Brussels – President of the Valle d’Aosta Region, Augusto Rollandin, participated in the 118th Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions, at the European Parliament in Brussels. In particular, Rollandin spoke on the debate “Current and future challenges for Europe’s regions and cities”, with the participation of Mari Kiviniemi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “The OECD plays a vital role for the Committee of the Regions and local and regional administrations – says Rollandin – and has produced a great amount of useful data and indicators on urban and rural areas over the years. Urban and rural areas that are wrongly seen as separate entities. The result – continues Rollandin – is that rural and mountainous areas, which are of extraordinary importance from an environmental point of view, tend to benefit from the depopulation of urban areas, which attracts not only internal migration flows but also political and economic priorities of the European Union “. (9Colonne)