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Election results for the AER: Mrs Liese Prokop has been re-elected President

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Naples (Campania), 29 November 2002

Liese Prokop, Vice-Minister President of Niederösterreich (Austria), was re-elected President of the Assembly of European Regions for a two year mandate. During President Prokop’s first mandate she remained particularly committed to the development of cooperation between the European interregional organisations, particularly in the context of the activities of the Convention on the Future of Europe and enlargement. The Summit of interregional organisations in Linz in March 2002 was held at her initiative.
Liese Prokop has also supported initiatives encouraging dialogue between European Regions and on crucial issues such as the future of European cohesion policy post-enlargement, the liberalisation of public services in culture and education under GATS negotiations, aging in European populations and the quality of elderly care or the involvement of young people in politics and public affairs.

Adrien Zeller, President of the Regional Council of Alsace (France) and Ivan Jakovcic, President of the Region of Istria (Croatia) were elected as AER Vice-Presidents. Wilhelm Schnyder, State Councillor for the Canton of Valais (Switzerland) was elected Vice-President Treasurer. Peter Straub, President of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and Stig-Erik Westmark, President of the International Commission for Västmanland (Sweden) were elected as Presidents for the Institutional Affairs Committee and the Social cohesion, Social affairs and Public health Committee respectively.

Brian Greenslade, Leader of Devon County Council (United Kingdom) and Bruno Hosp, Assessore for Culture for Bozen-Südtirol (Italy) were respectively re-elected Presidents of the AER Committees on Regional policy, Spatial planning, Infrastructure, Environment & Tourism and on Culture, Education & Training, Youth, Media & Information technology, Sport.

Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Minister-President of Wallonie (Belgium), replaced Jean-François Humbert, President of Franche-Comté (France) as President of the AER Eurodyssey programme, which allows young Europeans to gain professional experience abroad.

Luigi Anzalone, Assessore for Finance and Mediterranean regional policy of the region of Campania (I), Presidium member, was entrusted with the development of North-South cooperation and Mihai Mugerel Arbagic, President of the County of Calarasi (RO) was entrusted with relations with Eastern Europe.

The new AER Presidium will be responsible for enhancing the political role and the place of the Regions in the future structure of Europe, closer to the citizens, and as of January 2003. They will also aim to set up new mechanisms for interregional cooperation leading to assistance in the process of enlargement and to harmonise relations between the east, west, north and south of Europe.

For more information: [email protected]

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

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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]

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

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“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]

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The AER at the Johannesburg Summit: Initial reactions and future projects

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Ten days of tough negotiations at expert and political level were finalised in Johannesburg yesterday when world leaders adopted a plan of action and solemnly reaffirmed principles for sustainable development meant to bring about a better planet.

The AER representatives in Johannesburg illustrated the assets of a full implementation of the principles of subsidiarity, partnership and proximity. By concrete examples, they showed how regions act in favour of economic, territorial and social cohesion.

Mere hours after his arrival from the Johannesburg Summit, one of the AER representatives Mr Thomas Hagg, Councillor form Jämtland (S) was willing to share his first impressions with colleagues – members of the AER.

“The world expected the Johannesburg Summit (WSSD) to make significant progress towards eradicating poverty and protecting the environment. In order to live up to these expectations, concrete measures will be necessary, of course, to implement the WSSD plan of action”, Mr Hagg said. He also stated: “The Summit raised the awareness of all sectors of society about the need for a global commitment for sustainable development. The sense of inevitability provoked indeed a strong mobilisation of local and regional authorities, non-government organisations, the private sector and civil society. Sustainable development is not only a question of environmental protection. It is mainly a matter of political commitment in favour of democracy, participation and Human Rights. The European regions are indispensable pillars of the institutional framework and the partnership initiatives which will implement the WSSD plan of action.”

