European Constitutional Treaty:
Regions need to be involved in the negotiations!

Diplomats from the 27 EU countries are meeting tomorrow in Berlin, in order to make some progress in the talks on the European Constitution. This meeting follows last Saturday's 'Sintra summit'.

The negotiations on the European Constitutional Treaty will now enter a new phase, in view of the June European Council. The Assembly of European Regions (AER), the political organisation of more than 250 regions Europe-wide, has got two messages for the European political leaders and diplomats:

• we ask the EU political leaders to involve regional representatives in the talks on the future Constitutional Treaty. The EU is also a 'Europe of the regions'. It is in the regions that the majority of directives and regulations are implemented. Regions know best what Europe really means. Past experience shows that when the regions have not been involved in the European political process, failure has been the outcome: the 'Lisbon Agenda' is a clear example of that.

• if a new Intergovernmental Conference is opened next autumn, the EU members should find an agreement only on a minimum number of necessary amendments to the Constitutional Treaty. On top of that, those provisions which reinforce subsidiarity and the involvement of the regions in the EU policies should not be touched.

PRESS WEBLINK : The Berlin Declaration of European Regions
www.a-e-r.org/news/2007/2007022201.html

PRESS WEBLINK : Latest Declaration of the AER President Riccardo Illy on the Constitutional Treaty
www.a-e-r.org/news/2007/2007050901.html

PRESS WEBLINK: Regional achievements in the EU Constitutional Treaty
www.a-e-r.org/fileadmin/user_upload/MainIssues/Constitution/GB-Amendments-Const.doc

The Assembly of European Regions - AER (www.aer.eu) is the political organisation of Regions in Europe and their spokesperson at European and international level. Its vocation is to defend the Regions' interests in the political process and develop interregional cooperation. The AER brings together 250 Regions from 32 European Countries and 14 interregional organisations.

AER Contacts: Sergio Nava, Spokesperson, s.nava@a-e-r.org - Mobile: +33 678 695235, Tel.: +33 3 88 22 74 36; Francine Huhardeaux, Press Officer, f.huhardeaux@a-e-r.org - Mobile: +33 678 695203, Tel. +33 3 88 22 74 49