The role of local and regional authorities in strategic foresight policies and in countering foreign disinformation and interference were discussed today in the CoR CIVEX commission meeting with rapporteurs Piero Mauro Zanin and Gustaw Marek Brzezin.
Strategic foresight as an instrument of EU governance and better regulation
Members of the commission held a preliminary exchange of views on how strategic foresight – a structured, systemic and collective way to anticipate change – can be used to improve governance and regulations. The exchange lays the ground for an opinion that is scheduled for adoption in October. The European Commission has been investing a strategic foresight to build up resilience and capacity to adapt to change, shocks and crises. The CoR's opinion will explore how local and regional authorities and the CoR can contribute to a system of 'anticipatory governance'.
The rapporteur, Piero Mauro Zanin (IT/EPP), President of the Regional Council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, said "The dramatic events of the last few years - from the pandemic to Russia’s aggression on Ukraine - make clear that applying strategic foresight is a fundamental need for regional and local policy-makers to implement 'future-proof' policies and regulations. Through this opinion, the CoR can strengthen its role and underline how LRAs can adopt a new 'anticipatory governance' model, based on the capability to identify and assess future scenarios and trends since their first 'weak signals'. The opinion also aims at stressing the importance of strategic foresight as a governance and policy-planning tool, and especially as one of the most essential parts of better regulation. The CoR can moreover promote some ad-hoc educational and training actions, also targeted at LRAs officers, to develop a common mind-set so that all Europe’s regions approach foresight consistently, and can effectively share their experiences and best practices."
The role of local and regional authorities in countering foreign information manipulation and interference
The meeting saw an initial debate on an own-initiative report by the European Committee of the Regions on countering foreign interference in the information space. The opinion is being fast-tracked, and will build on recent.
The rapporteur, Gustaw Marek Brzezin (PL/EPP), President of Warmińsko-Mazurskie Region, said "Local and regional media play important role in countering disinformation and therefore they should be supported by local and regional authorities. Only by working together, European, national, local and regional level, we can prevent, detect and expose manipulation of information. We must broaden the knowledge of representatives of local and regional authorities in raising public awareness to the mechanisms of disinformation."