Enzo Bianco (IT/PES) was elected chair of the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) at the commission´s meeting on 28 September. Mr Bianco, a member of the Catania Municipal Council, will chair the CIVEX commission work for 2.5 years, the second half of the CoR's current five-year mandate.
Enzo Bianco, a member of the European Socialists Group of the European Committee of
the Regions (CoR), has been a member of the CoR since 1994. He was a
rapporteur of many opinions in the CIVEX commission on topics related to
asylum, migration, democracy, and the Southern neighbourhood to which he
has brought his expertise from past experiences as Mayor of Catania or
Minister of Interior of Italy.
The CIVEX commission's main role is to coordinate the European Committee of
the Regions' work on constitutional and institutional issues, including the
future of Europe, local democracy and devolution, active subsidiarity and
better law-making; on the area of freedom, security and justice - including
issues such as migration and integration, fundamental rights and freedom,
active citizenship - and on the EU's external dimension, focusing on
enlargement and neighbourhood countries and on development cooperation from
a local and regional angle.
After his election, Enzo Bianco said:
"I am honoured to be taking over the chairmansip of the CIVEX
commission in this particular conjuncture: the future of Europe,
migration and integration, fundamental rights and freedoms, active
citizenship and our relations with neighbouring countries, not least
Ukraine, all of which constitute core CIVEX competencies, are currently
in the spotlight. With this in mind, I will do my utmost to lead this
commission in a fair and inclusive way that empowers CIVEX members to
relay the concerns and aspirations of their citizens and contributes to
the CoR's overall work for a Europe where local and regional
authorities play a meaningful role."
Following the appointment of Mr Bianco as the new CIVEX commission chair,
CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro
said:
"Congratulations to Enzo Bianco for his election as chair of the
European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship,
Governance, Institutional and External Affairs. Bianco has been a
member of this Committee since its creation in 1994. Our House can
count on his invaluable experience to move forward on strategic
dossiers like the reconstruction of Ukraine, the follow-up to the
Conference on the Future of Europe, migration and active subsidiarity.
The role of local and regional authorities is more important than ever
to anchor European policies in people's everyday lives."
The new first vice-chair for the CIVEX commission is
Piero Mauro Zanin
(IT/EPP), President of the Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.