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Let's Build Europe in Partnership

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Let's Build Europe in Partnership Let’s Build Europe in Partnership Luc Van den Brande 1st Vice President of the Committee of the Regions 2006-2008 A COLLECTION OF SPEECHES I was elected as the First Vice President of the Committee of the Regions on 16 February 2006. As I look back over the two year term with Michel Delebarre as President, I recognise that it was a challenging period for the two of us and the Committee of the Regions as a whole. Indeed, following the difficult ratification process of the draft Constitution, the European Union entered into a period of reflection. On 13 December 2007, Europe found a way out of this crisis through the signing of the Reform Treaty in Lisbon. With this, the CoR gained a prominent role in the monitoring of the application of the subsidiarity-principle and decentralisation got its place in the integration process. The Treaty of Lisbon is an important step forward in the process of building Europe into a real Union, fifty years after the first cornerstone was set in Rome. Although important progress has been made, challenges for the European Union remain. We have to build a Europe in Partnership through further integration, enhanced decentralisation and more involvement from regions, cities and communes. Centralisation and equalization can no longer be the basis for Europe. Instead, multi- level governance will become a crucial tool for managing the existing European Union and simultaneously guaranteeing continuity for its integration. These were my key messages to the many audiences I have talked with over the past two years and now I am delighted to be able to share it with you through this collection of speeches. Luc Van den Brande 1st Vice President of the Committee of the Regions 2006-2008 2 CONTENTS Interview with Luc Van den Brande......................................................................... Brussels – 16 February 2006.............................................................................7 "Europe only has a future with regions and cities" .................................................. Vienna (AU) – 20 March 2006 .........................................................................14 "The role of self-government in EU – regional and local development"................... Gdansk (PL) – 17 May 2006............................................................................24 "Respecting minorities" ........................................................................................... Brussels – 20 June 2006 .................................................................................31 "Religion, culture and society: a European perspective"......................................... Velehrad (CZ) – 4 July 2006............................................................................36 "The participation of European regional and local authorities in implementing the Lisbon-strategy" ...................................................................................................... Firenze (IT) – 14 July 2006..............................................................................43 "Flanders has a new connection to the European Union: VLEVA – Vlaams Europees Verbindingsagentschap"......................................................................... Brussels – 19 October 2006 ............................................................................50 "Working together to promote good administration and defend citizens’ rights in the EU".................................................................................................................... London (UK) – 20 November 2006..................................................................59 "Regions go for jobs and growth facing restructuring" ............................................ Brussels – 4 th December 2006 ........................................................................65 "Mobility touches all levels of government" ............................................................. Brussels – 7 February 2007.............................................................................69 3 "A regional office: an important tool for strengthening ties"..................................... Brussels – 14 March 2007...............................................................................72 "Europe: of or with the regions?"............................................................................. Bilbao (E) – 29 May 2007 ................................................................................76 "Building knowledge society through public RTD Funding"..................................... Nova Gorica (Sl) – 2 June 2007 ......................................................................88 "Communicating Europe on the local and regional level"........................................ Brussels – 5 June 2007 ...................................................................................96 “The EGTC: new impetus for territorial cooperation in Europe” .............................. Brussels – 7 June 2007 .................................................................................100 "Regions: partners on the international scene" ....................................................... Milan (IT) – 25 September 2007....................................................................105 "The importance of cultural diversity and Euroregional cross-border cooperation: an effective tool in promoting inter-ethnic tolerance, stability, cohesion and community development"........................................................................................ Sibiu (RO) – 8 October 2007 .........................................................................113 "The fight against poverty must be our concern as Christian Democrats" .............. Brussels – 17 October 2007 ..........................................................................123 "Regional and local contributions to Council Priorities: Unlocking business Potential and Energy" ............................................................................................. Brussels - 22 October 2007...........................................................................128 "Building bridges in the Mediterranean Basin – Towards an EU-Mediterranean dialogue with regional and local authorities" ........................................................... St. Julians – Malta – 26 October 2007...........................................................132 4 "The importance of regions when building Europe" ................................................ Den Haag (NL) – 15 November 2007 ............................................................141 "Solidarity and Competitiveness: objectives and challenges" ................................. Brussels – 20 November 2007 ......................................................................146 "The future of regions in the European Union"........................................................ Tervuren (B) – 27 November 2007................................................................151 "2008: the European year of the intercultural dialogue" .......................................... Brussels – 28 November 2007 ......................................................................166 "Europe and the local and regional authorities go for synergy"............................... Alphen a/d Rijn (NL) – 6 December 2007......................................................169 5 6 Interview with Luc Van den Brande The Press and Communication Unit of the Committee of the Regions talked to Luc Van den Brande on the occasion of his election as 1 st Vice President of the CoR on 16 February 2006. Brussels – 16 February 2006 1. Monsieur Van dedenn Brande, vous êtes membre du ComitéComité des régions dedepuispuis sa création (1994), vous y avez exercé plusieurs fonctions, dont celle de vicevice---- président du Comité des régions et chef de la délégation belge, vous avez été élu en février dernier, premier vicevice----présidprésidprésident,ent, quel est le rôle attaché à cette fonction ? Het Comité van de regio’s heb ik weten ontstaan uit de roep van de regio’s in Europa om een directe stem te krijgen in het Europees besluitvormingsproces. Regionale en lokale overheden hebben die toegang gekregen, weliswaar bescheiden. Sedert zijn ontstaan is het Comité van de regio’s aan een opmars bezig om meer invloed te krijgen op de besluitvorming. De verschillende verdragswijzigingen (Amsterdam en Nice) kwamen daaraan tegemoet. Op een ogenblik dat nagedacht wordt over hoe het verder moet met de Unie na de negatieve referenda in Frankrijk en Nederland, stijgt de roep naar een meer burgernabije Europese Unie. Daar liggen uitdagingen voor het Comité van de regio’s: via de lokale en regionale verkozenen Europa dichter bij de burgers brengen en de stem van de burgers in Europa laten horen. In dat licht zie ik ook mijn bijdrage als Eerste Ondervoorzitter van het Comité van de regio’s. Ik wil mij voor de verdere uitbouw van het Comité van de regio’s 7 inzetten in de komende twee jaren waarin ik samen met Michel Delebarre als Voorzitter mee aan de spits van deze jonge instelling zal staan. Binnen twee jaar zullen we dan van functie verwisselen en zal ik dan als voorzitter in dezelfde tandem verder samenwerken met Michel Delebarre. Het Comité moet aan gezag kunnen winnen ten opzichte van de andere instellingen, Commissie, Parlement en Raad. Maar ik wil mij ook zoals ik aan de leden van de EVP-groep die mij voordroegen, reeds zei, inzetten om de Europese Unie te versterken als een waarden-gemeenschap die op de
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