Giscard d’Estaing fights for regions

Date: 11/10/01

By David Cronin

FORMER French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing is insisting that the next revisions of the EU's treaties should lay down the division of powers between regional, national and Union-wide authorities.

He is due to tell a conference in Brussels today (11 October) that the much-vaunted principle of 'subsidiarity' - that decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level - must be clearly defined.

A recent paper by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), which Giscard d'Estaing heads, argues that the next changes to the treaties should ensure that decisions on matters falling outside the scope of the EU's powers can be taken by regional authorities as well as by national governments.

The CEMR rejects a suggestion by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder that a new parliamentary chamber similar to the Bundesrat should take the place of the Council of Ministers.

According to its paper, Giscard d'Estaing's group is "deeply attached" to the existing 'Community method' of conducting EU affairs, under which the Commission has executive control of implementing laws and policy. Rather than setting up a new legislative chamber, the CEMR wants the present system tweaked so that local and regional bodies have a greater input into decision-making.

The CEMR conference, which will also be addressed by Romano Prodi and Nicole Fontaine, will explore issues likely to be on the agenda for December's summit of EU leaders at Laeken.

Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing is insisting that the next revisions of the EU's treaties should lay down the division of powers between regional, national and Union-wide authorities.