At the Conference on the Future of Europe plenary in Strasbourg, our liberal delegation shared the values and proposals for the future of the EU, exchanging on an equal basis with citizens, European, national, and local and regional authorities based on contributions on the platform future.europa.eu.
In Strasbourg, our delegation – made up of François Decoster, Clotilde Armand, Mirja Vehkaperä, Clotilde Armand and Cees Loggen, part of the 30 local and regional delegates, joined members of the European Parliament such as Renew Europe MEPs, European Commission, national governments, citizen’s representatives and others in a number of thematic discussion groups, around which the final conclusions of the conference will be drawn. These include such diverse issues as participative democracy, health, climate change, social justice, education, digitalisation of society and migration, all areas where local and regional authorities are on the frontline in providing services, infrastructure and support to citizens.
Our President François Decoster, Mayor of Saint-Omer:
Europe is everywhere in our territories. It supports our companies, our projects, and paradoxically, it’s often difficult to see. The European Committee of the Regions can become the focal point that’s missing at the moment, to make the voices of the citizens heard, through the local and regional authorities. We have put forward almost 40 ideas on active subsidiarity on the multilingual digital platform. We owe this to our citizens, we owe it to Europe
Clotilde Armand, Mayor of Bucharest sector 1 said:
Our European citizens wish for a strong European economy, based on innovation and a carbon-neutral circular economy, but only if it leads to a more socially just Europe. What we need is a place-based industrial policy for regional development
Mirja Vehkaperä, chair of the board of Oulu City Council, Finland, said:
The citizens’ interest in the debate on the future of Europe shows that they want to discuss climate change and they want to hold on to the rule of law. After the local elections in my own country, we decided that there should be one appointed EU councillor, a local person whose portfolio will include European issues.
The European Committee of the Regions will present its final contribution to the Conference at the 9th European Summit of Regions and Cities which will be held during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU in Marseille on 3-4 March 2022.
