The plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CR) was held in Brussels on 16-17 June. It was the first after the EU enlargement of 1st May (its effective members now number 317). The main point on the order of the day was the examination of the draft opinion of the CR on the 3rd Report on the policy of economic and social cohesion recently presented by the European Commission. The assembly which approved the opinion declared its agreement with the Executive’s plans for funding future structural policies, declaring that “with a budget lower than 336 billion euros for the period 2007-2013 no serious policy can be implemented”. The Committee also approved a series of opinions on issues ranging from “transnational cooperation to promote new methods of countering all forms of discrimination and disparity connected with the labour market” to the “promotion of cooperative societies in Europe”. The CR also expressed its views on the “future of European policy in the field of audiovisual regulation” and on the “European fund for refugees for the period 2005-2010”. For further information, consult the Committee’s website www.cor.eu.int
