"Democracy is not something given to us once and for all. It is not something obvious. It is something for which we must fight and strive for every day." Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk made these remarks after being appointed by the CIVEX Commission as European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Rapporteur on the European Democracy Action Plan.
Dulkiewicz said that Europe stands at crossroads and that local and regional authorities have an important role to play in strengthening democracy. "We are already making important choices with far-reaching consequences. The question is which path we will follow: will we choose the winding path of values or will we take the populist highway at dangerous speed? And here comes a great task for local politicians especially for those who have an impact on the processes taking place in our small homelands, in which for many people social interaction begins. Democracy must be practiced, exercised, learned. Myself as Mayor of Gdansk, city where solidarity, the first democratic laboratory on the other side of Iron Curtain was born, treat this opinion as a special duty."
In December the European Commission presented its European Democracy Action Plan to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies across the EU. The European Democracy Action Plan sets out measures around three main pillars:
- Promote free and fair elections
- Strengthen media freedom and pluralism
- Counter disinformation