The AER will further develop co-operation with all other active regional and local stakeholders (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives-ICLEI and the newly established Regional Government Network for Sustainable Development) as a preparation of the forthcoming AER Interregional European Summit on Sustainable Development to be organised in 2003.

For more information: [email protected]

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

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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]

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How can Regions ensure a sustainable future for their citizens? The AER answer

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More than 40 Regions from all over Europe gathered in Bødo, Nordland, on 14 and 15 June 2002. The Regions’ contribution to sustainable development was the major issue for this meeting of the ‘Regional policy’ Committee of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) in view of the forthcoming UN Johannesburg Summit (27 August – 4 Sept. 2002).

Major European institutions, such as the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe took active part in the AER debate and expressed their interest in further co-operation with the AER in view of common action in favour of sustainable development.

Various good regional practices in sustainable development were presented, such as, for example: development of renewable energies (Niederösterreich-A, Jämtland-S), preservation of water and land resources (Pest, Heves-H, TulceaRO), sustainable transport (outcome of the 1st workshop Regions’ contribution to sustainable transport, Florence, April 2002), eco-tourism (Västerbotten-S, Thüringen-D) and sustainable rural development (Gloucestershire-UK).

On the basis of its member Regions’ concrete actions, Committee C unanimously adopted a Final Statement as the AER contribution to the Johannesburg Summit and designated Thomas Haag, Councillor, from Jämtland as its representative at the Summit. “In this statement we expressed our strong conviction on the fundamental role of Regions and interregional cooperation for the promotion of sustainable development in all its environmental, social, economic, and cultural dimensions” said Brian Greenslade, Committee C President, Leader of Devon. “We urged all regional authorities to identify the results that the Summit should aim for and committed ourselves to specific strategies as a concrete follow up to the Johannesburg Summit at regional level” he added.

In this context, a major interregional Summit on Sustainable Development will be organised next year, in joint cooperation with all AER member interregional organisations and major European bodies. The first AER European EcoRegion Prize will be awarded on this occasion, with the support of the Royal Award Foundation, and the EEA.

Committee C also focused on the preparation of the 1st AER Conference of Regional Presidents and Ministers on the Future of Regional Policy (Baranya, 14-15 November 2002). The Committee meeting was followed by a seminar organised by the host Region. The crucial current situation of regionalisation in Norway and other countries of Northern Europe, on the one hand, and the political support of the AER in this process on the other hand, were the major issues of this successful seminar.

For more information: [email protected]

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

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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]

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The Regions and sustainable transport: What future for Common Transport Policy?

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The Assembly of European Regions organised a workshop on “The Regions and sustainable transport” on 19th April in Florence, Toscana-I, in the aim of demonstrating the role which the Regions must play in future European transport policy.

Several examples of good regional practices in the field of sustainable transport, and their concrete impact and added value in comparison to European and national initiatives in particular, were looked at by over fifty participants at this workshop. In this context, participating Regions talked of their experience in the implementation of European and national policies and of European programmes (INTERREG IIIB, PHARE, ISPA…), gave their point of view on the advantages and drawbacks of these programmes and current legislation and laid out the content and objectives of the regional policies used towards sustainable development in transport by the Regions.

The President of the “Regional policy, Transport and Tourism” Committee of the European Parliament, Luciano Caveri, spoke on the theme “What future for Common Transport Policy? The European Parliament’s contribution of the definition of new Governance”. “Subsidiarity only currently exists at state level, and it is up to the Convention to give the Regions a real role” he declared. “There will be no sustainable development in any field as long as both local and regional levels of government are not the main actors. The reform of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and the incorporation of new routes on these networks requires the involvement of the Regions” he concluded.

Riccardo Conti, coordinator for AER sub-Committee “Sustainable Transport Development and the Environment”, and Assessore for the Region of Toscana, host of the event, stressed that “Common Transport Policy is but an instrument for harmonisation, and the Regions must develop their own transport policies”. He added that “the transport network must allow for sustainable economic development and not simply turn the Regions into transit zones”.

