The Hungarian Socialist Kata Tüttő, town councillor of Budapest, is the new President of the European Committee of the Regions. Elected this morning at the second session of the CoR meeting that has been going on since yesterday, she will be supported by Vice President Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, President of Andalusia and member of the European People’s Party. In two and a half years, Tüttő will step down and will be replaced by Moreno Bonilla.

“I am very humbled by the cross-party support for my election”, the newly-elected President stated. “The strength of the EU comes from being grounded in local realities. When Europe loses that connection, when policies feel distant and abstract, when people feel disconnected from major decisions—we weaken”. According to Tüttő, the CoR acts as such connection, “makes complex policies real, brings common sense and local innovation into EU decision-making”. The newly-elected President’s list of priorities includes the strengthening of local democracy, the promotion of climate policies, cohesion and housing. The CoR members also elected new Presidents and Vice Presidents for the six political commissions of the Assembly and its Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs. Today, the CoR meeting will go on: the programme includes debates with three commissioners (Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Transport and Tourism, Raffaele Fitto, Cohesion and Reforms, Dan Jorgensen, Energy and Housing) and, at the end, the Paweł Adamowicz Award will be given to Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, anda special prize will be given to Rami Elhanan from Israel and Bassam Aramin from Palestine.