Declaration of the European Union’s Regions and Cities on Solidarity with Ukraine

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Thursday 03 March 2022
 
09:00-10:30 (UTC+2)
 
Special session on solidarity with Ukraine

Moderators: Florence Ranson and Chris Burns

  • Renaud Muselier, President of Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
  • Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions
  • Clément Beaune, French Secretary of State for European Affairs
  • Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdansk, Chair, Working Group Committee of the Regions-Ukraine
  • Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, President of the Romanian Association of Municipalities
  • Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission
  • Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank
  • Martine Vassal, President of the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence and Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council
  • Benoit Payan, Mayor of Marseille
  • André Viola, Head of the French Delegation to the European Committee of the Regions
  • Carole Delga, President of the Regions of France
  • Yuri Andryichuk, coordinator for humanitarian aid for Ukrainian regions
  • Jacqueline Gourault, French Minister for Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local and Regional
Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des Evénements
 
Round tables
 
11:00-12:30 (UTC+2)

Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des Evénements Boosting health resilience

Moderator: Chris Burns

  • Bettina Maria Menne, Regional Officer for Europe, World Health Organisation 
  • Frédéric Collart, Departmental Councillor Bouches-du-Rhône for the fight against health crises
  • David Gallagher, Regional President, International Developed Markets at Pfizer​
  • Vincent Rouvet, Director-General of Cerdanya Hospital (EGTC) and Dr Xavier Conill, Deputy Director General of Cerdanya Hospital (EGTC)  
  • Video: Dr Andrea Ammon, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
  • Sibilia Quilici, Executive Director of Vaccines Europe

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
 
 
 

Room: Auditorium – Palais des Congrès Digital makings of resilient communities

Moderator: Florence Ranson

  • Heike Raab, State Secretary, Rheinland-Pfalz
  • Video: Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia
  • Thibaut Guignard, French association of mayors, Mayor of Ploeuc-l’Hermitage
  • Anne Karjalainen, Chair of Kerava City Council, Chair of CoR’s SEDEC Commission
  • Benedikt Blomeyer-Bartenstein, Allied for Start-Ups
  • Florence Verzelen, Executive Vice-President, Dassault Systemes & Digital Europe 
  • Josianne Cutajar, Member of the European Parliament, ITRE Committee and member of the Conference on the Future of Europe
  • Video: Prof. Teresa Czerwińska, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank

Debate with the audience

 
Interpretation:
DE/EN/FR
 
 
 

Room: Les Goudes – Palais des CongrèsAnticipating, preventing, adapting: Territories and climate risks

Moderator: Julia Stamm

  • Mami Mizutori,Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the UNDRR
  • Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski, President of the capital city of Warsaw
  • Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic, Ambassador of the poles and maritime issues
  • Anuna de Wever Van der Heyden, co-founder of Youth for Climate​
  • Daniela Jacob, Director of the Climate Service Centre

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
EN/FR/PL
 
 
 
12:30-14:00 (UTC+2)
Café Europa for Local European Councillors Network / Café Europa for members of the Young Elected Politician Programme
 
Plenary
 
14:00-15:00 (UTC+2)
 
Cohesion and recovery

Moderator: Julia Stamm

  • Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
  • Jacqueline Gourault, French Minister for Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local and Regional Authorities
  • Younous Omarjee,  Member of the European Parliament and Chair of REGI Committee
  • Vasco Alves Cordeiro, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions
  • Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
  • Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca

Debate with the audience ​

Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des Evénements
 
Round tables
 
15:30-16:30 (UTC+2)

Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des EvénementsFuture models of territorial development

​Modera​tor: Florence Ranson​​

Scene setting :
Wiktor Szydarowski, Director of ESPON – planning the cities and regions of tomorrow

  • Isabel Natividad Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid
  • Jean-Claude Marcourt​, President of the Wallonia Parliament, President of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies
  • Magnus Berntsson, President of the Assembly of European Regions
  • Christophe ​Rouillon, Mayor of Coulaines, President PES Group at the CoR 

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
 
 
 

