COMMITTEE OF THE EU REGIONS SUPPORTS POTENTIAL NEW EU MEMBER STATES

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (July 10,2008) - The Committee of the EU Regions supports accession of all candidate states and potential candidates under condition that they fulfill all pre-accession criteria, stated the Committee Chair Jos Chabert after the Work Group meeting for the southeastern Europe held in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

The meeting was attended by 35 representatives from EU states, mayors of Sarajevo, Brcko, Mostar, Banja Luka and Tuzla and representatives of Sarajevo Canton.

Chabert stated that the Committee, after the painful experience with the Irish “No” on referendum on Lisbon Treaty, still believes that the accession process must continue.

He underlined the importance of coming local elections in Bosnia and announced that the Committee, along with the Council of Europe shall send an observer mission in order to make sure that democratic standards are honored the upcoming elections in Bosnia.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is a body of the European Union (EU) established in 1994. It represents the sub-national regions of the EU in the EU legislative process, but only in a consultative manner similar to the Economic and Social Committee.

The CoR is the political assembly that provides local and regional authorities with a voice at the heart of the European Union. It aims at increasing the participation of European regions in community life. The CoR, whose seat is in Brussels, is composed of 344 representatives of regional and local governments.
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