EP voozitter Buzek: 'belang subsidiariteit voor Europese welvaart' (en) - Hoofdinhoud

The EU's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives

CO R/09/97

Brussels, 7 October 2009

"Subsidiarity is key to the welfare of our citizens", EP President Jerzy Buzek i tells CoR plenary session

Addressing Europe's elected regional and local representatives at today's plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels, Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, emphasised the importance of decentralisation and subsidiarity, especially for Europe's responses to current challenges such as economic development or the fight against climate change. Luc Van den Brande, President of the Committee of the Regions, pledged the CoR's readiness to tackle these challenges together in Europe's regions and cities, and suggested to upgrade the good working relationship between the two institutions in order to achieve their common goals.

Addressing the first CoR plenary session after his election as President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek declared: "I have always been a supporter of the decentralisation of powers. Subsidiarity is key to the welfare of our citizens. This is why we need you, as Europe's elected regional and local representatives." Buzek continued: "I would like to launch an appeal to the governments and parliaments of the EU member states to assess the role of local and regional authorities in the area of economic development. They should have a greater say in the management of resources to ensure economic development. This is how the EU can solve the many challenges facing our citizens, from unemployment to energy security and immigration."

Recalling a famous slogan from his native Poland, Buzek stressed the need for Europe to work together on the most pressing issues, such as the economic crisis or climate change: "There is no freedom without solidarity. And without solidarity, there is no European integration. If we want to foster integration following the recent EU enlargements, this will not be achieved without solidarity."

CoR President Luc Van den Brande emphasised the local and regional dimension of solidarity: "Solidarity is our common dream, our common vision. Let's implement it in partnership on the ground, in our regions and cities." He stressed the CoR's unique role in bringing Europe closer to the citizens and underlined its readiness to continue the good cooperation with the European Parliament: "The role of the CoR members is also to bring the territorial dimension of EU policy issues to Brussels, and to bring back to their local and regional constituencies a message about what Europe can do in these fields. Through our opinions, we shape the future European policies: we would like to keep doing so in partnership with the European Parliament, similarly to what we already do in partnership with the European Commission."

Expressing his wish to further develop this working relationship into a more structured institutional cooperation in the new legislature, President Van den Brande stated: "The excellent cooperation between our two bodies, your REGI committee and our COTER commission, could serve as a model for cooperation in other policy areas where CoR members have a lot of local experience and expertise, such as environmental protection or the fight against climate change. I firmly believe that, on the basis of our excellent policy-related cooperation, the time has now come to shift up a gear to an even stronger cooperation between our institutions in order to build solid foundations necessary to address these challenges and achieve our shared objective: build Europe in partnership to better serve our citizens."

President Buzek's participation in the CoR plenary session follows on from a bilateral meeting with Luc Van den Brande that took place on 22 September in Brussels (for more information, please click here ).

Please click here to read CoR President Van den Brande's speech.

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

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. 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:

Committee of the Regions

Michael Alfons

Tél. + 32 (0)2 546 85 59

michael.alfons@cor.europa.eu

To read previous press releases, click here .