This AER workshop is the first real step towards a long-term strategy aiming to: – bring the attention of national and European authorities to the efficient role of the Regions in the field of transport, – request that the Regions wield the necessary legal and financial means for the implementation of their policies in this field, – encourage the exchange of good practices and experience as well as cooperation between Regions in the EU and Regions in accession countries.

For more information: [email protected]

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A successful step for giving European regions one voice

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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]

 

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A common voice for the European Regions on the Future of Europe in Linz

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On 21st March 2002 in Linz (A), the Assembly of European Regions will bring together the Presidents of the European interregional organisations. The aim of this Conference of Presidents of the European interregional organizations is to enhance cooperation between these organisations at a crucial point in time for the future of Europe. Common political positions will be adopted on issues of major importance for the Regions as a first step in giving European regions one voice.

Four topics will be discussed in particular:

– European governance as well as the regions participation in the work of the Convention on the future of Europe,

– new instruments for European Regional Policy after 2006, with special regards to interregional and transborder cooperation,

– the regional perspective for the implementation of Trans-European Networks (TENs) and the contribution of interregional cooperation to the development of environmentally sound transport,

– new quality models for Common Agricultural Policy in line with sustainable development and the concerns of rural populations.

Organised at the initiative of Liese Prokop, President of the Assembly of European Regions, and thanks to the kind invitation of Josef Pühringer, Landeshauptmann of the Land of Oberösterreich, this Conference will also involve the Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) as well as the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).

Interregional organisation which are organising the evtn are: Assembly of European Wine-growing Regions (AREV), Assembly of European Fruit and Vegetable Growing and Horticultural Regions (AREFLH), European Association of Regions with Industrial Technology (RETI), Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Working Community of the Adriatic Alps (ALPE ADRIA), Working Community of the Alpine Countries (ARGE ALP), Working Community of the Western Alps (COTRAO), Working Community of the Lower and Middle Adriatic, Working Community of GaliciaNorth Portugal, Working Community of the Jura (CTJ), Working Community of the Danube Countries (ARGE DONAULÄNDER), Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) and the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR).

For more information: [email protected]

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

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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]

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

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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]

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AER: Reform of CAP and structural funds necessary to avoid the discrimination of the accession countries

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“The proposals made by the European Commission on the financing of enlargement are not up to expectations and confirm our fears for a future multi-track Europe despite Commissioner Fischler’s declarations” Mr Brian Greenslade, Vice-President of the AER, stated today. “Once again, financial concerns have dominated over the real problems faced by the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and European Regional Policy” he underlined.

“Transitional steps will not succeed without true reform of the CAP in the run up to enlargement. This reform must be increasingly based on the principles of environmentally friendly sustainable rural development and meet consumer requirements in terms of quality and security. Without major change and better consideration of the expectations of the citizens, I feel that it will be difficult to construct an enlarged and united Europe close to the citizens. This reform must not, however, act as justification for slowing down the enlargement process and European integration” pointed out Mrs Liese Prokop, President of the AER, after Commissioner Barnier’s press conference in Brussels today (30/01/2001).

As early as May 2001, with reference to the future of structural funds, the AER Regional policy Committee, chaired by Mr Brian Greenslade, recommended, in its document “Cohesion policy in an enlarged Europe?”, that the objectives of cohesion be clarified and the funds benefit from more flexible management, in due respect of the polycentric development of Europe and the new geographical priorities in the fight against inequality post-enlargement.

“We request that the Regions, both in the EU and in accession countries, be included in drawing up a new Regional policy and a new definition of objectives, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and partnership. As I see it, the success of enlargement will depend on the quality of dialogue launched with and between regional authorities. It will also depend on the impetus provided by Europe for the development of the Regions towards real decision-making abilities and the capability to efficiently meet the expectations of all Europeans” concluded Brian Greenslade.

