You were re-elected as AER President at the last General Assembly in Palma in November 2006. How would you summarise AER action? What could be the main features of your second mandate?

We started making internal and external changes at the AER more than two years ago now.

From an internal point of view, as of this year, the AER has a new Committee structure to implement the new strategy adopted for the coming six years. These new Committees have absorbed the activities of the previous Committees and will manage new priorities in a transversal manner. Two new standing Committees are now an integral part of the Bureau, one on Institutional Affairs and one on Monitoring and Evaluation.

The AER has also been working on four programmes in recent years: The Summer School, the Youth Summer School, Eurodyssey and Centurio. It will continue to develop these programmes over the coming six years, and specifically aims to ensure the participation of more Regions.

It must not be forgotten that all democratic regions in the European continent may become AER members (AER membership currently goes beyond the borders of the European Union), providing they comply with the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe (46 States are currently members

of the Council of Europe). The European continent has many potential new AER members, for example in countries such as Russia or Turkey. In coming years, our two main objectives will involve finding new members and according priority to crossborder cooperation.

However, it is clear that our main objective is fighting to obtain increased competences and responsibilities for the Regions.

What role should the AER play alongside the Committee of the Regions?

Unlike the CoR, as I was saying, 70% of AER Member Regions come from countries within the European Union and 30% from non-EU countries. The Committee of the Regions is a consultative institution of the European Union representing both the local and regional level. Delegates are designated by national governments. The AER is an association, a political movement, which only represents the regions.

Both the CoR and the AER promote regionalism, each using its own resources and contacts, but work closely together. The President of the Committee of the Regions, currently Michel Delebarre, has a special status within the AER and this is an asset.

Can you describe your vision of the Europe of the Regions?

Europe must be more competitive on the global market, while encouraging integration and internal cohesion. The major advantage of Europe in terms of competitiveness is its diversity. We must achieve competitiveness via diversity; that is why the EU market must operate without borders and the Regions must be stronger. We also need to go beyond the borders of Europe. A new instrument exists since January 2007 - European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). This grouping provides a legal context for inter-regional cooperation and integrates local and regional authorities in EU candidate countries.

In addition, to encourage real integration, the use of a common language must be encouraged, 'globish' - or European English - which is currently the language used in business and by the scientific and internet communities. This does not mean that European citizens must abandon their own languages and roots. On the contrary, I believe that a competitive Europe requires this very inherent plurality of identities.