Regional Ministers of Culture that the AER is going to organise on 18th October 2002 in Brixen (I) under the title “The globalisation of culture and education – WTO and the effects of GATS for public service in the fields of culture and education”.

Debates also extended to education and training with a focus on eLearning. The Sub-Committee on Education and Training (led by Baranya – H) introduced a proposal for setting up adequate educational facilities combining education and training for migrant groups, in particular Roma and Sinti communities, throughout Europe.

The deliberations of the Youth Sub-Committee (led by Sörmland – S) concentrated on the organisation of the AER’s 1st Youth Summer School to be held in Autumn 2002 and the recently published EU White Paper “A New Impetus For European Youth”.

The Youth Sub-Committee, considering young people as an important factor to be immediately associated in the processes of building democratic societies, welcomed the EU White Paper, which is a comprehensive report providing a good overview of existing problems but which at the same time remains too general. Despite the extensive scientific expertise it shows, it fails to offer any strategic information on how young people should be involved in the participatory processes. Examples from the Regions of Nordland (N), Vestfold (N), and Sörmland (S) provided the participants with evidence of how this could be achieved.

The Youth Sub-Committee also questioned whether the EU is the appropriate level for implementing new Youth Programs and pronounced itself in favour of the EU supporting projects already existing at local and regional level in order to avoid high administrative costs and unnecessary bureaucracy.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Newsletter Spring 2002: European governance

By

Headlines:

  • The Regions in action for tomorrow’s Europe (convention, enlargement, reform…)
  • Exeter, capital of regional Europe for a day
  • LINZ CONFERENCE A successful step for giving European regions one voice
  • Governance and the Future of Europe
  • Regional Policy and Cohesion
  • Transport networks in Europe
  • Sustainable agricultural policy and the protection of rural areas
  • Leaving culture and education to the competences of the regions
  • The development of sustainable transport goes hand in hand with the involvement of the Regions
  • 7th AER Summer School and the 1st ever Youth Summer School
  • European Convention, the Regions’ expectations
  • BRUSSELS-CAPITAL AND WOJ. MAZOWIECKIE New interregional cooperation agreement
  • Forums on the Future of Europe

(use pop-out button to view & download)

The publication is available in English, French and German

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Woj. Swietokrzyskie, the venue for the European rendez-vous for regional experts in Culture, Education and Youth

By

• The future of Europe, the European Constitution, the importance of the distribution of competences between the different levels – European, national, regional and local – and of the recognition of local and regional autonomy,

• Culture as an example of the need to obtain regional competences in this field for protecting diversity in Europe and the AER position on the revision of article 151 of the Treaties (Culture),

• The role of regional media in Europe.

• Preparation for the 2nd Conference of Regional Culture Ministers, particularly the problem of deregulation in the cultural industry and the importance of maintaining specific treatment for the cultural domain in commerce,

• The transfer of European Community fund management know-how to the CEEC.

These are the main themes to be tackled by the Culture, Education and Youth Committee of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) at its meeting in Kielce, on 28th February and 1st March 2002, at the invitation of Marshall Josef Kwiecien, President of the Region of Swietokrzyskie, in the presence of Dr Bruno Hosp*, Committee President and many Polish personalities.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

A step further towards decentralisation in France Twenty years after the first law on decentralisation

By

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) welcomes the coming into effect of the law on the regionalisation of the SNCF (French national rail network) on 1st January 2002. This law allows the French Regions to organise their regional train networks (Regional Express Trains – TER). They will now be responsible for their own fares, new lines and the renovation of stations. The State government will provide a budget of 1.5 million Euros for 2002 for each Region in order to execute the new law. Twenty years after the first law on decentralisation, this transfer of competences in the field of transport is remarkable progress in the decentralisation process in France. The AER considers this law as going in the right direction for the building up of European Transport infrastructure – which requires the increased involvement of the Regions regarding planning, decision-making and execution – for the benefit of commerce, industry and the citizens.

On 13th February 2002, the French Senate also adopted a draft law on “grass-roots democracy”*. This law provides for the transfer of supplementary competences from the State to the Regions and local authorities (“départements”, “communes”…). The Regions will thereby gain new responsibilities in the fields of vocational training, the environment and its protection, tourism, ports and airports, economic assistance and culture to a certain extent. It may also be appropriate to mention that some of the competences transferred by the law are transferred “in a trial manner”, particularly the management of civil airfields, the development of national ports, the listing of monuments and items of artistic value.

