Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-13-Speech-1-064"
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"en.20030113.5.1-064"2
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"Mr President, As someone who has spent many years serving on a local and regional authority in Ireland, I broadly welcome this report and I wish to thank Mr Napolitano for his work.
Often we forget the role and relevance of local and regional government. It is the closest level of governance to the people of the regions. It implements many of the policies and legislative processes agreed by the European Union. A prime example of this, in the Irish context, is environmental legislation.
We should therefore enhance the role of regional and local government in responding to and developing European policy. It is my belief that the European Charter for Local Self-Government has many merits. It commits the parties to applying basic rules guaranteeing the political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities. Consequently, the Charter considers that public responsibilities should be exercised by the authorities closest to the citizens. In many cases these are the local and regional authorities.
As a person who has always encouraged the promotion and safeguarding of lesser-used regional languages, I am pleased that this has been included in the report as a proposed amendment to Article 151 of the Treaty. It is by embracing our cultural and linguistic diversity that we enhance the understanding of Europe, its diverse peoples and its many different regions. Linguistic and cultural diversity is not about defining or redefining boundaries; it underpins the cultural strength of our enlarging European Union. It is my belief that the work of the European Committee of the Regions is important. It has become more focused in its opinions and it has to be further recognised.
A region is not about its boundaries, it is about its cultures and its languages, and, even more so, it is about its people. The citizens of Europe are always reaffirming their demands for a Europe that is much closer to them and this should not exclude the level of governance closest to the people."@en1
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