Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions, yesterday handed over part of the institution’s documentary collection to the Historical Archives of the European Union (AHEU) at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy, for preservation and study.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Cordeiro visited the Historical Archives of the European Union for the handover ceremony with Marco Del Panta, the Secretary General of the European University Institute, and Dieter Schlenker, the Director of the AHUE.
Vasco Cordeiro said the European Committee of the Regions was created “to bring Europe closer to its local communities and strengthen democracy.”
“In the year that this political assembly turns 30, we are proud to also deposit the legacy of this work in the Historical Archives of the European Union. This act corresponds not only to a legal obligation, but above all to a democratic duty to promote transparency and preserve memory. Building Europe from the ground up has been the Committee’s mission since its creation and remains our ambition for the coming decades,” said Vasco Cordeiro.
Del Panta, Secretary General of the European University Institute, added that the European Committee of the Regions plays “a fundamental role in bringing the European Union closer” to its citizens and comprises local authorities representing the level of governance with which 500 million Europeans interact daily. Having served as an elected municipal councilor, I can confirm from experience how crucial this position is. I am therefore delighted that the Committee’s archives will now be deposited in the official Historical Archives of the European Union here at the IUE.”
Schlenker, Director of the AHUE, said that the Committee of the Regions’ archives “will be the main source of research into how European regional and cohesion policies have been implemented since the 1990s. These policies remain extremely important and relevant today. As the body that represents regional and local governments, the CoR promotes greater representation of all European citizens.”
For the ceremony, President Vasco Cordeiro chose to symbolically hand over the first opinion issued by the Committee of the Regions in 1994, entitled “Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Cohesion Fund and Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) laying down detailed rules for the application of the Cohesion Fund,” by João Bosco Mota Amaral, former President of the Regional Government of the Azores.
This symbolic document establishes “a strong link” between the role played by the Committee of the Regions since its creation and the present day, as explained by President Vasco Alves Cordeiro: “Over the last 30 years, the Committee has defended the voice of the regions and cities for a Cohesion Policy based on the principles of partnership and multi-level governance. And it is still doing so today to ensure that this policy supports all territories as a long-term investment instrument. The fact that the first opinion of the European Committee of the Regions was drawn up by a political representative of an outermost region, the former President of the Regional Government of the Azores, João Bosco Mota Amaral, is testimony to a Europe made by all, for all.”

in Correio dos Açores–Natalino Viveiros-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.