EU's President of the Committee of the Regions Welcomes the Croatian People's "Yes" to Europe
"On behalf of the Committee of the Regions, I would like to send my warmest congratulations to Croatia's citizens for approving their country's accession to the European Union. I am delighted to see that, despite the complicated period it is currently going through, the Union remains attractive to Europe's peoples and is still thought of as the best option for ensuring stability and prosperity."
With these words, the president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Mercedes Bresso, welcomed the positive result of the referendum that took place yesterday on Croatia's EU accession. "Croatia's cities and counties have, throughout the period of preparation for accession, made remarkable efforts to support their country on the road to accession. I am convinced that this process could not have concluded successfully without being strongly rooted at local level and without the involvement and work of Croatian local and regional authorities," said Bresso.
"At the Committee of the Regions, we took active steps to support these efforts and, in partnership with the new Croatian government, we will continue to do so in order to ensure that Croatia's municipalities and regions are as well-prepared as possible for their future European responsibilities by means of three principle courses of action: institutional integration, strengthening administrative capacity, and decentralised communication. It is also with great pleasure that we are preparing to welcome some of their representatives at various meetings of the Committee," she added.
The CoR has resolutely supported the efforts of Croatian local and regional authorities with a view to their integration into the Union, not least by setting up a Joint Consultative Committee with Croatia, which has been in place since 2010. In 2012, the CoR will continue to facilitate their full involvement in the European institutional system.
Firstly, the CoR will as soon as possible be welcoming nine representatives of Croatia's local and regional authorities in order to familiarise them with the institution's work whilst benefiting from their contribution. These representatives will also be involved in the Committee's work as observers until Croatia's official entry to the EU, expected to happen on 1 July 2013, at which point the Croatian representatives will become full members.
In cooperation with the European Commission, the CoR will also work to strengthen Croatian local authorities' administrative capacity within the framework of the Local Administration Facility (LAF), not least by organising seminars in Croatian regions and study visits to Brussels for Croatian local and regional elected representatives.
Finally, information and communication activities aimed at Croatian citizens and civil society will be undertaken, for example by setting up decentralised events in the context of the Open Days in October 2012 and by holding a meeting of its commission for institutional and external affairs in Dubrovnik in June 2012.
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