Het Zweedse Voorzitterschap vertelt Comité van de Regio's: onzekere tijden zullen de EU niet verlammen (en)

COR/09/76

Brussels, 18 June 2009

Swedish Presidency tells CoR plenary session: uncertain times will not paralyse the EU

As European heads of state and government meet in Brussels to debate Irish guarantees over the Lisbon Treaty and José Manuel Barroso's bid for a second term as European Commission President, the upcoming Swedish Presidency of the EU has told the Committee of the Regions (CoR) that the institutional vacuum left by the uncertainty over the Irish referendum and the changes in the European Parliament and Commission will not be allowed to paralyse the working of the EU. CoR President Luc Van den Brande assured the Swedish Presidency that it could count on the support of the Committee, and local and regional authorities across Europe, to make sure that vital work of the European Union continued unchecked.

"A new European Parliament has been elected, changes in the Commission are to be expected and a new Treaty could be in place during the Swedish presidency, depending on the situation in Ireland. Under these circumstances, it will be a major responsibility for the Council, under the Swedish Presidency, to keep the EU moving forward in areas such as climate change and financial market reform. In taking on this challenge, the CoR's advice in many areas, starting with your contribution on e-government, which will be discussed at the informal ministerial meeting in Malmö on 18-20 November, will be much appreciated by the Presidency," Mats Odell , Swedish minister for local government and financial markets, said during a press conference before speaking at the CoR plenary session in Brussels.

He stressed that the Swedish presidency would continue to work on important issues such as climate change – preparing for the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December, when Sweden will lead the EU's negotiating team – and financial market reform, in preparation for the next G20 Summit, with progress expected in particular on proposals for a pan-European supervisory framework.

Luc Van den Brande assured the minister of the CoR's full support for the future EU presidency but also stressed that his comments underlined the need to build Europe in partnership. "It is fitting that Minister Odell highlighted this priority of the Swedish presidency on the day the CoR adopted its first ever White Paper , on the important role of multi-level governance. Regional and local authorities have to be involved in the preparations of the Copenhagen Summit and the next G20 Summit. The White Paper proposes a new culture of cooperation between every layer of government in the EU. The CoR believes that this will make the EU stronger and more effective in meeting the demands of its citizens in areas that really matter, and that it would guarantee that the EU continued to do so regardless of political and institutional changes."

President Van den Brande added that the CoR welcomed the opportunity to work with the Swedish Presidency over the next six months. The Swedes have asked the CoR to draw up an opinion on e-government ahead of a ministerial meeting on the subject in Malmö in October. The Committee will also attend a conference organised by the Swedish EU presidency in Göteborg in November to discuss the Lisbon Strategy post-2010 and present the results of its recent consultation on how the EU's growth and job strategy should be overhauled by the new European Commission. The CoR's executive committee, the bureau, meeting in Uppsala in September, and other CoR commissions will hold further talks with the Swedish Presidency at several external meetings organised in Sweden during the Presidency.

Visit the CoR's website : www.cor.europa.eu

The Committee of the Regions

Around two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities in the Member States. The Committee of the Regions was created in 1994 to give representatives of local government a say over the content of these laws. The CoR organises five plenary sessions a year, where its 344 members vote on opinions issued in response to proposed legislation. The European Commission, which initiates EU laws, and the Council of Ministers, which determines the final content of the legislation (usually in tandem with the European Parliament), are obliged to consult the CoR on a wide range of policy areas including the environment, employment and transport. The Lisbon Treaty will strengthen the position of the Committee of the Regions further. In future, the Committee must be consulted by the European Parliament on all issues that are important for regions and municipalities. The Committee can also appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

For more information, please contact:

Chris Jones

Tel. + 32 (0)2 546 8751

christopher.jones@cor.europa.eu

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