"All Western Balkans countries should become members of the European Union (EU) for the benefit of these countries and the EU on the political, economic and security level. Of course, all these countries need to abide by all the criteria before becoming members of the EU." Nikola Dobroslavić, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Rapporteur on the Enlargement Package 2020 made these remarks when presenting his draft opinion during a CIVEX Commission meeting
Dobroslavić remarked that there is a need to deal with gaps in democracy functioning in enlargement countries especially on the local level. He referred to the limited, respect for human rights, gender equality and still persisting problems with organized crime. On Serbia and Montenegro, the rapporteur said that these countries need to work more efficiently to improve the environment for freedom of expression and media freedom as well as to step up the fight against corruption.
Speaking on the willingness of the CoR to support Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs), Dobroslavić said “We want to support further decentralization of LRAs and to strengthen their capacity to manage crises situations.” Dobroslavic also welcomed the launch of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans as a key tool to support the economic recovery and stressed the importance of involvement of the local and regional self-governments in programming and monitoring the implementation of funding.
Franz Schausberger, Representative of Salzburg Province said "The enlargement process in the Western Balkans must pick up speed again otherwise other forces will gain more influence, even if the EU will provide considerably more support and investment. This is not in our European interest."
Anna Magyar, Member of Csongrád Megye Council said that the role of the CoR is very important when it comes to accession to the EU in light of the fact that more than 70% of legal acts will have to be implemented at a local level. In this regard she said "The local point of view has to be taken into account even in the planning process." She added that countries that are waiting for accession on different levels are home to several minorities and this needs to be given due importance. "When it comes to the rights of minorities this is something that has to be taken into account. Legal acts are not sufficient, practical conditions must be in place too." she concluded.
Tanya Hristova, Mayor of Gabrovo said that the European perspective is a very strong incentive for Western Balkan Countries to achieve democratic governance and a market economy.
Helma Kuhn-Theis, Member of Weiskirchen Municipal Council said that the rule of law must absolutely be given high value when it comes to accession. "We all know how fragile Europe is so we have to make sure that Europe continues to be stable. We need to keep an eye on the rule of law and ensure that Western Balkan countries comply with it otherwise we will face huge problems in the future."
Eleni Loukaidou, Councillor of Nicosia Municipality said that Turkey is a candidate country for accession in the EU in spite of the fact that it keeps 38% of the territory of Cyprus under military occupation. She said "This means that Turkey keeps European territory under occupation. It is high time for the EU to react in accordance to the principles the Union is founded on." From his end, the rapporteur said that Turkey needs to convince the European Union that it is really ready to adopt the European standards and values bearing in mind the worsening situation with human rights, rule of law and local democracy.
Debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe
Members held a debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe. Speaking about the role of local and regional authorities, Mark Speich Secretary of State of North Rhine-Westphalia said “We as politicians at the regional and local level must formulate concrete ideas about the EU of the future. We need a clear vision for the future of a Europe of the regions. The clearer this vision is, the more effectively we can take the necessary steps for its realization and use the Conference on the Future of Europe as an opportunity in the process. We are constantly calling for greater consideration of local and regional authorities in European decision-making and legislation. Now it is essential to develop clear proposals so that this demand is also explicitly enshrined institutionally and procedurally.”
Franck Proust, President of Nîmes Métropole said "The current crisis entails prioritising key aspects, in particular economic ones which we still need to identify. The CoR could play this role, prioritizing these sectors so that it serves as a guide for the other European institutions. The CoR could issue a 'Guideline for the future of Europe', drawn up with citizens and economic players. This should mean bringing together different regions across Europe, creating effective cooperation. Europe must catch up and rise as the world's leading economic power. Innovation, research, resilience: it has all the qualities for this to happen."
Work programme of the CIVEX commission for 2021
During the meeting members discussed the Work programme of the CIVEX commission for 2021. Mark Speich, Chair of the CIVEX commission said that the CIVEX commission will concentrate its efforts on policy areas with high relevance to the EU agenda and direct impact on local and regional authorities. These include:
- Conference on the Future of Europe
- Migration and Integration
- Better regulation and active subsidiarity
- Rule of Law and Local Democracy
- Strengthening resilience in the neighbourhood and in the world.
Jesús Gamallo Aller, Director-General for External Relations and Relations with the European Union for the Region of Galicia said that the CIVEX Commission needs to be a motor to shape how the future of EU governance will look like and what role regional and local authorities will play in it. He emphasized the need to address the growing concerns on the functioning of European democracy. "COVID-19 has impeded us from fully exercising some of our democratic rights as we know them and has boosted the flow of disinformation which we need to address."
New Pact on Migration and Asylum
During a discussion on the Opinion on a New Pact on Migration and Asylum, Piero Mauro Zanin, President of the legislative Assembly of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region spoke on the need to find a balance on the implementation of the solidarity mechanism which should be mandatory. "We need to be firm with those who are not admissible but take particular account of rights of women and children and also give rights to those who really need asylum." He appealed for member states which are less impacted by migration to show solidarity.