The Committee of the Regions (CoR), together with many other representatives of local authorities, have repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing the European Union closer to its citizens, on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 March, during the eighth Summit of Regions and Cities organised by the CoR in Bucharest.
"The link between the Union and its citizens must be strengthened", according to the fourth point of the declaration adopted at the end of the summit, which is a synthesis of the summit. This need was constantly stressed by the various representatives of local authorities who spoke during this event.
To this end, the CoR calls for the creation of "more channels for democratic participation" and actively supports the "launch of a permanent system of consultations of European Union citizens", a mechanism to involve regional parliaments and assemblies, local authorities and civil society organisations so that they have a regular impact on EU policy.
This project, led by Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the CoR, and Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), is currently under discussion between the EU institutions with a view to launching it at the end of next year.
In addition, convinced that the EU needs its regions and cities as much as they need the Union, the Committee considers that the EU's cities and regions, as well as their elected representatives, "ensure a link of proximity, trust and stability with the Union". A stability that the committee considers essential to "continue to build a common European future for the next generation", while "divergences and antagonisms are growing".
In the same spirit of bringing the EU closer to its citizens, European cities and regions also repeatedly stressed at the summit the importance of addressing young people and arousing their interest in politics and Europe, so that as they grow older, they become committed citizens and feel European.
"It is vital to raise awareness among the citizens of the Union, in particular young people, of the European dimension of their identity and citizenship [...] in order to increase their sense of belonging to the European project", it is written in the fifth point of the CoR declaration.
Comprising ten points intended to reflect the exchanges that took place during the summit, this concise declaration is intended for EU Heads of State or Government and represents the Committee's contribution to the preparation of the strategic agenda for the period 2019-2024, which will be discussed for the first time at the European Summit in Sibiu (Romania) on 9 May next with a view to its adoption at the June European Council.
See the CoR statement: https://bit.ly/2FigiQV. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)