Enzo Bianco becomes the new chair of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs

Enzo Bianco (IT/PES) was elected chair of the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) at the commission´s meeting on 28 September. Mr Bianco, a member of the Catania Municipal Council, will chair the CIVEX commission work for 2.5 years, the second half of the CoR's current five-year mandate.

Enzo Bianco, a member of the European Socialists Group of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), has been a member of the CoR since 1994. He was a rapporteur of many opinions in the CIVEX commission on topics related to asylum, migration, democracy, and the Southern neighbourhood to which he has brought his expertise from past experiences as Mayor of Catania or Minister of Interior of Italy.

The CIVEX commission's main role is to coordinate the European Committee of the Regions' work on constitutional and institutional issues, including the future of Europe, local democracy and devolution, active subsidiarity and better law-making; on the area of freedom, security and justice - including issues such as migration and integration, fundamental rights and freedom, active citizenship - and on the EU's external dimension, focusing on enlargement and neighbourhood countries and on development cooperation from a local and regional angle.

After his election, Enzo Bianco said: "I am honoured to be taking over the chairmansip of the CIVEX commission in this particular conjuncture: the future of Europe, migration and integration, fundamental rights and freedoms, active citizenship and our relations with neighbouring countries, not least Ukraine, all of which constitute core CIVEX competencies, are currently in the spotlight. With this in mind, I will do my utmost to lead this commission in a fair and inclusive way that empowers CIVEX members to relay the concerns and aspirations of their citizens and contributes to the CoR's overall work for a Europe where local and regional authorities play a meaningful role."

Following the appointment of Mr Bianco as the new CIVEX commission chair, CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro said: "Congratulations to Enzo Bianco for his election as chair of the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs. Bianco has been a member of this Committee since its creation in 1994. Our House can count on his invaluable experience to move forward on strategic dossiers like the reconstruction of Ukraine, the follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, migration and active subsidiarity. The role of local and regional authorities is more important than ever to anchor European policies in people's everyday lives."

The new first vice-chair for the CIVEX commission is Piero Mauro Zanin (IT/EPP), President of the Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.​

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