PES Group in the Committee of the Regions

Group of the Party of European Socialists in the Committee of the Regions
Type	Social democracy
Region served	Europe
Membership	125/350
President	Catiuscia Marini
Affiliations	Party of European Socialists

The Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES Group) is one of the five political groups in the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which is the youngest of the European Union (EU) institutions set up by the Maastricht Treaty as a political assembly representing local and regional authorities within the EU.

The PES Group brings together social-democratic and progressive representatives from local and regional authorities across the EU.

The PES Group in the CoR is a full member organisation of the Party of European Socialists (PES). As such, it is represented in the different organs of the PES. The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament, which is also a full PES member organisation, is the counterpart of the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions.

Structure

President

The current President of the PES Group is Catiuscia Marini, President of the Umbria Region, Italy. She was elected President of the PES Group in February 2015 and has been a member of the Committee of the Regions since 2010.

Previous Presidents

Laurette Onkelinx (1994-1996)
Manfred Dammeyer (1996-1998)
Sir Albert Bore (1998-2002)
Michel Delebarre (2002-2006)
Mercedes Bresso (2006-2010)
Karl-Heinz Klär (2010-2011)
Karl-Heinz Lambertz (2011-2015)

The following former presidents of the PES Group became presidents of the Committee of the Regions:

Mercedes Bresso (2010 – 2012)
Michel Delebarre (2006-2008)
Albert Bore (2002-2004)
Manfred Dammeyer (1998- 2000)

Executive

The Group is led by the President and an Executive. The PES Group Executive is made up of the President, the First Vice-President, the other Vice-Presidents and the Treasurer.

First Vice-President

The Group's First Vice-President is Markus Töns, Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Parliament, Germany

Vice-Presidents

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of the Birmingham City Council, UK

Snježana Bužinec,Mayor of the Municipality of Jakovlje, Croatia

Annabelle Jaeger, Member of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Apostolos Katsifaras, President of the Region of Western Greece

Treasurer

Per Bødker Andersen, Deputy Mayor of Kolding, Denmark

Bureau

The Bureau of the PES Group prepares the meetings of the CoR Bureau. It consists of:

The president and vice-presidents of the PES Group;
PES Group members of the Committee of the Regions' Bureau;
PES Group Chairs of the CoR commissions and the CoR Bureau working groups;
PES Group Coordinators of the CoR commissions;
One member per Member State, in the case this is not included in the above categories.

Members

All CoR members belonging to a member party of the Party of European Socialists are automatically members of the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions. Other progressive members sharing the views of the Group may adhere upon decision of the Bureau of the PES Group.

Members of the Committee of the Regions are appointed for a five-year term of office, but their membership is dependent on their electoral mandate at the local and regional level.

Secretariat

The PES Group is assisted by a Secretariat, based in Brussels, at the headquarters of the Committee of the Regions. The Secretary General is Jordi Harrison.

Activities of the PES Group

Members of the PES Group contribute to the consultative works of the Committee of the Regions by drafting opinions.

Moreover, the PES Group organises political meetings and events, and undertakes political initiatives in order to better implement its political priorities.

External links

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