"As EPP regional and local politicians, we are responsible and committed to ensure all levels of government work together on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This is the only possible way for citizens not to miss out on EU opportunities." Olgierd Geblewicz, President of West Pomerania Region and President of the EPP-CoR Group made these remarks when addressing the conference 'Road to Recovery' organized by the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions (EPP-CoR) and the EPP Group in the European Parliament (EPP-EP) in Lisbon.
Speaking on the positive impact this will have, Geblewicz explained how his region had made use of NextGenerationUE funds under ReactEU to strengthen the resilience of the regional health system, by building an infectious diseases ward in the largest regional hospital as well as to invest further in the energy sector to reduce dependence on fossils fuels.
Siegfried Mureșan MEP, Vice-Chair of the EPP-EP Group and Chairman of the Working Group for Budget and Structural Policies said "The voice of mayors and regions must be heard. We are talking about the RRF and our mayors are the ones who know best where this money is needed and how to be used in the best possible way."
Speaking on the importance of engaging Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) in the implementation process, Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon and former EU Commissioner said "Making politics in a different way means listening to the people. In Lisbon we created the citizens’ assembly in order for people to be able to work with the city in finding solutions and make it happen. Cities are the translators of EU policies for citizens. We are the ones who transform EU policies into tangible actions on the ground."
Discussing the involvement of local authorities in the design and implementation of the Recovery Plan, Jan Olbrycht MEP and Vice-Chair of the EPP-EP Group stressed that the RRF should be implemented through consultation and participation of different stakeholders, mainly the local and regional level.
Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw and Chair of the CoR ENVE Commission said "After COVID, and in times of the biggest refugee crisis and lingering economic slowdown, the RRF is like drip for an exhausted body. It prevents a deeper crisis and gives hope for a better tomorrow. Therefore, it is crucial that it reaches all local communities across the EU without any further delay". Trzaskowski also ciristicsed the Polish government for politicising the implementation process.
Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga, Portugal said that in Portugal implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, was a huge disappointment and did not live up to expectations, since, geographically, the projects are mostly concentrated in two areas. He said that local authorities are not being involved, as they are the most capable and know the terrain to implement the different projects. He said that for the RRF to be successful, four actions were needed:
-extending the time for implementation
-addressing rising costs putting problems on implementation of projects
-directing investment to areas neglected by central governments such as the health
-embracing the SDGs in the implementation of the plan
Isabel Diaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid said "EU funds are currently being managed in an arbitrary, non-transparent manner and always based on political affiliation and electoral interest in the short and long term". President Ayuso stressed that in this way funds are not being used to face the real problems of rural areas, of farmers, of the elderly, of children or of the impoverished middle class.
Discussing synergies between the recovery funds and the traditional EU funds, Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens and Member of EPP-CoR said "The road to recovery should not just lead to bouncing back, but to leaping forward. The NextGenerationEU and the RRF represent exactly this breakthrough in socioeconomic thinking. An extraordinary response in extraordinary times. Cities are catalysts in making our European countries, greener, more digital and more resilient. Hence, I am grateful to the EPP for providing this unique opportunity- for cooperating in empowering local governments to undertake a greater role within this overall process. I am excited about sharing Athens' experience in enhancing and utilising a number of different synergies to proceed with its transition into a more sustainable and resilient city."
Markku Markkula, President of Helsinki Region and Member of EPP-CoR said "Results of the RRF in the EU show an urgent need to upgrade the role of innovation. Bottom-up results in several European regions confirm the existing potential for system-level societal innovation." Markkula, who serves as CoR Vice-President, gave evidence-based insights into how his region is accelerating the transformation. He challenged other regions to co-create partnerships using the RDI breakthrough developments that Finnish cities show together with industry, research centres and universities." He remarked that Helsinki Region will be carbon neutral already by 2030.