The need to involve the voice of local and regional authorities in preparation and implementation of Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRP) were the key points raised by EPP-CoR members raised during an ECON hearing on LRAs and the RRP.
During the meeting a presentation was delivered on the results of the CoR-CEMR survey on the involvement of LRAs in the Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF). Michael Murphy, chair of the Commission for Economic policy said that the CoR and ECON pride itself on evidence-based research and these results show that unfortunately "only a minority of Member States consult their local and regional authorities in the preparation of the RRP and that an even smaller number actually takes on their input" and that the principal barrier identified by respondents is "a simple lack of willingness on behalf of the national government, which did not seek to involve subnational government representatives". Going forward, what is important is that this reality is shared widely with the Institutions which can further encourage the involvement of LRAs in these plans before their final version is submitted. Murphy who is a counillor of Tipperary County Council added that the high-level round table discussion today on the first lessons learnt from the early implementation of the RRF is a timely stock-taking exercise and recalls the importance of villages, cities and regions being ambitious in the formulation of the recovery plans.
Eddy van Hijum, Member of the Council of the Province of Overijssel appealed for the Netherlands to actively involve municipalities and provinces in the National Recovery Plan, for which 5.6 billion euros is available via the European RRF. He said that this is key to building a strong, smart and clean economy. He stressed "It is crucial that the voice of regional and local authorities is heard and taken into account as they are the ones who know exactly what is needed on the ground."
Sari Rautio, Chair of Hämeenlinna City expressed satisfaction on involvement of her City in the process. "In Finland the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the recovery plan and organised regional hearings in order to include the voice of regions in the national plan. We are happy that in Finland the regional and local voice had an important role in this matter." concluded Rautio.