The need for the European Democracy Action Plan to take into account the role of Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) in strengthening European democracy, engaging citizens who lost trust in governments through local dialogues as well as using the Conference on the future of Europe as an opportunity to rethink democracy taking into account the needs of Europeans were the main points raised by members of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) during a CIVEX Commission meeting chaired by CIVEX Chair Mark Speich.
European Democracy Action Plan
During the meeting, members adopted the CoR Opinion on the European Democracy Action Plan. Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk and CoR Rapporteur for the Opinion said that democracy is one of the most valuable resources of the European Union (EU) and that it needs to be constantly updated and defended at all levels – regional, local, national and European. Speaking on the role of LRAs Dulkiewicz said "Local and regional representatives serve as an important pillar to fight disinformation and sustain democratic political debate with citizens. They can be instrumental to promote digital media literacy, critical thinking and transparency in political campaigning." She also spoke on the need of fact checking and on the need to protect journalists from being harassed throughout their work. "We all know the important role journalists play in a health democracy" she concluded.
Sandra Kalniete, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament said that trust is the blood stream of modern democracies. "LRAs are at the forefront of establishing and building trust in democratic institutions through daily work and contact with our citizens. Without representatives of our regions, all plans to strengthen European democracy would remain on paper. Therefore, the role of local and regional players is instrumental to our collective struggle against disinformation and other forms of foreign interference." She shared the Rapporteur's regret that there is no direct reference to LRAs in the Commission's Action Plan and expressed hope that this issue will be addressed.
Elena Brasero, Regional Deputy at the Assembly of Madrid and member of the Young Elected Politicians Programme (YEP) said that education has a key role for citizens to make informed decisions. She also referred to a law passed by the Regional government on public participation and transparency which seeks to enhance legitimacy and trust. "LRAs must play a key role in strengthening the resilience of EU democracies and in enhancing civic engagement, as we are the closest level to citizens and the one that is most trusted. In my region, Madrid, we are firmly committed to promoting transparency as a way to bring citizens closer to the institutions."
Jesús Gamallo Aller, Director-General for External Relations and Relations with the European Union of the Region of Galicia welcomed the concrete proposals put forward by the Rapporteur for consolidation of rule of law across Europe. He referred to the need to safeguard freedom of speech: the importance to ensure that citizens are informed and journalists are free to work in the best possible environment. He also stressed the need to encourage more critical thinking.
Alin-Adrian Nica, President of Timiş County Council emphasized the need of a bottom-up approach and stressed the key role of local and regional decision-makers as responsible opinion leaders in educating local communities, safeguarding democratic values and countering disinformation.”
Debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe and the role of regional parliaments in EU decision making and implementation
Member also held a discussion on the Conference on the Future of Europe. Piero Mauro Zanin, President of the Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region said that the Conference on the Future of Europe must be an opportunity to rethink democracy taking into account the needs of Europeans and must promote a dialogue involving LRAs, in line with the principle of subsidiarity strongly reaffirmed in the treaties.
Mark Speich, Secretary of State for Federal, European and International Affairs for the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia said "The regions and the CoR have the potential and the resources to anchor Europe closer to the citizens. It is our task as representatives of the regions of Europe to bring about change within the framework of the conference on the basis of this conviction."
Earlier during the CIVEX Commission, John Berends, the King’s Commissioner of the province of Gelderland spoke on local dialogues from the regional perspective of Gelderland. He said “By organizing meetings with citizens who feel unheard by politicians and have lost trust in the government, I am trying to find out how to regain trust. In the course of this process, I think that the organization of online dialogues in cooperation with the CoR and the Bertelsmann Foundation as well as the ‘Building Europe with Local Entities’ project of the European Parliament would be helpful tools to get all citizens engaged.”