EUROPEAN UNION
Press Release
Committee of the Regions
COR/08/48
Brussels, 27 February.2008
Ireland's Constance Hanniffy elected chair of Committee of
the Regions' Commission for Economic and Social Policy
Irish politician Constance Hanniffy has been elected as chair of the Commission for Economic and Social
(ECOS) Policy at the EU Committee of the Regions, the European institution tasked with giving regional
and local authorities a say in EU law-making. Mrs Hanniffy, a member of Offaly County Council,
Midland Regional Authority and the Border Midland and Western Regional Assembly, will serve for the
next two years in the post. She succeeds Dutch provincial deputy Harry Dijksma.
The new chair said she was honoured to take up the appointment. "I very much look forward to chairing
the ECOS Commission at a time when we will be considering a number of important issues which will
have significance for the competitiveness of all our regions. In particular, I am delighted to be able to host
a meeting of ECOS in Athlone in September, where we will also have a conference which will focus on
the proposed Small Business Act for Europe and its implications for our SMEs."
Councillor Hanniffy, a member of Fine Gael and the European People's Party (EPP) group, said one of
her priorities would be a more proactive dialogue with the European Commission, as well as improved
follow-up of the Committee of the Regions' (CoR) opinions. "The European Commission, and
increasingly the European Parliament, have taken a greater interest in our activities and are consulting us
on more topics. This is not just paying lip-service to local and regional authorities but recognition of the
fact that we have a valuable contribution to make in the decision-making process," she commented.
However, she said the CoR could do more to encourage follow-up and visibility of its work by
monitoring its opinions throughout the EU law-making process. "Ideally a rapporteur (opinion
spokesperson) should be actively involved with the dossier until it is jointly adopted by the European
Parliament and the Council," she explained.
The new chair was congratulated on her appointment by fellow Irish members Barney Steele (Longford
County Council) and Declan McDonnell (Galway City Council), who said it was "a great honour for the
Irish and your region".
Cllr Hanniffy will be assisted in her role by Gediminas Paviržis, member of Vilnius Municipal Council,
Lithuania (Party of European Socialists, PES), who was elected First Vice-Chair, and Kata Tüttÿ,
member of Budapest General Assembly, Hungary (PES), as Second Vice-Chair. Four political
coordinators were also approved at the ECOS meeting in Brussels on 27 February: Konstantinos Tatsis,
President of the Prefectoral Authority of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi, Greece (EPP), Elina Lehto, Mayor of
Lohja, Finland (PES), Harry Dijksma, deputy for Flevoland, Netherlands (Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe), and Witold Krochmal, Mayor of Wolow, Poland (Union for a Europe of the
Nations-European Alliance group).
The meeting discussed two opinions due to be adopted in the coming months. Henk Kool, Vice-Mayor
for Social Affairs, Employment and Economy, The Hague, Netherlands (PES) identified issues which he
plans to address in response to the European Commission's communication on 'Modernising social
protection for greater social justice and economic cohesion: taking forward the active inclusion of people
furthest from the labour market'. He stressed that the Commission must give proper substance to the idea
of 'social participation' and focus on vulnerable groups including children. Elina Lehto (PES) emphasised
that communities should invest more in women, while Carl Graf, member of Halmstad Municipal
Council, Sweden (EPP) said that rather than prioritising income support and subsidising jobs, the
Commission should look at the way tax instruments can be used to boost economic cohesion. The
discussion was closely followed by German MEP Gabi Zimmer (European United Left – Nordic Green
Left), who is the Parliament's rapporteur on the topic. The CoR opinion is due for adoption in June.
In the other opinion under discussion, Gebhard Halder, President of the Vorarlberg regional parliament
in Austria (EPP), presented his response to the European Commission's communication on 'promoting
young people's full participation in education, employment and society'.
The rapporteur said EU policy needed to be adaptable and sustainable to take account of demographic
change. He emphasised that national and regional education and training systems had a shared duty to
ensure young people have the right skills for the labour market and to maximise their potential. He
highlighted the success of the 'dual training system' used in Austria and other countries, which enables
apprentices to combine on-the-job training with continued academic work. "The attractiveness of this
education system needs to be boosted, in particular by improving the possibilities for university access,"
he added. The opinion is due for adoption at the next CoR plenary session of 9-10 April.
The ECOS meeting named rapporteurs for five future opinions:
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Single Market and Services of General Interest: Volker Hoff, Minister for Federal and European
Affairs, Land of Hesse, Germany (EPP)
-
Clusters and Clustering Policy (opinion request by Slovenian EU Presidency): Antonio Gonzales
Terol, Director General for European Affairs, Madrid (EPP)
-
European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010); Linetta Serri, member of
Armungia Municipal Council, Italy (PES)
-
Pre-commercial Procurement: Driving innovation to ensure sustainable high quality public
services in Europe: Dimitrious Tsinkounis, Mayor of Leonidio, Greece (EPP)
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Mobility, an instrument for more and better jobs: The European Job Mobility Action Plan (20072010); Dave Quayle, member of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, UK (PES).
The Committee of the Regions
Around two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities in Member States.
The Committee of the Regions is a consultative body, which was created in 1994 to give representatives
of local government a say over the content of these laws. The CoR organises five plenary sessions a year,
where its 344 members vote on reports, known as opinions, issued in response to proposed legislation.
The European Commission, which initiates EU laws, and the Council of Ministers, which determines the
final content of the legislation (usually in tandem with the European Parliament), are obliged to consult
the CoR on a wide range of policy areas including the environment, employment and transport.
For more information, please contact:
Dennis ABBOTT
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 20 99
Email: dennis.abbott@cor.europa.eu
Amélie COUSIN
Tel. : +32 (0)2 282 22 70
Email: amelie.cousin@cor.europa.eu
Athénais CAZALIS DE FONDOUCE
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 24 47
Email: Athenais.CazalisdeFondouce@cor.europa.eu
Martin MALLON
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 20 33
Email: martin.mallon@cor.europa.eu