European Committee of the Regions publishes its vision to make the EU more
united, democratic and responsive to citizens' needs
Shortly before EU leaders are
expected to adopt the "EU's Strategic Agenda" for the next five years, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
set out its views on the future of the Europe. Entitled "Working together to bring the EU closer to its citizens", the document published by the Committee calls on Member States to
radically change the way the EU works. The Committee argues that all EU
decisions and policies must be anchored locally if it is to strengthen
democracy and regain citizens' trust.
Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the CoR, remarked: "The European elections showed that
the vast majority of citizens still believe their future lies in a
united European Union, so it is now time to change course and deliver.
Nevertheless, at a time when the tide of populism and Euroscepticism is
growing it can no longer be business as usual. The EU must become more
visible, effective and responsive to citizens' needs by changing the
way it works. This means empowering and engaging the one million local
and regional politicians elected across the Member States in the
European Union. Cities and regions are a fundamental part of the EU’s
democratic foundation on which we must rebuild Europe".
Markku Markkula, First Vice-President of the CoR, said: "Cities and regions have
shown that they can co-create a sustainable Europe which is able to
tackle societal challenges and innovation by anchoring EU's policies
and solutions to the local and regional level. The targets set by the
European Council and by the European Parliament will not be reached
without a strong contribution by local and regional authorities,
directly working with communities and using the best practices".
Three principles to bring the EU closer to citizens:
-
Changing the way EU decisions are made - “Active subsidiarity”
as set out by the
Task Force on Subsidiarity and Proportionality, a new way of working for the EU is needed. Regional and local
authorities need to be involved in all phases of the EU legislative
cycle;
-
Bringing every level of government together:
Multi-level governance
- coordinated action between the European, national, regional and
local levels is essential for the EU to deliver its objectives.
More decentralisation and a better division of powers must be
developed to promote good governance;
-
Permanent dialogue with citizens:
the CoR has been calling for establishing a
permanent system of citizens’ dialogues/consultations
that extends beyond the periods leading up to the European
elections. This new mechanism would complement the EU’s
decision-making structure, allowing citizens’ to influence the EU’s
agenda-setting and policymaking.
Anchoring EU policies locally:
-
Making the Sustainable Development Goals the overarching
development strategy for the EU
for all levels of government;
-
Building cohesion within the EU
, which includes a
strong EU's cohesion policy beyond 2020
benefitting from adequate funding, a reinforced EU social
dimension, better urban/rural linkages to address the territorial
divide, and relevant measures to tackle demographic changes;
-
Fighting for a sustainable environment
: the CoR supports an ambitious roadmap towards a climate-neutral Europe, ensuring adequate
engagement of all levels of government through national Multilevel
Climate and Energy Dialogues. The Committee also calls for a Common
Agricultural Policy that is fair, sustainable, based on solidarity
and safeguards the central role of EU regions;
-
Boosting research, innovation and digital transformation
, including a dedicated policy for research and development with a
strong link to the regions, and a place-based EU industrial and
trade policy;
-
Putting EU values into practice at local and regional level
: given the responsibilities of cities and regions in the reception
and integration of migrants, the CoR asks for adequate EU funding
and support to its "Cities and Regions for Integration Initiative" launched earlier this year. The CoR also wants to enhance the
capacity of public authorities at local and regional level outside
the EU's borders.
An EU budget that meets the EU’s ambitions
In a bid to ensure cities and regions have the necessary room for
manoeuvre to strengthen the EU's growth potential, the CoR demands that
the
EU's next long-term budget
is at least 1.3% of the EU27 Gross National Income and is adopted as
soon as possible to allow early planning and preparation of the funding
programmes. The CoR further warns that any attempt to recentralise the
EU budget, particularly in a way that would undermine shared management
of EU programmes, must be avoided.
Notes to the editors:
In March 2018, as a conclusion to the
8th Summit of Regions and Cities
in held in Bucharest, the CoR set out a
10-point declaration
for the future of the EU based on building the EU from the ground up.
The CoR will detail its proposals for the new European Union
legislative mandate in a
resolution
to be adopted by its political groups during the plenary session of
26-27 June.
Contact:
Nathalie Vandelle
nathalie.vandelle@cor.europa.eu
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 24 99