Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes takes over the Presidency of the Four Motors for Europe
At a meeting held on the 9th of May in Barcelona, the President of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, handed over the Chair of the Four Motors for Europe (4ME) Alliance to the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its Chairman, Laurent Wauquiez, will lead for a year this interregional cooperation network composed of these two regions plus the German region of Baden-Württemberg and the Italian regional of Lombardy.
Created in 1988, the 4ME gather four strong regions that together have more than 36 million inhabitant and account for 6.78% of the European Union’s GDP. The alliance was founded with the intention of working together for the consolidation of the economic, scientific, technological, social and cultural potential of the associated territories. It pursues the twin objective of contributing to the regions’ internationalisation and promoting their role within the UE.
President Puigdemont stressed, during the handover ceremony, the good work done by the 4ME under Catalonia’s lead. He drew attention to the importance of the regions to find transferable solutions to the citizens’ demands and said that “if we talk about refugees, climate change, containing the effects of the crisis […], these realities can only be managed appropriately with the active involvement of the most dynamic regions.”
For his part, Laurent Wauquiez announced when taking office that some of his main goals are to strengthen the momentum towards ITC sector initiated by his predecessor and to improve interregional cooperation in the field of digital technology. He then presented the main courses of action for 2016: moving towards the industry of the future, with Smart and integrated manufacturing; adapting to the climate challenges through sustainable development of the territories and boosting employment in the creative and cultural sector.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will hold the Presidency of the 4ME for one year and, in summer 2017 it will hand it over to the German region of Baden Württemberg.
Related Content:
"Quatre moteurs pour l'Europe : innover, influer, se développer" Article published by the Government of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 13/05/2016
"President Puigdemont: 'Catalunya pot aportar amb orgull un marcat accent mediterrani a la construcció europea i Europa faria bé d'aprofitar-lo'" Press release published by the Catalan Government, 09/05/2016
Images: Generalitat de Catalunya
