Vice-President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions, Arnoldas Abramavičius, yesterday welcomed the commitment of the Latvian Presidency to give credit to the CoR and to work together towards stronger recognition of the regional and local authorities as key players in the EU legislative process, during the CoR Plenary Session.
The Mayor of Zarasai's statement came in response to an introduction to the Latvian Presidency programme, outlined by Zanda Kalnina-Lukaševica, Parliamentary Secretary for EU affairs, who presented the 3 priorities of the Presidency: Competitive Europe, Digital Europe and a Globally engaged Europe.
Arnoldas Abramavičius especially welcomed the Latvian Presidency's commitment to securing the smooth start of the new cohesion policy for 2014-2020 and a move towards macro-regional strategic initiatives. He also shared his hope that there will be synergies between cohesion policy and the Commission's investment plan.
Turning to the importance of the implementation of a Digital Agenda for Europe, as driver for societal development, he noted that it is also a tool for creating cohesion. Abramavičius underlined that the CoR would be able to provide expertise through its newly elected leadership and requested that the CoR contributes to the Competition Council meeting in May:
"Today, only one in ten EU regions spends more than 3% of their GDP on research. We ask the Latvian Presidency to support regional potential and skills: tacking the innovation divide and investing in smart specialization is the way to fully recognize our human capital and restore economic development everywhere in our territories."
The EPP Group Vice-President also praised the efforts of the Latvian Presidency towards the creation of an Energy Union and encouraged them to play an active role in resolving the difficult situation at the Eastern borders of Ukraine:
"The CoR has just established a task force of members who will work to provide our support and expertise in this sense. The EU must speak with one single and strong voice to recall that no external threat will be allowed to stop with the arms the call of the Ukrainian people."
