President Macron and President Metsola address 3,000
local and regional leaders who adopt Marseille
Manifesto setting demands on the future of the EU
During the
9th European Summit of Cities and Regions
in Marseille, local and regional leaders from
across Europe were united in their support for
Ukraine in the war against Russia and committed to
supporting the Ukrainian people. With the war in
Ukraine showing democracy cannot be taken for
granted, the
Marseille Manifesto
adopted by the Summit sets out its demands to put
citizens at the heart of European democracy.
In Marseille, awarding Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kiev,
with the honorary membership of the European Committee
of the Regions,
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions
and Governor of the Greek Region of Central Macedonia,
said:
"Three thousand people in Marseille and 1.2 million
EU regional and local leaders, stand with Ukraine
and against Russia's invasion. We are united to
help our neighbours, tackle the climate emergency,
battle extremism and promote territorial cohesion.
Our
Marseille Manifesto
calls for a Europe that protects and improves the
lives of citizens. It's time for a stronger EU
democracy that puts people in every region, city
and village at its very heart."
Renaud Muselier, President of the French Region of Provence
-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Deputy President of the Regions
of France declared: "
We have experienced the unthinkable: an armed
conflict and hundreds of thousands of refugees. We
have therefore launched the Southern Appeal for
Ukraine, together with the President of the
European Committee of the Regions and under the
patronage of the President of the European
Parliament. 242 European regions, 80 territories
and nearly 89,000 municipalities will be mobilised
to financially support the NGO ACTED, to help
displaced people. It is a call on all EU
communities to support the Ukrainian people and
collect more than €20 million. This act is another
proof that our territories, our regions, our
municipalities are essential for the EU. Today, and
at the end of this Summit, the President of the
French Republic welcomed this call, reinforcing our
determination to support the Ukrainian people."
President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, whose
speech
was delivered by President Muselier
during the Summit, said, "
At a time when France and Europe are taking
decisions of resolute support and massive
sanctions, I know that European territories display
the same strength, the same unity. It is you, who
carry through our territories, these values which
are constitutive of our Europe, those which make us
a power of peace, a power at the service of freedom
and justice. The Southern Appeal for Ukraine
launched jointly by the European Committee of the
Regions and its President Apostolos Tzitzkostas,
and President Muselier, is an important
humanitarian reinforcement. Placed under the high
patronage of the President of the European
Parliament Roberta Metsola, and of the European
Commission, this initiative counts and will count
in the days to come. Together we show the best
faces of Europe. A united, close, fair, democratic
Europe. It is this Europe for which, today, the
people of Ukraine are resisting and fighting for.
The European Union and its Member States need their
territories in these troubled times. These times
show how much we need to strengthen our European
sovereignty. Local authorities have their place in
this common work.
"
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, attended the
Summit and
stressed: "
Regions and cities are the beating heart of our
Union. There is a clear role for regional and local
governments in assuring that fundamental freedoms
and the rule of law are present in the everyday
life of EU citizens. We know how important local
mayors and governors of regions are in promoting
and caring for our common project, our shared
values and principles. We cannot give in to
complacency. We must remain vigilant. Our European
House of Democracy is precious. We will protect
it."
Vice-President of the European Commission and
Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, said:
"We can never take our democracy for granted, we
have to work on it together, every day, and on all
levels. The European Committee of the Regions and
its events allow the EU to reach citizens in all
corners of Europe. As former mayor I support your
call for greater involvement of local and regional
governments in European democracy."
The President of the Economic and Social Committee, Christa Schweng, said: "
What we are witnessing today, with the appalling
developments in Ukraine, is a true attack to all
the values that hold us together as a community. I
am deeply convinced that being European is, in the
first place, adhering to a consistent set of
non-negotiable values, like the respect of freedom,
of democracy, the rule of law and of fundamental
rights. All this with committed citizens –men and
women- at the heart. Civil society organisations
are the concrete of our joint House of European
democracy
."
Vasco Alves Cordeiro, First Vice-president of the European Committee of the
Regions, said:
"The war in Ukraine and our discussion here in
Marseille on European democracy are strongly
connected. We cannot make the mistake of separating
the two. What we say in our Manifesto and what we
want to revitalise is actually what is being
attacked by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. This
war shows us that we cannot take democracy for
granted."
The Summit’s
Declaration on Ukraine
calls on the EU to fully support Ukrainian refugees.
The Declaration strongly condemns the unprovoked and
unjustified military aggression by Vladimir Putin
against Ukraine and calls the EU to urgently grant
Ukrainian citizens leaving the country the refugee
status under EU Asylum Law.
Although the war in Ukraine dominated debate, the
two-day Summit held wide-ranging discussions on the
future of Europe, post-pandemic recovery and cohesion,
key elements of the Manifesto adopted at the end of the
Summit. The Marseille Manifesto contains proposals to
strengthen the EU's democratic legitimacy including
calling for its regions, cities and municipalities to
be gradually upgraded - through the European Committee
of the Regions - beyond its current consultative
function towards a binding role in a limited number of
policy areas with a clear territorial dimension while
avoiding additional complexity in the EU.
Background
Marseille Manifesto
Declaration on Ukraine
Summit’s website
Summit's photo album
Contact:
Chris Jones //
Chris.Jones@cor.europa.eu
// +32 (0) 471 70 28 69
David Crous //
David.Crous@cor.europa.eu
/
/ +32 (0) 470 88 10 37