EU local and regional representatives pave the way for a new chapter of European democracy, where decisions are taken the closest to citizens, building on the momentum of the Conference on the Future of Europe
European-wide answers are needed to address citizens' concerns over issues such as the climate and energy crisis, rising inequalities or dealing with the implications of the war against Ukraine, but in order to deliver effective and concrete results, every level of government must be working together. Solutions must take into account the diverse territorial realities in Europe and it is therefore essential to actively involve local and regional authorities as the first line of response for citizens.
This was the message from local and regional representatives from across
the EU meeting in Valencia, Spain, at a conference organised by the
European Committee of the Regions (CoR) at the invitation of President of
the Regional Government of Valencia and
CoR member
Ximo Puig I Ferrer
. Coming just six months after the end of the
Conference on the Future of Europe in May 2022, the meeting offered a
chance to reinforce one of the key recommendations of the Conference:
far greater involvement of sub-national government in the EU
decision-making process in order to match with the realities of
citizens on the ground. Against a background of multiple crises and
with democracy itself under threat in many places across the globe,
they stress the importance of a method of dialogue, partnership and
shared responsibility, reviving the spirit of the Maastricht Treaty
adopted 30 years ago, which enshrined the principle of subsidiarity,
the importance of multi-level governance for the functioning of the
European Union and established the European Committee of the Regions.
CoR President
Vasco Alves Cordeiro
said:
"Europe and our societies at large are facing historical challenges:
the climate and the energy crisis, the consequences of the Russian war
against Ukraine, the rise of inequalities, the role of regions and
cities in the post pandemic world and many more. There is a common
value that is needed to address those crises as a whole: democracy. In
the European Union we have multiple levels of democracy and they all
need to be involved in the common European project. As cohesion in
Europe in all its dimensions is under huge strain because of the many
crises, which risk deepening divisions, we need a functioning,
democratic multi-level governance system based on active subsidiarity.
And subsidiarity is about democracy because it is about taking
decisions as closely as possible to the individual and to their
communities."
The Secretary of State for Territorial Policy, Alfredo González, made a
special acknowledgment of the work of the Committee of the Regions and
its President. He stressed that the principle of subsidiarity also
inspires the action of the Spanish Government, what has permitted solve
complex situations that the Spanish administrations have faced,
underlining that in those key moments all the institutions have given
their best working with loyalty and full collaboration. This has been
the case with the pandemic, the vaccination process and also the
management of the Recovery Plan, complex moments in which cooperation
has allowed to strengthen the State, in its broadest conception,
instead of weakening it, fleeing of recentralizing temptations and
always betting on collaboration and shared governance between all
Administrations.
Enric Morera i Català
, President of the Regional Parliament of Valencia and chair of the working
group on linguistic and cultural diversity at the Conference of European
Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), emphasized that regional
parliaments across Europe are firmly committed to the principle of
subsidiarity. "To move towards this goal, the active participation and
consultation of citizens and local and regional institutions must be a
priority", he said, adding that "now, more than ever, bearing in mind the
threat of fanaticism and extremism, forums for reflection on our future are
needed to deepen and strengthen the founding European values”.
Vice President of the European Commission in charge of interinstitutional
relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič
emphasised in a video message, the valuable contribution of local and
regional authorities in the Better Regulation Agenda when it comes to
cutting red tape and make EU legislation more efficient and considers the
European Committee of the Regions as a key partner to implement the
recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
EU Commissioner for Cohesion Policy and Reforms Elisa Ferreira underlined in her remote intervention the
diversity of situations across Europe requires finetuning the policy
recipe, pointing out the need to recognise the assets and challenges in
different EU regions and to build on them in partnership with local and
regional authorities, taking into account different levels of
decentralisation across EU Member States.
The conference was followed by the inaugural meeting of the "Better
Regulation and Active Subsidiarity Steering Group", chaired by Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Parliament of the
German-speaking community in Belgium and former President of the European
Committee of the Regions.
Background:
The conference "
Future of Europe: Daring more EU democracy - Creating EU added value
" is the tenth edition of a biannual Subsidiarity
conference focused on the key issues of democracy and multi-level
governance across the EU. It is part of the wider work of the Committee of
the Regions on democracy, active subsidiarity and governance that also
includes: a network of more than 150 local authorities on the ground
checking EU legislative proposals; 40
Regional Hubs
that assess the effectiveness of EU policies such as public procurement,
air pollution and recycling of vehicles; territorial impact assessments
that show the impact of new or revised EU legislation in different regions;
and active participation in the
Fit4Future platform
with the European Commission. The conference adopted
conclusions
stressing the importance of strengthening European democratic legitimacy
and involving all levels of governance in the EU policy- and
decision-making process; with or without a Convention to revise the
Treaties.
The full event can be viewed and reviewed
online, including interventions by EC Vice-President Šefčovič and Cohesion and
reforms Commissioner Ferreira.
COFE recommendations can be found
here.