Blanc keeps CoR in dark over next presidency

Date: 08/02/1996

JACQUES Blanc, the French President of the Committee of the Regions, is coming under intense pressure from political allies and opponents alike to abandon any hopes of standing for a second two-year term at the head of the EU's newest institution.

Blanc, the centre-right leader of the French region of Languedoc-Roussillon, has consistently refused to confirm to staff or colleagues that he will honour an agreement made in March 1994, under which the presidency is due to switch to a socialist member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) next month.

But there is speculation that Blanc may reveal his intentions when he visits Germany's parliament tomorrow (9 February).

A senior CoR committee member has revealed that Belgian politician Jos Chabert, the leader of the Christian Democrat group in the CoR, and former Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens, head of Christian Democrats in the European Parliament, have insisted privately to Blanc that the deal must be honoured.

Any reneging could spill over into a similar arrangement between the two largest political groups in the European Parliament, where a Christian Democrat is due to take over the presidency from Socialist Klaus Hänsch at the end of the year.

CoR Socialists have already unanimously chosen the popular mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, as their candidate to succeed Blanc. Other candidates must formally declare themselves by 1 March, with speculation growing that Danish Liberal member Knud Andersen may also put himself forward.

If, as expected, Blanc eventually agrees to stand down, he is unlikely to take a back seat on the committee. While some believe he will try to take the number two slot as first vice-president, others suggest Blanc may instead urge Chabert to fill that position, leaving him free to become leader of the Christian Democrat group.

Meanwhile, a special mediator is trying to end the long-running dispute over recruitment of permanent staff to the CoR.

Jean Feidt, a senior official in the European Parliament, has already met both CoR personnel and staff unions in its sister organisation, the Economic and Social Committee, which had complained at the absence of traditional open competitions. He is expected to produce a formula for resolving the dispute before the end of this month.