Our goals
This
Future of Europe campaign is one of three major initiatives of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), along with the campaigns on the
Green Deal and the
Cohesion Alliance.
With its aim to
Bring Europe closer to its people, this campaign focuses on four key areas:
- Providing support to Members of the CoR who wish to create events in their local areas to engage citizens in a dialogue about Europe. This aspect has increased in prominence with the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe, as more Members seek assistance to run local dialogue events. (See section below with more information about the specific support that is available.)
- The promotion and support of large scale initiatives, including the Conference on the Future of Europe and the new
EU Councillors Network, by organising events and ensuring the outputs from them are fed into the correct channels for consideration by policy- and decision-makers.
- Working with external organisations to support the development of new and innovative methods of citizen engagement and participation, and encouraging the take-up of these new tools. More information on our projects with the
Bertelsmann Stiftung and Europe Direct Centres is available below.
- Seeking the views of citizens directly on European matters through the continuing
Future of Europe survey. The results help to shape CoR policy in general, and will also feed into the CoR's deliberations on its official submission to the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Support to Members
The CoR encourages and supports its Members to engage with citizens on European matters through local events, something which is even more relevant given the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe.
Depending on the nature of the event, and budget availability, this support may include:
- Equipment and venue hire
- Access to online video conferencing and streaming platforms
- Event management and technical support
- Interpretation services
- Support for the costs of hiring moderators
- Graphic design services
- Promotion in press and social media
- Reporting and disseminating the outputs of the event
The COVID-19 pandemic means that only online and hybrid events can be supported at present. However, we look forward to being able to support fully physical events in the near future. This guide gives full details of the current support that is available: Guidelines for organisers of online local events (Feb 2021)
Applying for support
Members seeking help for a local dialogue event
must apply for assistance no later than three months before the planned date of the event, using the
online application form. Applications received later than this may not be able to be supported. For more details, please review the CoR Decision 145/2020 on support for co-organised local events.
Collaborations
-
Bertelsmann Stiftung: The CoR is partnering with the Bertelsmann Stiftung to support over 50 local dialogue events across Europe by the end of 2021. These events are gathering citizens' views to feed into the Conference on the Future of Europe.
-
Europe Direct Centres:The CoR is also supporting
Europe Direct Centres to run local dialogue events across Europe, again feeding into the Conference on the Future of Europe. It is anticipated that approximately 20 such events will take place before the end of 2021.
-
European Year of Rail: 2021 is the
European Year of Rail, and as transport is a major local and regional issue, the CoR is collaborating with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport to support local events related to the Year.
Network of Regional and Local EU Councillors
There are more than one million elected politicians in the regions and cities of the European Union. They are dealing with European laws, funding programmes and debates on a daily basis. The Network builds on the successful experience with national of local politicians dealing with EU affairs existing, for example, in Austria, France and Germany.
Visit the
Network webpage for more information and to get involved.