For more information: [email protected]

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The Future of Europe: Full steam ahead for a Interregional Organisations Presidents Conference

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On 14th January 2002 in Strasbourg, the Assembly of European Regions met with the Secretaries General of its 13 interregional organisation members, to strengthen interregional cooperation and set up a common political platform for the increased participation of the regional organisations in decision-making at european level. They unanimously decided that today’s european context calls for the organisation of a top level conference of regional leaders and the launch of concrete steps for the conference of the 14 Presidents of the main interregional organisations in Europe to be held in Linz (A) on 21st March 2002.

Four topics will be discussed in particular:

– new governance and the future of Europe as well as the regions participation in the work of the Convention launched by the European Council in Laeken,
– new instruments for European Regional Policy after 2006, in favour of a polycentric development of our continent,
– the regional perspective for the implementation of Trans-European Networks (TENs) and the contribution of interregional cooperation to the development of environmentally sound transport in Europe,
– new quality models for Common Agricultural Policy in line with sustainable development and the concerns of rural populations.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CMER) will be involved in this intitative.

AER member interregional organisations are: Assembly of European Wine-growing Regions (AREV), Assembly of European Fruit and Vegetable Growing and Horticultural Regions (AREFLH), European Association of Regions with Industrial Technology (RETI), Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Working Community of the Adriatic Alps (ALPE ADRIA), Working Community of the Alpine Countries (ARGE ALP), Working Community of the Western Alps (COTRAO), Working Community of the Lower and Middle Adriatic, Working Community of GaliciaNorth Portugal, Working Community of the Jura (CTJ), Working Community of the Danube Countries (ARGE DONAULÄNDER), Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) and the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR).

For more information: [email protected]

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AER General Assembly: Election results

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Sopron (H), 29 november 2001

Dr Christoph E Palmer (CDU), Minister for European Affairs at the State Ministry of Baden Württemberg (D) was elected Vice-President of the Assembly of European Regions and President of the Institutional Affairs Committee at recent elections at the AER General Assembly on 29th November 2001 in Sopron, Hungary.

Born in 1962, in Stuttgart, Mr Palmer has a Doctorate in Economic and Social Sciences. He was a lecturer at the University of Stuttgart and at the Institute of Higher Education in Villingen-Schwenningen. Since 1989 he has been deeply committed to Public Affairs. As a member of Stuttgart Municipal Council, he was nominated Secretary of State within the Ministry of Science, Research and Art in elections in 1996: some of his most notable acts whilst in this position were the creation of the Culture Commission for the Land, the launch of the extension of the Stuttgart Gallery and the installation of a wide-ranging programme in favour of reading called “Room for words”. In 1998 he was nominated Minister and Political Speaker for the Minister-President Erwin Teufel. At elections in 2001, he was re-elected to his position with additional responsibilities: he is now in charge of European Affairs and of Film and Media Promotion. Minister Palmer is also President of the CDU Party in Stuttgart since 1996.

At this General Assembly, the AER also elected Mr Klaus Klipp as Secretary General of the organisation for a five year mandate.

Mr Klipp was born in Kassel in Germany in 1952 and graduated in Law. He began his professional career in the Ministry of Finance of the Land of Hessen, in Wiesbaden (1985-1992), where he went from Deputy Head of Unit/Budget of the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Social Affairs (1985-88) to Head of Unit/Budget of the Ministry of Environment (1988-90) to Head of Unit/Budget for the construction of public buildings. In 1992 he spent 6 months in Thüringen in former East Germany in order to participate in the creation of new administrative structures. In 1992 he was nominated as Chef de Cabinet of the Vice-Mayor/Financial Affairs for the city of Frankfurt-am-Main. He continued his career within the city’s audit service as Head of Department between 1993-97 and was promoted to the position of Director of the European Affairs Office in 1998, responsible for the development and management of the town’s European and International policies and activities, a post which he occupied until his election as AER Secretary General.

For more information: [email protected]

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