Comité van de Regio's naar Griekenland voor voorbereiding aanstaand voorzitterschap (en)

At the invitation of Yannis Sgouros (EL/PES), Head of the Region of Attica and Head of the Greek Delegation to the CoR, President of the Committee of the Regions' PES Group, Karl-Heinz Lambertz (BE/PES) had a series of key meetings in Athens within the context of preparations for the upcoming Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU (January - June 2014) and the CoR Summit, due to take place in Athens on 7-8 March 2014. The elaboration of clear and convincing progressive messages for the European elections against the background of the economic crisis, the challenge of differentiating the campaigns for elections for different tiers of government and the rise of the far right were recurrent themes of all meetings.

On 21 November, President Lambertz visited the offices of the Association of Greek Regions (ENPE), where he had the opportunity to hold an extended exchange of views with ENPE President Sgouros and the Presidents of the Regions of Crete and West Greece, that is, Stavros Arnaoutakis i and Apostolos Katsifaras, both of whom are members of the PES Group in the CoR. One of the key issues discussed was the challenges facing the 13 Greek regions, "born" in 2011, after the entry into force of the Kalikratis Law, which introduced a drastic administrative reform by abolishing the country’s 54 prefectures. President Lambertz emphasised the need for solidarity within and between EU Member States and for measures that do not destroy the ability of local and regional authorities to invest. The presidents of the Greek regions present at the meeting reiterated their call for more rather than less Europe and their conviction that job creation, particularly in relation to the alarmingly high rates of youth unemployment, should be at the heart of the campaign for the European elections.

On 22 November, President Lambertz met Evangelos Venizelos, Greek Deputy PM, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Greek Socialist Party PASOK. Mr Venizelos emphasised that the Committee of the Regions is a very important institutional organ with which the Greek Presidency will be collaborating very closely. He also referred to the two Greek Presidency referrals to the CoR, namely, an outlook opinion on an EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Macro-Region, and an opinion on 'Affordable energy for All'. President Lambertz reiterated his conviction that no major issue can be resolved without the adoption of a European approach and called for the need to give Europeans hope through renewed prospects for employment and growth.

On the same day, Karl-Heinz Lambertz had a meeting with the Mayor of Athens and member of the CoR Giorgos Kaminis, who gave him an overview of the main challenges facing some inner city areas of Athens. The alarming rise of illegal migration and the growing popularity of the far right neo-fascist party "Golden Dawn" constitute a potentially explosive combination according to Mr Kaminis, who insisted on the need for a truly European migration policy and for a new 'Marshall plan' for the countries of origin. The Mayor also informed President Lambertz of the newly established online platform 'Sin Athina', aimed at making known actions undertaken by citizens' groups to improve the quality of life in Athens. The platform is part of a network involving London, Amsterdam, Madrid, Liverpool and Köln.

Last but not least, Karl-Heinz Lambertz visited the offices of the Attica Region where he had the opportunity to learn how the region is organized (66 municipalities and 6 islands) and to be given an overview of the latest major projects undertaken. The organisation of the CoR's Summit in Athens on 7-8 March at the invitation of Yannis Sgouros and the necessity for the CoR's Socialists, Social Democrats and Progressives to promote clear and convincing messages emanating from the Summit were also at the heart of the discussions.