Council Leader speaks at EU conference.

Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry will tomorrow (Friday 22 February 2013) participate as guest speaker and debate at a conference on “The Future of Funding the EU and EU Funding in Scotland” at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.

Organised by the European Parliament Information Office in Scotland, the half day morning conference will be attended by MEPs and other leading experts who will discuss EU finding in Scotland in detail. The event will also be attended by people from the private, governmental and voluntary sectors with an interest In EU funding at a policy level.

In the first conference session, Council Leader Hendry will debate with MEPs Struan Stevenson, George Lyon, and David Martin on the topic: “What is proposed for the future of the EU Budget? What are the implications of the February European Council for the future funding of the EU? What does it mean for Scotland, what will happen next and how can MEPs shape the future of the EU budget.”

Councillor Hendry will be highlighting that the Highlands and Islands will face a disproportionate cut in the amount of EU regional funding compared to other regions of the UK.

He said: “I will also emphasis that if Europe is to grow it needs regions such as the Highlands and Islands which has at least 25% of Europe’s wind and wave energy, carbon capture and storage capacity among other essential services and industries such as that delivered by Lifescan in the field of life sciences.”

Council Leader Hendry is Chair of the Highlands and Islands European Partnership; Sole UK representative to the European Union Political Bureau of the Committee of the Regions; and he also represents COSLA on the Council of the European Municipalities and Regions.