History of the Assembly of European Regions

In 2002, AER presents its position on the “Future of Europe” to Valérie Giscard d’Estaing in the frame of the European Convention. AER actively contributes to the drafting of the European Constitution, demonstrating strong political involvement. The final text includes all AER proposals, namely the recognition of the regions as an important level of governance within Europe as well as the extension of the principle of subsidiarity to regional and local levels, and notably the inclusion of regional cohesion in EU’s objectives. AER also publishes the leaflet “The EU Constitution: your questions answered” designed for European citizens. In 2005, the Constitution is rejected, but AER continues to push forward these principles in the drafting of the Lisbon Treaty.

From 2001, the AER decides to boost youth involvement in the regions. In order to do so, it establishes the  “Most Youth-friendly European Region” award in 2001, and in 2002, organizes the first Youth Summer School. In 2003, AER adopts its first Regionalism Report evaluating the state of regionalism across Europe. Apart from institutional actions, AER's outstanding responses to the everyday needs of citizens was gaining wide public attention. Lobbying alongside regions against GMOs or for the development of regional airports exemplify some of the major successes within these years.

AER demands are contextualised into articles within theTreaty of Lisbon, soon thereafter ratification processes begin in 2007 while the treaty enters into force in 2009.
In 2008, AER launches the worldwide “Subsidiarity is a word” movement. The expansion of this principle breaks frontiers worldwide spreading the idea that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the citizen. From 2007, AER launches a number of successful initiatives such as: AER Communicating Europe Award, AER Innovation Award, “Do you speak European?” Competition, AER Peer Reviews, AER Training Academies, AER Citizens’ Forums, and AER Scholarships. In 2008, AER establishes the Youth Regional Network, Europe’s first and only platform of regional youth councils, parliaments and organisations. In 2009, the question of decentralization becomes widely debated, can it really foster economic growth? An AER study entitled “From Subsidiarity to success: The impact of decentralization on economic growth” indeed proves that decentralization promotes enduring economic growth. 2010 marking its 25th anniversary, AER updates its Regionalism Report and presents a Position on EU “Europe 2020” strategy.