The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has called on the European Union to make a "local shift", through its ‘Manifesto for a Local and Regional Europe’ published on 26 February.
Considering that "the challenges being faced by Europe can only be solved by action or contribution of local and regional governments, and financing of local public services", CEMR sets out, in this document, a series of proposals aimed at "making Europe more citizen-oriented, more local and better anchored in its territories".
"The EU will only continue to exist if Europeans believe in it, and we must therefore build it with them", said CEMR president Stefano Bonaccini in a statement.
"Nothing can replace a face to face dialogue with citizens", he added, to justify CEMR's suggestion to organise on 9 May, on the occasion of Europe Day, an annual citizen debate in each city and village to discuss the concrete benefits of the EU for citizens.
In addition, the manifesto proposes in particular that the EU: - establish an Erasmus programme for cities and regions to involve local leaders in European policy; - partner with cities and regions to achieve sustainable development objectives (SDOs).
These proposals will be presented at a meeting with representatives of the main European political parties scheduled for 9 April.
See the manifesto: https://bit.ly/2XoF34R. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)