About 500 regional authorities and more than 250 regions participated to the European Summit of Regions and cities, organized by the Committee of the Regions and the city of Prague.
On the eve of the Spring European Summit and the G20 Meeting in London, all local and regional elected people send a message of unity, solidarity, competitiveness and accountability to the European Commission and Member States. They demanded implementation of a coordinated approach in a context of economic crisis.
During this Summit, they promoted unity of all European territories to return to the path of balanced growth. In this way, the Committee of the Regions asserted necessity to integrate all cities and European regions and not only the most disadvantaged cities.
Moreover, they are in favour of the Treaty of Lisbon’s application, an ambitious reform of the budget, a renewed Lisbon strategy for after 2010 and a solid European Regional Policy., which would take into account effects of the current crisis for the implementation of European Structural Funds after 2013. To face the challenge of economic crisis and its social consequences at local level, all local and regional elected people are ready to take their responsibilities in partnership with the institutional actors.
This Summit allowed Regions and Local communities to mobilize in favour of following European elections.
Finally, at the end of this Summit, Luc Van den Brande, the President of the Committee of the Regions, presented his conclusions. He declared that Europe should be developed within the framework of an integrated approach and a partenarial and multi-level governance.
