The EPP-CoR delegation to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) made up of local and regional elected politicians joined national and European leaders as well as civil society and citizens to express the views of villages, cities and regions in the fourth Plenary of the Conference in Strasbourg. Local and regional EPP delegates called for measures to strengthen democracy, work towards energy efficiency and sovereignty, and address the migration challenges in Europe.
Olgierd Geblewicz, President of EPP-CoR Group joined EPP-leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the work on the topics of environment and climate. He said ''The solidarity of European regions with the people of Ukraine and those running from the war is unprecedented. Now, more than ever we need cooperation between the European, the national and the regional and local levels to optimize our energy efficiency in European cities. The Future of European should be less dependent on foreign oil and gas supplies. ''
During the plenary session on 'Youth, education and culture', Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca said "Education and culture are the foundation to our European way of life, they are the key to tackle poverty, get access to prosperity and the best antidote to intolerance, ignorance, racism and violence. Education and civic education are the oxygen of democracy." In this regard Boc called for the introduction of Europe-wide curricula on civic education. He stressed "Education and active citizens build stronger democracies. What is needed is strong action at EU level to reduce regional disparities in education and turn brain drain into brain gain."
Mark Speich, Secretary of State for Federal, European and International Affairs (North Rhine-Westphalia) and active member of the CoFoE working Group 'EU in the World' commented during a plenary session stating ''We need to cut off the lifelines of Putin’s war machine as soon as possible. And we need a mechanism that supports regions that will suffer more than others from the consequences of much needed geopolitical decisions.''
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) spoke on the role of the 'EU in the World' and shared the various efforts across cities and regions to support Ukraine: from funds being raised in Gdansk to support hospitals in Kyiv and Lviv, to medical supplies being collected in his region of Central Macedonia, Greece. Tzitzikostas added "The time has come to move forward, for a common European defence and foreign policy, to not only protect our external borders, but to uphold what we all cherish most: Freedom and Democracy." He expressed support to the citizens' panel calling for an increased strategic autonomy of the EU.
Mark Speich, State Secretary of North Rhine-Westphalia and Chairman of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) CIVEX Commission said “ We need to cut off the lifelines of Putin’s war machine as soon as possible. And we need a mechanism that supports regions that will suffer more than others from the consequences of much needed geopolitical decisions."
Jelena Drenjanin, EPP-CoR 1st Vice-President intervened in the plenary session on 'digital transformation'. She said "The shape of Europe’s digital future will be dependent on empowering citizens and their confidence to access digital services and associated data, which assures protection of our society, enables required innovations and secures a resilient digital economy." Drenjanin, who serves as Vice-mayor of Huddinge Municipality added that the pandemic speeded up the digitalization and revealed that not every citizen in Europe is on board. She concluded "That is about to change now because we are building the future of Europe together. No one should be left behind."
Addressing the session on 'migration', Magnus Berntsson said that European citizens are concerned regarding the lack of a common migration policy in the EU. He remarked "The EU must act as a whole when it comes to the integration and inclusion of migrants. And in this, European regions have been instrumental." Berntsson pointed out the need to address challenges and opportunities throughout the whole migration cycle, starting from the country of origin to the final destination. In this regard, he said "We recommend the strengthening of the multi-actor governance of migration. We encourage the EU to act as the facilitator for an increased establishment of dialogues and cooperation between Member States and regional authorities for the better management of migration, diversity and inclusion."