Mayor of Rypin, Paweł Grzybowski, has become a Member of the 16-person Bureau of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly. He was elected by acclamation during the 10th ARLEM Plenary on 27 February in Seville, Spain.

During the meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Seville, Spain on 27 February, ECR Member Paweł Grzybowski, was elected a Member of the Assembly’s Bureau.

ARLEM was established by the European Committee of the Regions to strengthen cooperation between representatives of cities and regions on both coasts of the Mediterranean. It consists of representatives of local and regional authorities from the EU and local and regional authorities from the 15 partner countries of the Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Turkey and Israel. Its managing body, the Bureau, consists of 16 members –eight from EU countries and eight from the partner countries.

As Mr Grzybowski said in his interview with the Polish Press Agency, ARLEM is a chance to discuss sub-regional agreements not only in the European Union but in the entire Mediterranean.

He also said that “it is important to me that we can talk about human rights, about corruption – which is at a higher level in African countries or the Middle East than in the EU, but we must remember that it affects all countries, including EU Member States –and about youth exchanges and current problems such as migration”.

He believes that local and regional elected representatives from the EU can bring a lot of experience to the stabilisation process of neighbouring countries, but they can also learn from partners from outside Europe.

“In ARLEM I represent the position of our political group, the European Conservatives and Reformists, but also local views. I am a teacher and a political scientist by trade, and therefore education, sports and culture are issues that are important to me. Education is a very substantial part of expenditure for every local authority, but of course it is crucial for our future” he underlined.

The Mayor of Rypin (Kujawsko-Pomorskie region in Poland) has been a Member of the European Committee of the Regions, an EU advisory body that brings together local and regional elected representatives from the 28 Member States, since 2015 and as a Member has taken part in work concerning youth and sport. He is the rapporteur of a European Committee of the Regions opinion on Investing in Europe’s youth and the European Solidarity Corps. He also represented the CoR at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. He is in his third term as Mayor of Rypin.

The article was originally published on PAP Samorząd website and translated into English with minor changes having been made for the purposes of this newsletter.