At a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 11 October, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, told the president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and chairs of the CoR’s political groups that local and regional authorities have an important role to play in regenerating the European Union.
"More than ever, we need to be honest and show political leadership, but this must not come only from Brussels; it needs central, but also local and regional governments. I am happy to listen to mayors and regional presidents more often, given that they are the closest to people and can share with the EU's leaders what really works. We need a renewed effort to connect citizens with the European project, so I am very glad the CoR is stepping up its outreach to voters", Tusk said.
The president of the CoR, Markku Markkula, stated that "there is a distinct lack of coordination between EU, national and local governments, which is exacerbating resentment towards Europe. People in our towns, cities and regions often feel that not enough is being done to find a common response to societal challenges such unemployment and migration. We should not hide that, but acknowledge it and look for solutions because without courageous answers the current state of play can only lead to increased populism and extremism across the entire European Union". He added that the CoR would be organising a series of debates once a year on the "State of the European Union's Territories: Regions, Cities and Villages", and said there was a need always to communicate more "humanly" about decisions rather than using professional propaganda.
The meeting was organised on the fringes of the European Cities and Regions Week in Brussels on 10-13 October, which focused this year on a new urban agenda and the future of Cohesion Policy (see EUROPE 11642). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)