CoR sets up automotive crisis intergroup

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is setting up an automotive crisis intergroup, expected to be official launched on 22 April. The initiative was taken by Jean-Yves Le Drian, president of the French Region of Brittany, where 25,000 jobs – one industrial job in four – are related to the automotive sector (one of the main French plants of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group is based in Rennes). At the CoR’s plenary session, on 12-13 February in Brussels, Le Drian sounded out fellow CoR members, who reacted very positively to the idea.

More than 30 regions expressed an interest. An official letter requesting the creation of the intergroup has therefore been sent to CoR President Luc Van den Brande, who was among those expressing an interest in being part of the group. The objectives of the intergroup are to assess the impact of the crisis on the regions and the prospects for action; share experiences on the regional instruments put in place to support the automotive sector; discuss a common initiative with regard to the other European Union institutions and provide regional data on the crisis. Among the CoR members interested in participating in the intergroup are many from Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Regions of Belgium, Estonia, Poland, Austria and Finland are also expected to take part. The list is of course still open. The chairman and vice-chairman of the intergroup are expected to be appointed on 22 April, and an action plan will be approved at the same time. A hearing by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank could also be held the same day. The intergroup’s next meeting will be on 18-19 June.

Source: Europolitics