Continued structured dialogue with citizens and involvement of cities and regions in the follow up to the Conference on the Future of Europe as well as the need to revitalise European democracy through multi-level governance were the main points raised by EPP-CoR members during a debate on a resolution on the 'Results of the Conference on the Future of Europe and its follow-up' held during the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary session.
Mark Speich, Secretary of State for Federal, European and International Affairs (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) stressed the need of continued involvement of cities and regions. "As a member of the Conference Plenary, I am particularly interested in ensuring that the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe remain the starting point for a lively debate on the future of the European Union. It is extremely important that we keep a close eye on the design of the follow-up process. We must continue to demand maximum transparency in dealing with the results as well as close involvement of the CoR. This includes in particular the proposals concerning the role of the CoR.”
Jelena Drenjanin, EPP-CoR 1st Vice President and Vice-Mayor of Huddinge Municipality spoke on the need to strengthen European democracy "European democracy needs to be revitalised to survive at a time when only 13 percent of the world population lives in a democracy and 70 percent lives under dictatorships. The Conference on the Future of Europe is the world's largest democracy project, securing different levels of citizens' participation to reinforce European values and democracy. Building democracies takes effort and time but can be ruined in seconds. We are all determined to make Europe the world's strongest democracy.”
Željko Turk, Mayor of the City of Zaprešić (Croatia) spoke on the key role cities and regions can play in the implementation of the conclusions. ''The Conference on the Future of Europe was an important exercise in participatory democracy. As representatives of the level of government closest to the citizens, we should wholeheartedly support the Conference's recommendations and conclusions and do our best so that they are implemented. Cities, municipalities and regions can give significant contribution in the implementation of the proposed measures, while the role of CoR is crucial in enabling representation of local and regional governments in the process of achieving set goals. The proposed reforms of the EU and CoR could make this process more efficient and easy.''
Franz Schausberger, Representative of Salzburg (Austria) highlighted that the Conference on the Future of Europe produced interesting results which need to be implemented, in particular to promoted multi-level governance. "The question is whether the current crises allow for implementation at all and whether there is the will to do so. For Europe's regions and cities, the main issue is to strengthen them in the member states through a new emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity. This must also be an important principle in the enlargement process."
Referring to the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe, Bruno Hranic, Mayor of the Municipality of Vidovec (Croatia) said that while he was satisfied with the conclusions of the conference but expressed concern that several citizens showed a total lack of interest in European Union policy. " These conclusions show that we have focused on important goals which will improve the lives of citizens in the European Union, but now we have the task to emphasize these conclusions and their importance to every citizen through the actions of local and regional politicians. These conclusions must reach every citizen, every city and municipality, every village. Therefore, it should be clear to the EU that we, politicians at the local/regional level, can bring people closer to the benefits of EU. Therefore, I suggest that the CoR be given more attention through the institutions of the EU, and that the CoR should be given greater responsibility in implementing conclusions."