Local and regional leaders discuss recovery with Portuguese Prime Minister
"Regions and cities know which are the best tools and policy measures to ensure that Europe's ambitions succeed. In the post-Covid EU, we intend to contribute to create social ecosystems where labour markets meet mobility, where best possible opportunities are offered to our youth, and where SMEs and self-employed workers can contribute to business models that go hand in hand with cohesive social standards." Olgierd Geblewicz, EPP-CoR President and President of West Pomerania Region made these remarks during a debate on the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union with Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal.
Antonio Costa, a former Mayor of Lisbon, spoke on the need of a strategic vision with a territorial purpose to ensure recovery. "We want Europe to reach every town, village and city leaving no one behind. Therefore, our responses must be aligned to the needs of the various regions. We have to implement recovery plans quickly and for this to happen multi-level governance is key."
Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca said that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) cannot be a top-down and centralised exercise. He added that only a minority of Member States consulted their local and regional authorities (LRAs) in the preparation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and that an even smaller number actually takes on their input." Together, we can improve the quality of the NRRPs, increase ownership for the implementation of reforms and investments, and enhance transparency." said Boc. The former Prime Minister also spoke on the need to restart tourism. He said "In the EPP-CoR Group we believe that free movement is a fundamental right of European citizens. Those who have been vaccinated should not have restrictions imposed on them. This is more important given the upcoming touristic period which must work for the benefit of the European economy."
Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw said that recovery funds must not be used as a political tool by central governments. "Funds must be distributed according to objective criteria, in line with Europe’s ambitious climate targets. Whenever local authorities are left out these conditions are clearly not met." concluded Trzaskowski.
Speaking on the Conference on the Future of Europe, Guido Wolf, Minister for Justice and Europe, Baden-Württemberg regional government said that the Conference on the Future of Europe must involve the various opinions from across Europe. The "With the Conference on the Future of Europe, Europe now wants to set out to shape new things together. It is important for the Conference to allow closeness to citizens and that they should be able to contribute their views across the EU. In addition, the regional and local level must also be represented in the Plenary Assembly through national parliaments, their chambers and the CoR. Only this proximity to people creates transparency and legitimacy."
Piero Mauro Zanin, President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia spoke on the halt of the social elevator and the need of investment in education, skills and training for this to restart. Zanin added that local companies must adapt their methods, systems and technologies to the so-called industry 4.0 through the new financial resources made available by the EU. In his final remarks Zanin said "Through the pandemic we have learned new organizational schemes of work. We have the possibility of redesigning workplaces, shifting them from urban areas since the work can also take place in the suburbs and inland areas. This ensures that a higher quality of life is guaranteed and that opportunities for economic and social revitalization of other areas is created."