Members of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions (EPP-CoR) will meet in Dubrovnik to highlight the added value of EU membership for villages, cities and regions in the context of the 10-year anniversary since Croatia joined the EU. This will be an occasion to also debate the future cohesion policy together with national and European leaders, which has brought prosperity and economic development to many territories and citizens of Croatia. The event is being hosted by Nikola Dobroslavić, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region, and Member of the EPP-CoR Group.
The event will be opened by Olgierd Geblewicz, President of the EPP-CoR Group and President of the West Pomerania Region as well as Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography and former Mayor of Dubrovnik and addressed by Manfred Weber, President of the EPP and Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament as well as Andrej Plenković, Primer Minister of Croatia and President of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
In the first panel, moderated by MEP Karlo Ressler, Mayors, Presidents of Regions and Ministers will discuss how Croatia has benefitted from 10 years of EU membership and the role its membership can play in the Western Balkans. The panel will include Branko Bačić, Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets of Croatia and Josip Bilaver, State Secretary in the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of Croatia.
The second panel will discuss the future of Cohesion Policy after 2027 and its role to empower and strengthen local communities with the participation of Šime Erlić, Minister of Regional Development and EU Funding of Croatia, Jan Olbrycht, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament and Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Chair of the CoR COTER Commission and CoR Rapporteur on the future of Cohesion Policy after 2027.
EPP-CoR members are expected to adapt the Dubrovnik declaration which will celebrate the successes achieved in ten years of Croatian membership, the opportunities for Croatian citizens while recognising the exceptional contribution that Croatia is making to shape EU policies. The declaration will also call for a renewed commitment to enlargement, particularly in areas such as the Western Balkans. Furthermore, members are expected to call for more legal guarantees to be set out in future programming periods to ensure greater decentralisation and the full engagement of local and regional authorities in the design, implementation and management of Cohesion Policy projects on the ground, in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
Journalists are invited to cover the event which will take place at the Dubrovnik Palace Hotel, Dubrovnik (Croatia). A press conference will be held at 1:15pm at the venue.
The full agenda can be found here.
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