Gaston Franco Looks to Create a 'Club Europe'

MEP Gaston Franco

The meeting table was surrounded by some of the most important economic and political figures in the Alpes-Maritimes region. They had come together to discuss Franco’s plans to improve relations between the EU and the local population and his plans to create a 'Club Europe'. The latter is to allow representatives from the various departmental organisations to pool resources and expertise at a monthly meeting in Nice thus allowing them to better reap the many benefits of being a part of the European Union.
 
There are numerous community-based schemes being funded by the EU in their member states yet the Alpes-Maritimes has to take advantage of the many financial benefits available to the region. Franco believes that the reason for this is largely down to a lack of understanding. The speaker's natural and charismatic rapport with those around the table encouraged all in attendance to take into account his perspective.

“We need a better understanding of what Europe can do for our lives. We must unite and choose the angles of attack to be the most effective”, Franco said. His plan is to lead the way, encouraging others to follow in his footsteps. According to the MEP for South-East France, many of the representatives who attended the meeting were unaware of the benefits offered to them by the European Union and he suggested that creating a ‘Club Europe’ could put the region back on the right path.

If Franco’s plans go ahead, meetings will take place once a month and will provide a forum in which local people can discuss and debate certain issues in the presence, and under the guidance of a managerial representative of the European Commission or Parliament. He also plans to host a meeting with an EU Commissioner every four months.

Gaston Franco showed determination and was effervescent as the meeting came to a close, stating that all in attendence had been extremely motivated by what had been discussed in the meeting. He ended by pointing out that, “We must create a 'European' strategy with all stakeholders taking an active role as a lobbying force to the EU to represent the interests of our territory”.

With such an ambitious project in the pipelines, the work ahead will not be easy, however Franco, convinced that this form of action is absolutely necessary, is determined to succeed.

CJ

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