Polish Regions in Brussels for the European Neighbourhood Policy

Polish Regions in Brussels for the European Neighbourhood Policy
 – Conference “Local and regional dimension of the Eastern Partnership”, Brussels, 9 November 2011

“The goal of the Eastern Partnership is to include Eastern Europe and South Caucasus countries in the work of the European Union and support them in the implementation of democratic principles. If democracy is to be rooted in a society, we must support it at the local level. Necessity is thus a multi-faceted management development “- said CoR President Mercedes Bresso on November 9th, 2011, during a conference in Brussels, organised by Polish regions -” Local and regional dimension of the Eastern Partnership. “

The event was the result of cooperation between Polish regional offices in Brussels. Polish regions have indicated, that the Eastern Partnership is one of the important areas in local politics, supporting the development of local communities. This idea expressed Marek Wozniak, Marshal of Wielkopolska, the first moderator of the panel discussion, highlighting the desire of the Polish regions to actively involve in the activities of the Eastern Partnership. Marshal of Warmia and Mazury, Jacek Protas, who was moderating a political panel of the conference, stressed that the neighborhood policy does not lie in the hands of some border regions. – We expect that all regions are interested in success of the Eastern Partnership – said. Sentence participating in a conference of representatives of EU institutions, namely the Committee of Regions, the European Parliament and the European Commission, was particularly unanimous, as they declared their willingness to under take further steps to support the Eastern Partnership.
The conference provided an opportunity to exchange views on this project between the representatives of EU member states and partner countries from Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. Speakers asked the question as to what action should be taken by representatives of local and regional authorities to the Eastern Partnership further strengthened the cooperation of interested states. Boris Klimchuk, chairman of Volyn Regional State Administration, stressed that his country wants to build on models already developed by the regions in Europe, and therefore relies on the exchange of good practices within the Eastern Partnership.
Miroslaw Karapyta, Marshal of Podkarpackie Region reminded special role of Polnad in initiating and developing the Eastern Partnership. It was in Poland 8 September 2011, held an inaugural meeting of the Annual Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Eastern Partnership – CORLEAP, which focuses especially on exchange of good practices. In Poland, has also adopted a joint statement Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw on September 29 this year. This declaration states that the Eastern Partnership aims to create the necessary conditions to accelerate political association and further economic integration between the European Union and interested partner countries.

– Without the Polish and Swedish, this conference could not be scheduled, these countries have presented a new approach to neighborhood policy – said in Brussels Borys Tarasyuk, Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly EURONEST.
Polish regions may welcome the words of Bresso, Chair of the Committee of Regions, which specifically emphasized the importance of local and regional authorities in the Eastern Partnership project. – If democracy is to be rooted in a society, we must support it at the local level. Necessity is thus the development of a multi-faceted management – she said. The challenge is to find the funds to support the already existing cooperation instruments: CORLEAP, Annual Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Eastern Partnership and EURONEST.

 Next event organising by polish regions will be about future of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region which will be held November 30^th in Brussels.

Author: Polish regions
Photos: Polish regions