Room: Auditorium – Palais des CongrèsRural revival

Moderator: Chr​​​is Burns

  • Joël Giraud, French Secretary of State responsible for Rurality
  • Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Intergroup on Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas and Smart Villages   
  • Ulrika Landergren, member of Kungsbacka Council, chair of the CoR NAT commission  
  • Patrice Joly, Member of the French Senate, President of the Association Nouvelles Ruralités
  • Enda Stenson, Member of the County Council of Leitrim 
  • Radim Sršeň, Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Czech Republic 

Debate with the audience​

 
Interpretation:
ES/EN/FR
 
 
 

Room: Les Goudes – Palais des CongrèsCities, regions and recovery plans

Moderator: Mariam Zaidi

Scene setting :

  • Nadim Ahmad (TBC), Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD 

  • Nathalie Sarrabezolles, Councillor of the Finistère Department, Chair of the CoR's COTER Commission
  • Valérie Hayer, Member of the European Parliament, BUDG Committee
  • Michael Murphy, Mayor of Clonmel Borough District, Chair of the CoR's ECON Commission
  • Cees Loggen, President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions and Regional Minister of the Province Noord-Holland
  • Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, President of Eurocities 

Debate with the audience ​​

 
Interpretation:
ES/EN/FR
 
 
Round tables on territorial cooperation
 
17:00-18:00 (UTC+2)

Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des EvénementsCross-border cooperation: a vision for 2050?

​​​​​Moderator: Mariam Zaidi

  • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Association of European Border Regions 
  • Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg 
  • Władysław Ortyl, President of the Podkarpackie Region
  • Stéphane Bijoux, Member of the European Parliament, REGI Committee
  • Magali Altounian, President of the Commission for Europe of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region 
  • Willy Demeyer, President of the European Forum for Urban Security, Mayor of Liège

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
 
 
 

Room: Auditorium – Palais des CongrèsA renewed Mediterranean Partnership

Moderator: Julia Stamm

  • Jean-Pierre Colin, Vice President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region on Cooperation Partnerships
  • Mohamed Boudra, Honorary President of United Cities and Local Government 
  • Antonio López-Istúriz White, Member of the European Parliament, AFET Committee
  • Didier Parakian, Vice-President of the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence 
  • Nello Musumeci, President of the Sicily Region

Debate with the audience

 
Interpretation:
EN/FR/IT
 
 
 

Room: Les Goudes – Palais des CongrèsEU's enlargement

Moderator: Nenad Šebek

  • ​Video​: Oliver Várhelyi, E​ur​opean Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement ​
  • Jasna Gabrič, Mayor of Trbovlje, Co-Chair of the Joint Consultative Committee CoR-North Macedonia
  • Nikola Dobroslavić, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region, Chair of the CoR Western Balkans Working Group
  • Franz Schausberger, Representative the State Parliament of Salzburg, Co-Chair of the Joint Consultative Committee CoR-Serbia
  • Anna Magyar, Member of County Council of Csongrád Megye, CoR Rapporteur on the 2021 Enlargement Package
  • Dušan Raičević, Mayor of Bar

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
EN/FR/HR
 
 
Meeting in front of the Marseille city hall in solidarity with Ukraine
 
18:00 (UTC+2)
Meeting in front of the Marseille city hall in solidarity with Ukraine
 
Cultural programme
 
18:30 (UTC+2)
Visit of the Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MuCEM)
 
Friday 04 March 2022
Round tables
 
09:00-10:30 (UTC+2)

Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des EvénementsThe building blocks of European democracy

Moderator: Dominik Hierlemann, ​Bertelsmann Stiftung

  • Guy Verhofstadt, Member of the European Parliament, Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe
  • Maria João Rodrigues, Member of the CoR High Level Group on European Democracy
  • Olgierd Geblewicz, President of West Pomerania Region, President of the CoR's EPP Group
  • François Decoster, Vice-President of the Hauts-de-France Region, Mayor of Saint Omer, President of the CoR's Renew Group
  • Mark Speich, Secretary of State, North Rhine-Westphalia, Chair of CoR's CIVEX Commission
  • Rebecca Harms, Member of the CoR’s High Level Group on European Democracy

Debate with the audience ​​

 
Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
 
 
 

Room: Auditorium – Palais des CongrèsNew ways of representative and participatory democracy in the 21st century

