French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a stronger role to be played by regions and for a strengthening of the principle of subsidiarity in European democracy as part of an address to members of the European Committee of the Regions given on Wednesday 1 December.
“Regarding remarks on the work carried out on subsidiarity and your Committee, I would like to say first of all that we will work with you on all the projects throughout this Presidency”, he assured the members of the Committee. He particularly made reference to Cohesion policy and to the question of the outermost regions in the context of the challenges linked to the dual transition to digital technology and climate change, as well as social issues.
The President mentioned the idea of the Committee having an “enhanced” role within the framework of subsidiarity and the production of the standard according to certain “sectors”. “I am now convinced, with regard to many public policy issues – housing, ecological transition, and others – that decentralisation, including (...) normative power and responsibility, is undoubtedly an element of greater efficiency”, he said.
By addressing the issue of European governance in connection with the Conference on the Future of Europe (see EUROPE 12791/13), whose official recommendations are due to be presented under the French Presidency of the EU Council, the President expressed his desire to ”re-structure” Europe, which should focus on issues of general interest, “power and sovereignty” and place more subsidiarity on “certain day-to-day matters, where the centralisation of the norm and the uniformity of the norm become counterproductive because they have not been adapted to the heterogeneity of real-world conditions”.
The strengthening of the Committee’s role has previously been called for by long-standing members. Under the previous European Commission, a working group under Frans Timmermans proposed a series of proposals designed to strengthen subsidiarity (see EUROPE 12123/20). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)