The AER takes good note of the government’s efforts towards decentralisation on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Deferre law of 2nd March 1982. This law on “grass-roots democracy” may not be the cure all for the French Regions, but it’s a step towards decentralisation in France. The AER is keeping a close eye on its implementation and hopes that these new “trial” prerogatives will rapidly become the responsibility of the Regions. The AER asks the French government to provide the Regions with powers of taxation, without which the new competences cannot be fully effective.

The AER will continue its initiatives with the same intensity alongside of the French Regions and the whole of Europe to make the voices of the citizens and their representatives heard in their respective State governments and the European institutions.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Towards the glassy European worker ?

By

AER criticises the Commission’s proposal for a common European format for Curricula vitae

Following banana regulations and standardisation, the EU Commission has launched an initiative proposing a common European format for Curricula Vitae, both on paper and in electronic form. These proposals have set off harsh reactions from the AER, in particular in relation to questions of data protection and data flow.

The AER is aware that many serious obstacles stand in the way of real mobility in the European labour market however, it is doubtful whether the introduction of a common European CV format would be of any help. “This decision puts forward serious questions if the Council and the Commission are in step with the realities of the European labour market and if they believe that a standard bureaucratic document will really improve access to the job market and be of help to the individual. It is naive to assume that the qualifications and qualities of each individual from the millions of workers can be treated more adequately in this manner, with a standard form for everyone. I wonder what has driven the Commission to seriously pursue such an initiative” stated Bruno Hosp, President of the Culture and Education Committee of the AER in his initial reaction to the announcement of Viviane Reding, member of the EU Commission in charge of Education and Culture, who had praised the initiative as the way forward for the portrayal of competences and professional experience in a clear and comparable way.

“Serious concerns have to be raised in relation to personal data protection and the transfer of data both within and outside the EU when these formats will be computer readable” added Mr Hosp. The AER expects the President of the Commission to launch wide public debate on this matter for the sake of transparency and the involvement of the citizens. The AER would also like to have more details concerning the time spent by EU officials and the expenses of experts for the production of this CV format.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

A working programme for 2002, capable of meeting the stakes in a Europe for the Regions

By

The members of the Presidium of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), at their meeting in Strasbourg on Friday 1st February 2002, welcomed the outcome of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union which led to further involvement for the Regions in European decision-making. They regretted the absence of regional policy on the priority list of the new Spanish Presidency. According to the AER, Regional policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are heavy players in current accession negociations, and will create impetus for new governance in an enlarged Europe, therefore reform seems indispensable. The AER now asks the future Danish Presidency (2nd half 2002) to include these two priority items in its programme.

At this meeting, the AER Presidium adopted the AER working programme for 2002. “We have already produced common proposals of the Regions of Europe concerning the European constitution, new governance, enlargement, cohesion in an enlarged Europe and the setting up of environmentally friendly European transport networks. In 2002, we will compare these positions with those of other interregional organisations in order to act in collaboration with the latter at European level. The 2nd summit between the Presidents of the Interregional organisations in Europe, organised by the AER, will take place on 21st March 2002 in Linz (Austria). I hope that this event will lead to a major contribution in strengthening the role of the Regions in Europe and making their expectations heard in the Convention on the future of Europe” said Liese Prokop, AER President, at the press conference.

The President also gave the kick off for the activity programmes of the four Committees: Institutional affairs, Health, Regional policy and Culture, and its three programmes – Centurio, Eurodyssey and the Summer School.
She entrusted the Committees with organising three Conferences on important issues for the Regions and for the development of interregional cooperation in Europe:

– the 2nd Conference of Regional political leaders in the field of Culture,
– the 2nd Conference on Health,
– the 1st Conference on Spatial planning.

The AER President congratulated Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), for his nomination as President of the Convention on the future of Europe, and Mr Erwin Teufel, MinisterPresident of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, represented on the AER Presidium, for his nomination as member of this Convention. Mr Teufel has been a distinguished member of the AER since its creation.

For more information: [email protected]

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Library

Statutory Documents
AER Strategies
Minutes
Media Kit
Activity Reports
Newsletters
European Regions Map

Join AER!

Become a Member

Job Opportunities

Sign up for our Newsletter

Website map