Through a vote by show of hands during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 January, MEPs called on the European Commission to create a ‘European Capital of Local Trade’.
Chosen annually by a jury of local associations and entrepreneurs, the nominated city would host conferences and events on current business issues. The aim would be to promote the diversity of European regions while supporting local SMEs, which have been hit hard by the pandemic and rising energy costs.
“Local trade is far more than a shop window or someone working in a local shop. It pushes social and trade issues forward for cities and it helps trade in districts and make our streets safer. It shows our identity, our style of life and it’s a generator of economic opportunities”, argued Dolors Montserrat (EPP, Spanish), Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Petitions (PETI).
Jordi Cañas (Renew Europe, Spanish) and Jordi Solé (Greens/EFA, Spanish), while welcoming the initiative, suggested that Barcelona should be named the first ‘European Capital of Local Trade’.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, assured that “the Commission also sees added value in this initiative”, in particular in the context of the ecosystem-based “transition pathways” foreseen in the revision of its industrial strategy (see EUROPE 12713/6).
Trade “represents 11.5% of EU value added. It directly employs more than 29 million people across Europe [...] 5.5 million companies are active in the ecosystem, 99% of which are SMEs”, he added, underlining the economic importance of the sector.
The motion for a resolution, brought to the plenary session by the PETI committee, stems from a petition brought by the Barcelona Comerç.
To read the adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/4x4 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)