ROUND UP OF COR’S 158TH PLENARY
The final CoR plenary session of the year took place on the 29th and 30th November, featuring a packed agenda the Irish delegation was active and vocal throughout!
The first opinion of the session “Boosting lasting and effective cross-border cooperation with our neighbours” featured the first Irish contribution of the session as Cllr Declan McDonnell highlighted the role of the EU in the Good Friday / Belfast Agreement and commend the role that the EU has played “since 1994 promoting cross border cooperation through the EU PEACE programmes and cross border INTERREG programmes”.
This was followed by the adoption of both the CoR’s opinion on the 2022 Annual Report on Competition Policy and The EU Anti-Corruption Framework.
The next Irish contribution came from Cllr. Kieran McCarthy, speaking during the debate on the Promoting Cultural Policies in Rural Areas opinion. Cllr. McCarthy highlighted that culture can create jobs and boost the local economy of rural areas. Cllr. McCarthy followed this contribution with another during the debate on the Future of Cohesion Policy, during which he urged the CoR to do more to be proactive in their approach to Cohesion Policy.
Cllr. McCarthy was joined by two more Irish contributions during the debate on Cohesion Policy. Cllr. Una Power highlighted that Cohesion Policy is key to stopping environmental degradation. She was followed by Cllr. Caroline Dwane Stanley who called “for the next MFF to continue to support the Just Transition through a dedicated funding programme and for the focus to be kept on the regions that need it most!”.
The opinion which drew the largest contribution from the Irish delegation was Stopping Gender-Based Violence – Cities and Regions Leading the Way. The debate included a contribution from MEP Frances Fitzgerald. Irish Delegation members Cllr. Aoife Breslin, Cllr. Kate Feeney, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy and Cllr. Emma Blain all spoke.
The highlight of day two of the session was Head of Delegation Cllr. Michael Murphy chairing the final opinion of the year when he ably oversaw “A European Hydrogen Bank”.
This concluded the CoR plenary sessions for the year, the first plenary session of 2024 takes place on the 31st of January and the 2nd February.