Moderator: Corina Stratulat, European Policy Centre

  • Ralph Heck, President of the Bertelsmann Stiftung
  • Antonio Tajani, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the AFCO 
  • Muhterem Aras, President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg
  • Video: Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution 
  • Domenec Ruiz Devesa, Member of the European Parliament, member of the EP delegation to Co​FE
  • Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam, Winner of the World Mayor Award 2021

Debate with the audience ​​

 
Interpretation:
DE/EN/FR
 
 
 

Room: Les Goudes – Palais des CongrèsDemocracy in action: Women in local politics

Moderator: Sandra​​ Cec​iarini

Scene setting:
European study on women in local politics - Sandra Ceciarini


  • Video: Élisabeth Moreno, French Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities
  • Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament, President of European Movement International
  • Gillian Coughlan, Mayor of Cork County
  • Bernd Voss, Member of the Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament

Debate with the audience ​

​
 
Interpretation:
DE/EN/FR
 
 
Plenary
 
11:00-13:00 (UTC+2)
 
Building the House of European Democracy

​Moderator: Mariam Zaidi and ​Chris Burns

  • Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions
  • Renaud Muselier, President of Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
  • Vasco Alves Cordeiro, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions 
  • Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee 
  • Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography
  • Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament 
  • Sergey Chernov, Chairman of the Kharkiv Region Council
  • Sergey Orlov, Deputy Mayor of Mariupol
  • Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv
  • Message on behalf of: Emmanuel Macron , President of the French Republic

​Adoption of the Declaration of the European Union's Regions and Cities on solidarity with Ukraine 

Acclamation of the “Manifesto of regional and local authorities for European democracy” 

Family photo ​

Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des Evénements
 
Plenary
 
13:00-14:30 (UTC+2)
Café Europa for Local European Councillors Network / Café Europa for members of the Young Elected Politician Programme
 
Round tables
 
14:30-16:00 (UTC+2)

Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des EvénementsDemocracy, education and culture in the digital age

​Moderator: Dr Jonnie Penn

Scene setting:

  • ​Dr Jonnie Penn, Harvard and Cambridge academic, former Google Fellow 
  • Video: Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education & Youth 

  • Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdansk
  • Thomas Matthew, European Youth Forum
  • Lidia Pereira, Member of the European Parliament,​ President of the Youth of the European People's Party
  • Hedi Ramdane, Deputy Mayor of Marseille 
  • Ludovic Perney,  Vice-President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region for Youth, Sports and Education
  • Capucine Tuffier, Public Policy Manager, Meta, France

Debate with the audience ​

 
Interpretation:
DE/EN/FR
 
 
 

Room: Les Goudes – Palais des CongrèsYouth participation in the revival of democracy and the promotion of European values

Moderator: Céline Geissmann, Strasbourg City Councilor 

Scene setting:

  • ​Christian Spahr, Secretary-General of the Assembly of European Regions
  • Tim Reeskens, Tilburg University, Jean Monnet Chair on Identities and Cohesion in a Changing EU​
  • Evelyn Regner, Vice-President of the European Parliament
  • Video:Sabine Verheyen, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the  CULT
  • Jean Rottner, President of Grand-Est Region
  • Kieran McCarthy, Member of Cork Council, President of the CoR's EA Group
  • Alison Devaux, Councillor Department Bouches-du-Rhône, youth delegate
  • Alicia Homs Ginel, Member of the European Parliament, President of the Young European Socialists
  • Stéphane ​Séjourné, Member of the European Parliament, President of the RENEW Group ​
Debate with the audience 
​
 
Interpretation:
DE/EN/FR
 
 
Plenary session
 
16:15-17:00 (UTC+2)
 
The Future of European Democracy: Youth engagement and European values

​Moderator: Simon Lindkær An​dersen, European Youth Forum

  • Launch of the co-creation process for the “Charter for Youth and Democracy” 

  • Reporting back from youth round tables: Dr Jonnie Penn and Celine Geissmann
  • Silja Markkula, President of the European Youth Forum
  • Apostolos T​zitzikostas, President of the Euro​pean Committee of the Regions​​
  • ​ Renaud Muselier, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region

Interpretation:
ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/PT/RO/SK/SV
Room: Amphithéâtre – Palais des Evénements
 
Cultural programme
 
17:00-17:20 (UTC+2)
Performance of the ballet Preljocaj
Room: Amphitheatre – Palais des Evénements