Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, addressed local and regional leaders during the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) December Plenary session talking about the future French presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022, European values and the renewal of democracy. The French President underlined “the representativeness and importance of the CoR” as well as the fundamental role of subsidiarity and cohesion.
"The French Presidency will be keen to involve all the institutions and European bodies in its work and its ambitions, including the European Committee of the Regions, the representativeness and importance of your Committee. Subsidiarity is an essential value. I would say that each time that Europe has suffered or has had to suffer criticism; it has each time forgotten the principle of subsidiarity and the importance of those which bring it as close as possible to our citizens. The pandemic crisis has also shown it with great force: without our local elected representatives we would have been unable to cope with the shock that we have suffered. This is absolutely true in France where mayors in particular, and all local authorities have played an essential role. This is true everywhere in Europe both in terms of health and economics." said Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, in his opening remarks when addressing local and regional leaders.
Furthermore, the President of the French Republic stressed "Regions are at the heart of the recovery that we have chosen to support at European level whether it involves support for economic recovery, digitization, ecological transition - investment in the future, in our territories are absolutely essential, from the recovery plan to European cohesion policy. Here too regions play an absolutely key role. This is why your work is particularly important and I want to assure you that it will be fully taken into account during our Presidency, because you are this daily matrix of European local democracy." (see the transcript of his speech and conclusion)
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the CoR declared: “I thank President Macron for the opportunity to discuss what unites us: the future of the European project and the defense of our democratic values. The European Committee of the Regions represents more than a million elected representatives from nearly 300 regions and 90,000 municipalities and is an essential element for local democracy, which is the future of European construction. It guarantees the diversity of our territories in the service of economic and social cohesion and ensures respect for our values based on subsidiarity, the rule of law and fundamental rights. I am reassured that, in these times of uncertainty and change, Europe will soon find itself under the leadership of France, the founding country of Europe, the country of human rights and today the federating country of an ambitious agenda in favor of European sovereignty ”.
Olgierd Geblewicz, President of the EPP-CoR Group and President of West Pomerania Region reassured Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, of the full support of local and regional leaders on the road to recovery, achieving the Green Deal objectives, revitalise Europe's industry and in finding the right answers for the increased demand for energy and electricity. "President, modern Europeans are no longer satisfied with a EU that brings peace, stability and security. In addition, they want to be engaged and decide on the direction that Europe will take tomorrow. They want to see European carbon-neutral innovation unfold in their home towns, to know that big corporations pay their fair share of taxes and they are interested in communicating with Europe from the comfort of their cities, towns and villages. We believe that to answer their call we have to take Europe's unique multi-level governance and put it in the centre of our democratic model. Empowering regional and local politicians in EU decisions will produce better and more legitimate European policies driven by citizens." said Olgierd Geblewicz.
As European citizens seek to respond to various economic, social, environmental and political challenges, and on the eve of the launch of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022, President Macron's participation sends a strong signal to all elected representatives on the ground in Europe. During the debate with CoR members, he also spoke of the need to build with the local authorities, a 'European demos', including in the possible context of the reforms necessary for a better functioning from the bottom to the top of the European Union. He underlined the particularly important role of local and regional elected representatives in overcoming essential challenges such as energy transition, digital transformation or social cohesion. He expressed his intention to work with the CoR, during the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to promote European values and fundamental principles.
See the debate here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oXXwR9AkY