The European Committee of the Regions launched today a new generation of Regional Hubs, a network aimed at monitoring EU legislation. 70 % of EU legislation is implemented at local and regional level. As a result, local and regional authorities have valuable first-hand experience in applying EU legislation, in close contact with local businesses, social partners, civil society and citizens. The local and regional authorities’ experience in implementing EU legislation are valuable sources of knowledge not only for the design of new legislation but also to review of existing one. EPP-CoR members called for better regulation to be based on evidence coming from the ground.
European Committee of the Regions President Apostolos Tzitzikostas underlined the path which RegHub has walked in becoming a cornerstone for EU's Better Regulation policies by bridging the consultation gap between Brussels and the regions. Tzitzikostas sees in this effort, together with the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, a step forward for bringing Europe closer to citizens.
Michael Murphy (IE/EPP), Member of Tipperary County Council and Chair of the CoR commission for Economic Policy ECON, said: "Since its creation two years ago, RegHub has been managed by the ECON commission which I am chairing. I am more than pleased to see the launch of RegHub 2.0 and what the network has achieved so far. Today's discussions confirm that better regulation and evidence based policy making should not just be buzz words from the Brussels bubble. They should be at the heart of Europe's rules and take into account our cities' and regions' experience. I am glad to be able to contribute to this effort and I look forward to the work ahead in the coming months to help in achieving this goal."
Mark Speich (DE/EPP), Secretary of State for Federal, European and International Affairs for the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia – one of the participating regions in the RegHub 2.0 network - and chair of CoR commission on Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) stated: "The consultations of the RegHub Network provide citizens, companies, especially SMEs and public services with the opportunity to bring in their experiences with the implementation of EU legislation. This also means that the Network gives a stronger voice to citizens and economic actors at EU level. Now, the RegHub Network is given formal recognition as part of the Fit for Future Platform of the European Commission. As a consequence not only the RegHub network but all citizens and economic actors will have more direct influence and impact on European legislation. At the same time, the RegHub consultations will strengthen and enlarge the evidence base of the Platform's opinions.”
Piero Mauro Zanin (IT/EPP), President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia said that obstacles that hinder the development and well-being of society can be overcome through a bottom up approach. He added that this requires constant dialogue, to provide policy impact evaluations at a territorial level in favour of local, regional and European decision-makers. Zanin said "I am convinced that with our commitment, local and regional authorities, in the RegHub 2.0 network, can make legislation increasingly streamlined, simpler and more responsive to the needs of citizens, thanks to the constant dialogue that, we, as representatives of the citizens can offer."
The work programme of the new generation of RegHub 2.0 and its areas of expertise will be identified subsequent to the Fit for Future platform plenary that will take place on 4 March and will identify the EU legislation to be reviewed during 2021.