Policy Committee

Dear colleagues,

We, the CEMR secretariat, want to thank you for your presence, participation and input at our Policy Committee, which took place in Maastricht from 12 to 13 December 2016.

It was both a productive event and a moving experience, with so many inspiring local and regional leaders and experts – around 180 participants from all across Europe.

Our most heartfelt congratulations go out to all new members of the Policy Committee upon their election – and in particular to President Stefano Bonaccini, Co-Presidents Rainer Haas and Gunn Marit Helgesen, Chair of the Financial Management Committee Christine Oppitz-Plörer, as well as to our eleven vice-presidents and six executive presidents.

We very much look forward to working with you in the months and years to come.

Want a quick and comprehensive overview of what happened? Here are the key outcomes of the summit:
 

• Presidency: Europe’s towns and regions have a new presidency.
• Spokespersons: We also have 23 new spokespersons.
• 2017 work programme: The document is available in English and French.
• 2018 Conference: Mayor of Bilbao Juan Maria Aburto and Imanol Landi Jauergi, President of EUDEL presented the goals of the CEMR conference on equality, diversity and inclusion that will take place in Bilbao in 2018. In other equality-related news, we organised a stimulating debate on the 10 years of the Charter for equality of women and men in local life.
• 2020 Congress: The lovely city of Innsbruck, hometown of CEMR Chair of the Financial Management Committee, Christine Oppitz-Plörer, will host the 2020 Congress of CEMR.
• Europe 2030: Upon the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht treaty, we debated the future of Europe. CEMR President Emeritus Valéry Giscard d’Estaing even sent a video message on the issue to CEMR members in Maastricht.
• Gender equality: We adopted key priorities for gender equality at local level, available in English and French.
• Energy: We adopted key messages on energy legislation, available in English and French.
• Motion on the situation in Turkey: The motion is available in English and French.
• UCLG: UCLG secretary general Josep Roig presented the outcomes of the UCLG World Summit that took place in Bogota from 12 to 15 October 2016.
• SDGs: From the other side of the local world, UCLG President Parks Tau also sent an inspiring message to local and regional European leaders

Did you know that we have the perfect new profile picture for you? Just flick through the professional photos taken at the Policy Committee on CEMR’s Flickr.

We are also delighted to see the debates went far beyond the realms of the building in which the Maastricht treaty was signed, as the event’s hashtag - #CEMRmeets - reached the top 5 trending topics on Twitter in Belgium.
That’s it from us for today – many thanks again for everything you brought to the Policy Committee, and we wish you wonderful end-of-year celebrations.

The CEMR secretariat - @ccrecemr