Convener enjoys the taste of Brussels
Graham Ford • Published 4 Jan 2013 06:30
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PEEBLESSHIRE Councillor and SBC Convener Graham Garvie discovered a liking for Brussels in the lead up to the festive season.
Councillor Garvie, who represents the Tweeddale East ward, is also Scotland's representative on the EU Commission for Territorial Cohesion of the Committee of the Regions (COR). He presented a draft Opinion on a framework for Community Led Local Development.
CoR members are unpaid elected representatives from local and regional authorities across the 27 countries of EU. Their purpose is to ensure that EU legislation does not infringe local and regional powers and policies--but rather enhances these. In Scotland representatives are nominated by COSLA and the Scottish Parliament.
Councillor Garvie said: "The discussion, as well as the decision, was a very useful one. The Opinion which I proposed, and which was unanimously accepted, is part of a legislative process, the intention of which is to secure a new arrangement for greater involvement by local authorities, in collaboration with other local stakeholders, in the disbursement of EU resources over the coming years as opposed to top down decisions from central government as is the case in many regions. This can be a great way for countries and regions to empower local communities and bring down artificial bureaucratic barriers between different EU funding streams."
This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 04 Jan 13
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