Voice of regions appeals for CoR to be in ‘legislative loop’

Date: 04/07/02

By Martin Banks

THE president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) wants its role strengthened so that it will be taken more seriously.

Sir Albert Bore says the Brussels-based institution will not earn the respect it deserves until it is brought into the 'legislative loop'.

He is urging Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's constitutional Convention to back his call for the Committee's role to be enhanced.

'The problem is that the CoR has been out on a limb for most of its existence,' said Bore.'I would like to see it command more respect and the main aim of my presidency will be to try and win a more meaningful role for the Committee.

'It has certainly suffered from not being part of the legislative loop,' he added.

The CoR meets in plenary only once every two months - half as often as members of the European Parliament.

Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, the biggest in the UK, added:

'The frequency with which we meet means that our members are not as intensely involved in the decision-making process as, say, MEPs. But the way to tackle the Committee's problems is not to increase the frequency of our meetings. Nor am I seeking co-decision.

'The answer, I believe, is for us to focus on a more limited set of objectives. Concentrating more on priority issues will afford us greater in-depth engagement and give us a chance of being taken more seriously.'

The CoR, set up eight years ago to provide a voice for Europe's local and regional authorities, has 222 members.

Bore, who was elected in February for a two-year term, said: 'It would be wrong to say that the last eight years have been wasted.

'The CoR has had some impact in that time but I would hope that ways can be found for its opinions to carry more weight than is currently the case.'

He was speaking in Brussels at a meeting of the West Midlands Programme Monitoring Committee, which oversees the management of millions of euro in European funding for the region.

The president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) wants its role strengthened so that it will be taken more seriously.