Brussels has slapped down the UK national media over a town council's plans to de-twin itself from a French partner. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) described claims that Wallingford Town Council was being prevented from ending links with Luxeuil-les-Bains as an ‘urban myth'. CEMR secretary general, Jeremy Smith (pictured right), claimed the mayor of Wallingford, Alec Hayton, had never contacted the organisation, and that it was not involved in distributing funding for twinning projects. Decisions over the €10m of cash are made by the European Commission. The committee also highlighted that ending partnerships between local authorities was a simple decision which could be taken in the council chamber, as it was not a legally-binding arrangement. Twinning towns began after the Second World War as one way of building new relationships between people who had fought in the conflict. The scheme has developed as the EU has changed to include new member states and countries where democracy has been re-established. Wallingford Town Council had announced it wanted to discontinue links as it had not heard from the French town – which is close to the Swiss border – despite sending letters and cards. A CEMR spokesman challenged the UK national media: ‘There is just one problem – all of the key facts are wrong. Yes, you can un-twin. Although this is rare, a local authority may, at any moment, put an end to the partnership by means of deliberation of the city council annulling the twinning's ratification.' In a final twist, the French town's deputy mayor, Fabienne Deloul, has urged Wallingford not to break up: ‘We are ready to welcome the mayor of Wallingford to Luxeuil whenever he would like and has time. For us, 2009 is a year for getting back in touch with Wallingford.'
