Assembly of European Regions

Assembly of European Regions
Coat of arms of Assembly of European Regions
Coat of arms
Location of Assembly of European Regions
SecretariatStrasbourg and Brussels
Official working languageEnglish
TypeAssociation
Member regions[1]
Members
  •  Albania
  •  Austria
  •  Armenia
  •  Belgium
  •  Bosnia and Herzegovina
  •  Croatia
  •  Cyprus
  •  France
  •  Georgia
  •  Ireland
  •  Italy
  •  Montenegro
  •  Netherlands
  •  Norway
  •  Portugal
  •  Romania
  •  Serbia
  •  Slovakia
  •  Slovenia
  •  Spain
  •  Sweden
  •   Switzerland
  •  Turkey
  •  Ukraine
  •  United Kingdom
Leaders
• President
Albert Castellanos
[2]
• Secretary General
Christian Spahr[3]
Website
aer.eu

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together regions from 25 countries and 15 interregional organizations, AER is a forum for interregional cooperation.[4]

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 published the first map of its kind citing a Europe made up of regions and not simply of countries. The year after, the principle of subsidiarity became the leading AER campaign to promote the role of regions in all European and national decision-making processes. Soon thereafter its success was to be evident as the principle was recognized in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992.

The creation of the Committee of the Regions (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.[4]

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:[5]

Country Member regions
 Albania Berat County
Dibër County
Durrës County
Elbasan County
Fier County
Gjirokastër County
Korçë County
Kukës County
Lezhë County
Shkodër County
Tirana County
Vlorë County
 Armenia Tavush Province
Lori Province
 Austria Burgenland
Lower Austria
Tyrol
Upper Austria
Vienna
 Belgium Brussels-Capital Region
German-speaking Community
Wallonia
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde
Brčko District
Sarajevo Canton
Zenica-Doboj
 Croatia Istria County
Krapina-Zagorje
Osijek-Baranja
Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Šibenik-Knin
Split-Dalmatia
Varaždin County
Zagreb County
 Cyprus Union of Cyprus Municipalities
 France Corsica
Grand Est
Guadeloupe
Martinique
 Georgia Adjara
Imereti
 Ireland County Donegal
County Mayo
Údarás na Gaeltachta
 Italy Abruzzo
Molise
Sardinia
Trentino-Alto Adige
Umbria
Valle d’Aosta
 Montenegro Budva
 Netherlands Flevoland
Gelderland
 Norway Innlandet
Nordland
Østfold
 Portugal Azores
Madeira
 Romania Alba County
Arad County
Argeș County
Bihor County
Bistrița-Năsăud County
Brașov County
Buzău County
Caraș-Severin County
Călărași County
Cluj County
Covasna County
Dâmbovița County
Dolj County
Galați County
Gorj County
Harghita County
Iași County
Ilfov County
Maramureș County
Mehedinți County
Mureș County
Neamț County
Olt County
Prahova County
Satu Mare County
Sibiu County
Timiș County
Tulcea County
Vaslui County
Vrancea County
 Serbia Sumadija i Pomoravlje
Vojvodina
 Slovakia Košice Region
 Slovenia Eastern Slovenia
Western Slovenia
 Spain Catalunya
Murcia
Valencian Community
 Sweden Gävleborg
Jönköping
Norrbotten
Örebro
Värmland
Västerbotten
Västra Götaland
  Switzerland Basel-Stadt
Fribourg Canton
Zürich Canton
 Turkey Adana Province
Antalya Province
Denizli Province
Edirne Province
Erzurum Province
Gaziantep Province
Izmir Province
Muş Province
Sakarya Province
 Ukraine Association of Self-Governments Euroregion Carpathians-Ukraine
Chernivtsi Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast
Kirovohrad Oblast
Kryvyi Rih
Lviv Oblast
Odesa Oblast
Odesa Raion
Pavlohrad
Poltava Oblast
Rivne Oblast
Ternopil Oblast
Transcarpathia Oblast
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
 United Kingdom Hampshire

As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, AER suspended Russian members.[6]

List of presidents of the AER

See also

References

  1. ^ "Members and Partners Directory". Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  2. ^ "Rekordlångt möte med bryska inslag - Falköpings Tidning". Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  3. ^ "AER Secretariat – Assembly of European Regions".
  4. ^ a b "The European Task Force on Culture and Development". Council of Europe. Council of Europe Publishing.
  5. ^ "Members and Partners Directory".
  6. ^ "AER stands with Ukraine". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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