On 31 January 2020, the Members of the EPP-CoR elected Olgierd Geblewicz, President of the Westpomeranian Region, Poland, as the new President of the Group.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia, Greece, was elected as the EPP candidate for the presidency of the CoR.
Cities and regions expect the EU Green Deal to provide concrete solutions in line with local needs and opportunities.
Since its creation in 1994, the European People’s Party Group is a leading force in the European Committee of the Regions; the EU’s assembly of regional and local representatives. Given that approximately two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities, it gives locally and regionally elected representatives of government a say over the content of EU legislation and represents the interests of citizens living and working in the EU’s diverse cities, regions and municipalities. Local and regional politicians are also ideally placed to establish and maintain close links with European citizens. The EPP Group aims to enhance the efficiency and influence of the CoR through its formal and informal contacts with the other EU institutions and governments.
Under the motto “think globally – act locally“, the EPP Group strongly defends the principle of subsidiarity. This means that decisions should always be taken at the level closest to citizens unless a better result can be achieved by working at the national or European level.
The EPP, to which the Group belongs, is the family of the political centre-right and is chaired by Donald Tusk. The party counts on the Groups in the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions to defend and promote its values of democracy, transparency and efficiency by shaping common policies and putting citizens first.
