Karl-Heinz Lambert, new President of the European Committee of the Regions

The Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 12 July elected Karl-Heinz Lambertz as new President

There were many issues of interest discussed during this plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), but the most relevant decision for us was the election of Karl-Heinz Lambertz (former CoR Vice-President, President of the Regional Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium and President of the AEBR) as the new President of the CoR as of 26 July for the next two and half years. CoR members also approved their opinions on People-to-people and small-scale projects in cross-border cooperation programmes, and on the Coordination of Social Security Systems, as well as other issues of interest for European border and cross-border regions.

In his acceptance speech, President-elect Karl-Heinz Lambertz stressed that the EU needs to listen to citizens and "rethink from the ground” by giving a greater say to local and regional governments. During his Presidency, the CoR will continue to contribute to the reflection on the EU's future, to fight to protect cohesion policy and to put special emphasis on reinforcing the CoR's ties with all Europe's cities and regions as well as on strengthening relations across the EU's institutions, ensure the voice of the CoR members is heard in Brussels and reinforce its relations with all regional associations and partners. “Being on the frontline, local and regional authorities must be given a greater say in deciding Europe's future", said President Lambertz. "Local and regional authorities need the capacity to invest and deliver quality public services for all citizens and businesses", before adding, "The EU's cohesion policy has a decisive role in reducing regional inequality through social, economic and territorial development. It creates jobs, renews our infrastructure and promotes social inclusion. A strong, more effective and visible cohesion policy must be part of Europe's future. A Union without cohesion policy is not the Europe we want".

Markku Markkula , who will take over as the CoRs' First Vice-President addressed the plenary saying: "From the halls and chambers of Brussels, Bratislava and Amsterdam to the streets of Rome, Maastricht and even Marrakesh, we have shown that the EU's renewal and rebuilding citizens trust begins with increasing collaboration and partnership between European regions and cities. As fellow members of the CoR, you are the biggest asset of this institution and I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for continuously pushing the boundaries. I congratulate Karl-Heinz and am proud that he is determined to continue what we have started together."

Karl-Heinz Lambertz has been a member of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) since 2001 and was President of the CoR's Socialists' Group from 2011 to 2015. Being member of the German-speaking community Parliament of Belgium since 1981, he held numerous government ministerial posts between 1990 and 1999 before being elected its Minister-President (1999-2014). He was then President of the German-speaking Community Parliament until 2016 before taking post as Senator.

Here you can find the official gallery of photos of this CoR’s plenary session (you can get the CoR’s permission to use the photos):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cor-photos/albums/72157683469878873

I would recommend some of them, which may find attached as well. If you plan to use them, I would inform: Ms Nathalie Vandelle at the CoR, Tel. +32 2 282 24 99; e-mail: nathalievandelle@cor.europa.eu

IVY - Interreg Volunteer Youth (within the European Solidarity Corps)

"Interreg Volunteer Youth" is part of the initiative "European Solidarity Corps", which was launched by the European Commission in September 2016 in order to bring the value of solidarity back on top of the political agenda of the European Union.

IVY started in March 2017 and it is a pilot initiative initially planned to last for one year - if it is successful, it will last longer.

When the European Commission launched the European Solidarity Corps, it made an open call to all of its policy departments and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG Regio) decided to participate with its own initiative. Solidarity is a core value of Regional Policy, so the idea to strengthen it at the local level through to the many structures that DG Regio is already managing on the European territory seemed to be a successful one. "Interreg Volunteer Youth" was thus put in place: Interreg programmes and projects can host young Europeans as volunteers.

DG Regio, in cooperation with the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), has created IVY so to promote fruitful relationships based on the principle of solidarity across the EU. The relationships which spur through the volunteering experiences show solidarity across the European regions and among different generations. In order to achieve this goal, funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have been dedicate to support the engagement of young Europeans in projects which aim to foster cooperation among European countries at the local level.

The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) manages IVY and arranges its development by bringing the actors involved together: the volunteers and the hosting organisations.

Interreg is a European Commission instrument to fund initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation between neighbouring countries. Thanks to Interreg, institutions and organizations —beneficiaries of the “Interreg Programmes”— at local and regional level, everywhere across the EU, receive EU Structural and Investment Funds to implement projects in their area in order to support cooperation with their peers in their neighbouring country or countries.

The aim of IVY is to give young people the possibility to participate in these initiatives which truly create a more united and coherent EU and ,at the same time, to help these programmes and projects to perform better and gain support thanks to the commitment of the volunteer. IVY wants to involve young Europeans in the work of organisations which are at the core of European integration. The objective is to bring organisations making EU in peripheral areas and the young generation of Europeans together, so to strengthen the solidarity dimension across the continent and make it more inclusive toward young people. And, finally, to make programmes and projects more visible thanks to the volunteers’ support to communicate them further and thus help these projects become more visible and better known to the local population.

We understand volunteering as a relationship in which all parties involved profit from the experience:

-         volunteers bring an added value to host organizations by bringing specific skills and experiences which can help host organizations better reach their goal;

-         volunteers gain an empowering experience through giving their time and skills to others, but also through the learning experience. Volunteers also win political and civic awareness thanks to her/his engagement, as well as professional skills.

Interreg Reporters help with disseminating information on the benefit of European territorial integration on the ground, through reporting successful Interreg projects.

They are hosted by Managing Authorities & Joint Secretariats, the institutions which mediate between the European Commission and the beneficiaries of the Interreg funding (the Projects).

Interreg Project Partners help with the project implementation focusing on specific aspects or difficulties to be solved – they are hosted by the beneficiaries of the Interreg funding, the agencies, organisations, NGOs putting the projects in place at the local level (Project Leader and Project Partners).

Interreg projects are implemented in many different fields: IVY volunteers are committed to various missions, from making communication on EU matters better understandable to a broaden public to helping in the project management by creating more efficient networks between partners involved in Interreg Projects, helping with internal and external communication tasks, etc.

IVYs also support projects which focus on environmental issues and natural protection, or which strengthen research opportunities on business possibilities in remote areas; some IVY volunteers assist in the creation of projects which bring together pupils and teenagers from neighbouring countries to make sure they receive the same opportunities, some other IVYs help raise awareness and improve research on health illnesses. Tackling unemployment and fostering entrepreneurship are the aims of other Interreg projects, as well as bringing artist from bordering countries together so that they can share their knowledge and expertise.

Contact: ivy@aebr.eu & a.cardaci@aebr.eu & c.dellagiacoma@aebr.eu

Visit: https://www.interregyouth.com/

Like: https://www.facebook.com/InterregYouth

Follow: https://twitter.com/InterregYouth

Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/interreg-volunteer-youth/