By Ruth Marsden - 1st January 2012
It is difficult to find an area where we are not involved in some way
Mercedes Bresso CoR president
The Committee of the Regions has an important role to play in the EU institutional set-up, as Mercedes Bresso tells Ruth Marsden.
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) has grown up in recent years. That is the view of Mercedes Bresso, who was elected CoR president in February 2010. Speaking to the Regional Review, she said, “Multilevel governance is becoming much stronger and it was the CoR which invented it,” she said, “I think we have done a good job so far. We breathe fresh air into the EU institutions.”
The CoR is the youngest of all the institutions, created in 1992 by the Maastricht treaty and consisting of 344 members proportionally representing each member state’s population. The committee works to secure the involvement of regional and local authorities in the decision-making process, while also encouraging greater citizen participation.
“The CoR is attempting to close the gap between citizens and the process of European integration by involving the elected level of government closest to the citizens,” Bresso said, adding that this is “essential if we are to build a closer and mutually supportive union”. The CoR has an advisory role within the EU institutional set-up, and is consulted when legislation is drafted in areas affecting local and regional authorities by the European commission, council of ministers and European parliament. Bresso added, “This is very important for citizens in terms of political representation in Europe. Politicians are now able to communicate with people and not just the country. You cannot have just one level of decision-making.”
The former Socialist MEP said the most difficult step in becoming more involved at institutional level was forging a good relationship with the EU council. “It was very difficult in the past as we were often only consulted after proposals were passed. Now we have a strong relationship with EU council president Herman Van Rompuy and are asked to intervene in debates,” she said. “For the committee to finally be on the same level as the other institutions is my proudest achievement to date,” Bresso said. “It is difficult to find an area where we are not involved in some way. This shows just how much we have come along.”
Bresso stressed the importance of regional and national cooperation in terms of political representation. She added, “It is important we have a complete view, including individual problems and issues. So you could say the CoR plays a double role; in the individual countries and in Brussels.” She went on to say how pleased she is that multilevel governance is becoming discussed with increased frequency. “The word governance was invented at European level by former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi. You cannot have only one level of decision-making and especially when discussing the bigger issues,” she said.
Bresso highlighted cohesion policy as the top issue on the CoR’s political agenda, saying that the unique strategic framework would also feature highly, specifically in the area of development. She went on to say that environmental and energy efficiency will feature on the agenda, and warned that we must start thinking about an industrial policy.
“We are very weak from an industrial point of view at the moment. We need a policy which will preserve a sufficient level of industrial production and consumption in the EU,” she added. “The CoR is finally having an effect on the regionalisation of European countries, even the little ones,” she announced proudly. “We feel like we have finally broken through the last gate.”
