The city of Valladolid, under the Spanish EU Presidency, hosted the extraordinary meeting of the Committee of the Regions` Bureau, the Committee`s political driving force, between the 11th and the 12th of March 2010. Malta`s Bureau member and Head of the Maltese Delegation in the Committee of the Regions, Michael Cohen, who was also the acting President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the COR held talks with the political parties` Presidents, with the COR President Mercedes Bresso and discussed with his counterparts ways and means of bringing about a green, competitive and connected economic model proposed in the wake of the recent Copenhagen summit.

On Thursday the ad hoc commission on the future composition of the CoR endorsed Michael Cohen`s proposal to channel all the suggestions coming from all the members of the commission through the appropriate structures headed by the Secretary General and all agreed that it was the best way forward to resolve the current impasse on the future composition of the Committee of the Regions.

The members of the Bureau were welcomed on the next day by Juan Vicente Herrera Campo, President of the Autonomous Community of Castille and Leon. Friday`s session involved a review of the main challenges to the green economy faced with the need for new skills for new jobs. In his speech Herrera Campo reiterated that the European regions and cities must remain committed to environmental and climate goals in order to secure a more efficient use of resources and that the application of new, greener technologies will benefit citizens by stimulating growth and creating new jobs and services.


Europe 2020

Just days after the European Commission adopted its Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the Bureau members took the strategy to task, the last but one of the most important items on the agenda. After opening statements by the President of the Committee of the Regions, the President of the Government of Castile and León, Juan Vicente Herrera, and the Secretary of State for the European Union, Diego López Garrido, an initial discussion took place amongst the Local and Regional authorities representatives.

Michael Cohen`s speech focused on the fact that the European citizens, amidst an unprecedented financial crisis and the the European Union`s failure in becoming the world's most innovative region under the so-called Lisbon Agenda, expect their respective political representatives to outline a new vision for a post-financial crisis to emerge from the recession stronger than before.

Cohen commended the EU's new strategy for sustainable growth and jobs which puts innovation and green growth at the heart of its blueprint for competitiveness and said that it is a step in the right direction. Nonetheless, he regretted that Europe 2020 had not really learned the lessons from the failure of the Lisbon Strategy. He highlighted the fact that the Europe 2020 Strategy has a lacuna in that it fails to enable local and regional authorities to take an active part in framing local and regional reform programmes and help turn the present challenges into opportunities. Unfortunately this will undermine other strategies such as the white paper on multilevel governance which strives to "Build Europe in partnership" and shuns from the sentiment of the people who place the local and regional authorities as the most trusted layer of government and best placed to get the European Union`s message through. He finally remarked the lack of specific measures for implementing territorial cohesion and called on the President of the COR to voice the committees` concern with the European Commission.


Valladolid

During their stay in Valladolid, the Bureau members found little time to stroll the streets of this city but managed to visit the Renault factory which is located in the nearby city of Palencia. A strategic document – Valladolid towards 2016, describes the place as a welcoming city, socially cohesive and well integrated, a place where humanism, innovation, linguistic wealth and the arts meet. Valladolid has undergone big changes in the last ten years in respect of tourism as a result of efforts on the part of both the public and private sectors, improving the city and what it can offer to tourists. Thanks to the Council for Tourism, Valladolid has become a top tourist destination and is offering top quality tourist facilities. The regional government of Castilla y León also presented the electric vehicle initiative being developed by the local Renault factory in collaboration with the regional government. A detailed presentation was given of the work being carried out by the government of Castile and León in this field, and those present were thus briefed on the electric car being promoted by Renault with the cooperation of the government of Castile and León and its central executive, much in line with the items on the agenda and the need to fight climate change at locality level.