NEWS
Active P.A. took part in a public discussion on the flagship initiative “Youth on the move” from the Europe 2020 strategy
8-10-2010
On October 8, 2010, Active P.A. participated in public discussion on the flagship initiative related with youth mobility and the strategy Europe 2020. The consultation was organized on the initiative of Mr. Mark Schäfer (PES), Luxembourg, related to the preparation of his opinion on the role of this initiative in future strategy. After the event the team of the agency prepared and submited an official report to NAMRB on the results of this public discussion.
The emphasis of the report was related to concerns expressed during the meeting from some of the participants on the future impact of the initiative and the disappointment by the announcement of the European Commission on the lack of increase of funding for this initiative. In practice, for the future implementation of this flagship initiative no additional funds are targeted. The rapporteur highlighted that the role of cities and regions in implementing the Strategy and promoting youth mobility is key to its success but must be backed by adequate financial resources. Attendees unanimously called for increased funding for the initiative as well as more funds for dissemination, so that information can to reach young people from all over Europe.
“Youth on the move” is one of the initiatives which are recognized as key in theeffortsof the EU to reach competitive and leading employment levels, economic growth and innovation in the world.Among the commitments of the European Commission under this priority is the integration of European academic youth mobility in and research programs in the EU, upgrading higher education programs, promotion of entrepreneurial youth mobility through mobility programs for young professionals and establishing a European framework for youth employment. According to the strategy national governments are expected to increase investment in education and training systems to promote improvements in the quality of output product from education to work to adapt education to the needs of the labor market and to encourage young people entering the labor market through integrated measures for education and employment.
From 4 to 6 October the Open days for the cities and regions took place in Brussels
06-10-2010
From 4 to 6 October the Open days for the cities and regions took place – the biggest event each year in Brussels which is dedicated to the cities and regions. This year’s eight edition coincided with the October plenary session of the Committee of the regions, for which the team of Active P.A. welcomed 11 members of the Bulgarian delegation from NAMRB.
Besides the Open days which have been visited by thousands of citizens from Europe and from all over the world, this first week of October will be rememberred by a historical voting during the 86th plenary session of the CoR. Main issue and milestone of the work of the delegates was the proposal of the temporary ad-hoc commission of the CoR for the future composition of the Committee of the Regions.
BulgariawasrepresentedinthatcommissionfromMr. VladimirKissiov, formerchiefnegotiatorforBulgariaduringtheaccession negotiationsledbythegovernmentoftheUDFand at present counselor and chair of the group of the UDF in the city council of Sofia.
The voting has been accompanied by a rigorous debate between representatives of “ new” and “old” member states regarding which country will step back seats during the forthcoming EU enlargements The proposal of the ad-hoc commission was to keep the present balance and it has been favoured by the majority of the CoR members.
Thanks to the contribution of the Bulgarian delegate Mr. Vladimir Kissiov, Bulgaria will not lose any seat; it will give one place to Serbia at its future accession. Our country keeps the number of its delegates as it is at present – 12, at the accession of Iceland and Croatia. The agreement guarantees equal participation of all member-states and thus will keep the representation on the regional principle not on the demography principle.
During the Open days the Active P.A. team organized a meeting between the Bulgarian delegation of NAMRB and representatives of the Valencia region in Brussels on issues related to environment, waste water treatment, and waste disposal and treatment.
The Bulgarian delegates also visited the reception organized by Baden Wurthemberg representation on the occasion of the progress of the preparation of the Strategy for the Danube Region. Active P.A. follows closely this subject and informs NAMRB and other clients on the latest developments.
The Municipality of Sofia offered to host an external meeting of the EDUC commission in Bulgaria
During a meeting of the Committee for education of the CoR, Mrs. Malina Edreva, representative of the City council of Sofia at the Committee if the Regions and chair of the Committee for education in the city council, presented an official invitation on behalf of the Sofia Municipality to host the first external meeting of the EDUC commission to be held in Bulgaria. The supporting conference “Cultural heritage – local product, global reach” is planned for the end of May 2011. The proposed theme is in line with the CoR priorities and working programme for 2008 - 2010 to support the goals of the Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs by involving the local and regional authorities, as well as to provide the local authorities with a platform to promote the intercultural dialogue. The proposed subject is also in line with the Europe 2020 strategy for smart growth and economy based on knowledge and innovation..
On proposal of the Sofia municipality competed with two other invitations – one from the University of Edinburg and one from the delegation of Malta. After electronic vote the EDUC committee took the decision to hold its external meeting in Edinburg as this proposal was favoured with only three votes difference.
The Bulgarian delegation from NAMRB took part in a regular meeting of the CoR commission for environment, climate action and energy in Brussels
22-09-2010
On the 22nd of September 2010, representatives of the Bulgarian delegation took part in a regular meeting of the ENVI commission at the CoR. The delegates from Bulgaria took part in the general voting and discussions over the issues included in the agenda, which were on the CoR position of the future commitments of Europe for the reduction of the CO2 emissions, the position of the EU on the forthcoming high level conference on the UN in Cancun Mexico for the fight against global warming, as well as the first draft report by own initiative for setting of standards for the use of biomass in Europe. The team from Active P.A. supported the delegation by providing it with summaries of the working documents of the commission on the subjects that were discussed.
Active P.A. presented an opinion of the NAMRB on a consultative meeting on “The future role of VET in the Europe 2020 strategy”
9-09-2010
On the 09 September 2010, Active P.A. Brussels presented the opinion of NAMRB regarding the future role of VET in the Europe 2020 strategy on a consultative meeting organized by Robert Bright (PES), member of the EDUC commission of the CoR to hear the views of the representatives of associations of local and regional authorities in Brussels.
The main proposals from NAMRB, to increase the financial resources for improvement of the language skills of European citizens of all ages, together with other proposals to set minimum standards for computer literacy, investment in mutual recognition of qualifications and secondary and tertiary education, received the support of the reporter as well as his assurance that all the valuable proposals will find their place in his final report, which has to be presented in front of the EDUC commission on the 27th of September.
The presentation of the Bulgarian position received high evaluation from the people present at the meeting and from Mr. Bright himself who expressed his content with the input of NAMRB and officially called for more activeness of the representations of the regional and local authorities in Brussels on this subject and on his report.
NAMRB selected Active P.A. for its partner in Brussels
28-08-2010
The National Association of municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB) signed a contract with the Active P.A. agency for technical and expert support of the Bulgarian delegation at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels. The team of the agency already works for the improvement of the positions of NAMRB and its members at the CoR.
From the beginning of September Active P.A. facilitates the representation of the Bulgarian delegation during plenary sessions and commission meetings. The agency drafts expert opinions on EU programmes and produces in advance summaries of the items from the agenda of the committees meetings. The agency team also facilitates the communication of the delegates during their, visits supports the organizing and conducting of meetings between NAMRB delegates and other CoR officials as well as other activities, related to the association and its delegates in Brussels.