EU regions and cities join forces against radicalisation
#CoRplenary, 7-8 April
At the invitation of President Markku Markkula, on 7 April, President of the Brussels Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort, will address the European Committee of the Regions' plenary following a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks.
Also on the agenda: EU Urban Agenda, New Deal for energy consumers, protection of refugees and European Capital of Innovation.
Ahead of the signing of the Pact of Amsterdam on 30 May, regions and cities will also deliver their proposals to ensure that the EU's Urban Agenda brings real benefits to all citizens addressing challenges such as the inclusion of immigrants, housing, poverty, pollution, energy efficiency, and support for SMEs. The opinion , drafted by Hella Dunger-Löper (DE/PES), State Secretary of the Land of Berlin, will be discussed with Lambert Van Nistelrooji, Member of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development.
The local and regional leaders will discuss and adopt opinions on the following topics:
Energy, Environment and Climate Change - 7 April
The Members will vote on Michel Lebrun's (BE/PPE) New Deal for Energy Consumers , supporting safeguards on energy prices and a customer-friendly standardised European energy bill, advocating greater use of ICT to control consumption and support for active 'prosumers', who could benefit from decentralised generation of renewable energy.
Marco Dus (IT/PES) will argue for the revision to the Emission Trading System (ETS) after 2020 calling for adequate carbon pricing at the international level and for a minimum of 20% of auction revenues to be earmarked for climate measures managed by local and regional authorities. The Members will debate the opinion with Ian Duncan i, Member of the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety . Finally, local leaders will vote on proposals presented by Andres Jaadla (EE/ALDE) to improve monitoring and compliance with EU environmental law , local and regional authorities being responsible for implementing 70% of environmental legislation adopted at the EU level.
Economic Policy - 7 & 8 April
How to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is the focus of the opinion by Paul Lindquist (SE/EPP) on the Five Presidents' Report . He stresses that addressing regional disparities is critical to tackle social inequalities, boost growth, create jobs and improve competitiveness and cohesion within the EMU and the EU. Adam Banaszak (PL/ECR) welcomes the role of National Promotional Banks in supporting the Investment Plan for Europe but argues that national banks without autonomous local branches do not always meet the needs of local and regional communities. László Baranyay, Vice President of the European Investment Bank, will be discussing investment and cooperation with the local and regional leaders.
Also under discussion are the local and regional perspective on the Single Market strategy prepared by Alessandro Pastacci (IT/PES), a more responsible trade and investment policy focusing on the role of SMEs, drafted by Neale Richmond (IE/EPP) and the structural reform support programme for the period 2017-2020 by Olga Zrihen i (BE/PES).
Protection of refugees - 8 April
This opinion , by Hans Janssen, Mayor of Oisterwijk (NL/EPP), argues that the experience of EU's local and regional authorities should be used to improve conditions for Syrian refugees now living outside Syria. Mr Janssen, whose own town is host to a centre for asylum-seekers, proposes a comprehensive policy response by the EU to a challenge that is frequently long-term.
On 6-7 April President Markkula and other members of the Committee of the Regions will take part in the European Migration Forum, co-organised by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee.
Modernisation of the EU Copyright Rules - 8 April
The European Committee of the Regions welcomes the European Commission's proposal to modernise copyright rules in the EU. The draft opinion prepared by Arnoldas Abramaviā ius (LT/EPP) stresses, however, that removing unjustified geo-blocking must not lead to the abolition of the principle of territoriality of copyright, as that could undermine national, regional and local cultural diversity in Europe.
European Capital of Innovation award ceremony - 8 April
On 8 April, the European Committee of the Regions will host the award ceremony for the European Capital of Innovation.Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and President Markku Markkula will announce the name of the winning city, which will receive a prize of €950,000. The nine finalists are Amsterdam (NL), Berlin (DE), Eindhoven (NL), Glasgow (UK), Milan (IT), Oxford (UK), Paris (FR), Turin (IT) and Vienna (AT).
Practical information:
Where: The European Parliament Joseph Antall (JAN), 60 rue Wiertz, Brussels
When: 7 April, 3pm-9pm; 8 April, 9am-1pm.
See the plenary's agenda & documents
The plenary will be streamed live on the CoR's website
Follow: @EU_CoR , #CoRplenary
Press contacts:
Pierluigi Boda (IT, EN)
Tel: +32 2 282 2461
Mobile: +32 473 85 17 43
David Crous Duran (ES, FR)
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Andrew Gardner (EN, CZ)
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Mobile: +32 473 843 981
Lauri Ouvinen (FI, FR)
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Carmen Schmidle (DE, EN)
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Mobile: +32 475 63 22 76
Wioletta Wojewodzka (PL, FR)
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