The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest independent network of regions in wider
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Bringing together regions from 25 countries and 15 interregional organizations, AER is a forum for interregional cooperation.
Historical background
On 15 June 1985, at
Louvain-la-Neuve (
Walloon Brabant), 47 Regions and 9 interregional organizations founded the Council of the Regions of Europe (CRE), which would later become the Assembly of European Regions in November 1987 at the second General meeting of the Regions of Europe in Brussels.
The year 1985 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Youth Year. The same year AER launched its first programme, ''Eurodyssey'', designed to promote and encourage youth mobility.
In 1990, AER's Tabula Regionum Europae released the inaugural map depicting Europe not solely as a collection of countries but as regions. The following year, the principle of subsidiarity emerged as AER's flagship initiative, advocating for the involvement of regions in European and national decision-making. Its impact was swiftly recognized, culminating in its inclusion in the
Maastricht Treaty of 1992.
The creation of the
Committee of the Regions
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...
(CoR) in 1994 and the Chamber of the Regions in the framework of the
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) in 1994, exemplified a victory for AER in advocating for the regions in Europe.
In 1995, AER launched a campaign to promote regionalism in Europe. As a result, 300 AER members adopted in 1996 the ''Declaration on Regionalism in Europe'' immediately initializing a reference document for new and developing regions.
In 2002, AER presented its position on the “Future of Europe” to the European Convention. AER actively contributed to the drafting of the European Constitution, demonstrating strong political involvement. The final text included all AER proposals, namely
* The recognition of the regions as an important level of governance within Europe.
* The extension of the principle of subsidiarity to regional and local levels.
* The inclusion of regional cohesion in EU's objectives.
In 2008, AER established the ''Youth Regional Network'', Europe's first and only platform of regional youth councils, parliaments, and organizations.
Definition of "Region"
According to the AER statutes, in principle the term "region" refers to a territorial authority existing at the level immediately below that of the central government, with its own political representation in the form of an elected regional assembly.
Members
Member regions of the Assembly of European Regions are as follows:
As a result of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in 2022, AER suspended
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n members.
List of presidents of the AER
*
Albert Castellanos - Catalonia (Spain) - 2023–present
*
Magnus Berntsson - Västra Götaland (Sweden) - 2017–2023
*
Hande Özsan Bozatlı - Istanbul (Turkey) - 2013–2017
*
Michèle Sabban - Île-de-France (France) - 2008–2013
*
Riccardo Illy - Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (Italy) - 2004–2008
*
Liese Prokop - Lower Austria (Austria) - 2000–2004
*
Luc Van den Brande - Flanders (Belgium) - 1996–2000
*
Jordi Pujol - Catalonia (Spain) - 1992-1996
*Carlo Bernini - Veneto (Italy) - 1988–1992
*
Edgar Faure - Franche-Comté (France) - 1985–1988
See also
*
European integration
*
Politics of Europe
*
Regions of Europe
Europe is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assembly Of European Regions
International organizations based in France
Organizations based in Strasbourg
Regions of Europe
International organizations based in Europe
Paradiplomacy
European integration
Pan-European organizations