The major consultation of the citizens on the future of the EU, which is being carried out by the Committee of the Regions (CoR), is starting to gain momentum. The organisation representing the local and regional authorities held its 30th dialogue with the European citizens on the future of Europe in Valetta (Malta) on Thursday 2 February, on the eve of the informal Summit (see other articles).
The event was attended by the President of the CoR, Markku Markkula, the Maltese parliamentary secretary in charge of the European funds, Ian Borg, who was representing the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the representative of the Maltese delegation to the CoR, Joseph Cordina. Unsurprisingly, the themes discussed were directly related to those on the agenda of the informal Summit: migration issues and the consolidation of the European project. However, many subjects were addressed with the citizens who attended, mainly youth unemployment, European funds and support for SMEs.
An open process. This "dialogue with the citizens" is starting to gain a head of steam, a member of the Cabinet of the President of the CoR, told EUROPE. He said that there would also be an intensification of related events throughout 2017. For instance, Markkula is to meet the Polish Prime Minister, Beata Szydło, on Saturday 4 February.
These dialogue sessions have no rigid themes or format. "We wanted a really open process and we have given our members a free hand. Sometimes, there will be exchanges between 50 people, sometimes 800", French went on to explain, according to the same source. "What we want to do is to listen to the citizens, hear what they expect of Europe", he said with a deep-seated belief and enthusiasm for this new mission of the CoR assigned to it by the European Council.
An opinion requested by President task
The initiative to consult the European citizens about Europe, which was launched by the CoR in March 2016, took on a new dimension firstly with the referendum vote on Brexit, and then following the request of the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, for an opinion of the COR (see EUROPE 11646). This is a first, French stressed according to the same source.
In a letter dated 8 November, Tusk asked the CoR to draft an opinion on the subject "Reflecting on Europe: the voice of regional and local authorities to rebuild trust in the European Union". The President's aim is to get a clear perception of the reality from the ground ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome.
From there, the CoR decided to redouble its efforts, a source told us. From 27 events held in 2016, the Committee is planning on holding more than 70 (to be confirmed) in 2017 alone. In parallel, the Commission is setting up an online citizens' survey.
The opinion of the CoR will be submitted in 2018. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)