ECR News - 18th edition

ECR News European Committee of the Regions | 18th edition

CONTENTS EDITORIAL 2 Water reuse 3 EU’s youth volunteer scheme 3 European Semester and Cohesion Policy 4 ECR Localism Summit 4 Message from Minister Dario Galli 6 Local Leader of the Year 6 State of the EU 7 Stronger role for the regions 8 People-to-people projects 8 Austrian Presidency and subsidiarity 9 Bregenz conference 10 Free market solutions 10 COP24 climate summit 11 Debate with Commissioner Cañete 12 Low-carbon energy transition 12 Conservative Party Conference 13 Retaining good relations post-Brexit 14 Mayors conference in Armenia 15 CORLEAP and Task Force Ukraine 16 Southern Mediterranean 16 Republic of Macedonia 17 Relations with Serbia 18 Western Balkans 18 Liberty Summit in Moldova 19 Forum on Local Democracy 19 Reforms in Georgia 20 Veneto recovers from disastrous storm 21 Discussing migration 21 Clean vehicles 22 Modern agriculture 22 Public health 23 Poland-Slovakia Forum 23 Public diplomacy for Europe 24 European Cooperation Day 25 European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction 26 Elections in the Czech Republic 26 Elections in Poland 27 Spitzenkandidat 28

ECR Group Secretariat Committee of the Regions

ECR Localism Summit: A New Vision for Europe The ECR Group in the CoR held its first Localism Summit on 19 September in Milan, Italy. The Summit brought together thinkers and leaders from government and business to explore bottom-up solutions to global trends. Organised under the theme of ‘A Glocal Vision for the Future of Europe’, the Summit addressed issues such as access to urban services, social inequalities, climate change, disaster risk management and migration.

Oldřich Vlasák leads cities and regions’ call for new ways to reuse water

ECR spokesperson Oldřich Vlasák

The European Committee of the Regions adopted during its plenary session of 4-5 December the position paper of local and regional politicians on EU regulations on minimum requirements for water reuse. This important document containing innovative proposals was prepared under the leadership of the ECR Vice-President Oldřich Vlasák. It calls on EU institutions to enlarge the scope of the regulation for the irrigation of green urban areas.

Matteo Bianchi: EU’s youth volunteer scheme needs a stronger local dimension Members of the EU’s political assembly representing local and regional authorities adopted a position paper on “European Solidarity Corps and the New EU’s Youth Strategy” drafted under the leadership of ECR Group Member Matteo Bianchi (Mayor of Morazzone and Member of Italian Parliament). The opinion, adopted during the 4-5 December plenary session, stresses the need to strengthen the role of local volunteering.

Matteo Bianchi and EP rapporteur Michaela Šojdrová

Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat, 101 1040 Bruxelles/Brussel

Tel: +32 2 282 2375 Fax: +32 2 282 2287

ecr@cor.europa.eu www.ecr.cor.europa.eu

EDITORIAL We are approaching a key moment for Europe. We have a European elections coming up at a historical moment when the choice our citizens face is either to vote for more of the same or to vote for a new European vision. Put another way, the choice is one between reform for a more confederal Europe that is bottom-up, localist and less bureaucratic versus an EU that is even more centralised, top-heavy and administrative. Our Group is fully behind the lead candidate of our political family, the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe, Jan Zahradil.

As the President of ACRE, he has been a leading Europe voice for the former vision and as always, our Group remains ready to do its part to continue efforts to help achieve that.

We will also be saying farewell to our British friends. Though the UK is leaving the EU, it is not leaving Europe and we will therefore continue to work with our British friends. The way we work will change. Instead of voting of

legislation together, we will be sharing bestpractices and working together much more through soft diplomatic tools.

As you will see in this newsletter, our local and regional politicians are active in working towards a reformed and bottom-up EU. We are not only helping the EU in its legislative process through the opinions we draft and prepare on behalf of the European Committee of the Regions and rapporteurs, but we are also engaging with our transatlantic friends and neighbouring non-EU countries to share best-practices and spread European Conservatives and Reformist values.

This year’s Localism Summit enabled us to meet with thinkers, movers and shakers from government and the private sector to identify some of the key reforms needed in Europe. I would like to thank our Italian members Matteo Bianchi and Carlo Fidanza and the President of the Lombardy region Attilio Fontana for hosting our Summit. I would also

ing to stimulate and facilitate water reuse in the EU for agricultural purposes. The EU predicts that at least 11% of the European population and 17% of its territory have been affected by water scarcity. Our first Vice-President Oldřich Vlasák has been leading on this important topic for the CoR.

Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky

In this edition of the newsletter you will find articles on the rapporteurships of our members, where they have been chosen by their fellow local and regional positions to prepare the Committee of the Regions’ position on a specific topic and act as the spokesperson of European local and regional authorities on the issue.

You will find an article on water reuse, which explains the changes needed to the Commission’s proposed new rules aim-

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The EU’s youth volunteer scheme is also featured. The article outlines how best to achieve greater youth engagement both in the EU and in addressing key European issues where solidarity may be needed be it in relation to refugees, natural disasters or others. The leader of our Italian delegation Matteo Bianchi outlines how the EU’s proposals could benefit from a stronger local community approach.

Furthermore, we have an article on the topic on the European Semester and the EU’s Cohesion Policy. As the EU aims to ensure more effective economic and fiscal policy coordination by linking EU spending to the economic policy recommendations it makes for each country, our Group President Rob Jonkman outlines how to avoid

ECR President Rob Jonkman

like to once again congratulate the President of the Liguria Region in Italy Giovanni Toti for the leadership that he has shown in his region when faced with the tragic collapse of the Genoa Bridge. It was in recognition of this that he received the Local Leader of the Year Award. You can read more about this and much more in this newsletter.

Rob Jonkman, President of the ECR Group, European Committee of the Regions

the dangers of a centralised system that does not respect the principles of subsidiarity. As the rapporteur of the CoR on the subject, he outlines in how article the key factors that the EU needs to take into account.

You will also find articles of the local and regional government diplomacy taking place on important global issues that have local solutions like climate action and building resilience to disaster resilience. Our Presidency member Daiva Matoniene has been attending the United Nations’ climate change conference meetings. Our Group has also been active in organising events to explore free market solutions to climate change. Our Vice-President Adam Banaszak has similarly been attending the United Nations meetings representing the CoR on how our cities and regions can build resilience to disasters.

I hope you enjoy our newsletter.

Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky, Secretary General of the ECR Group, European Committee of the Regions

ECR LEADS WORK OF EU LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES Oldřich Vlasák leads cities and regions’ call for new ways to reuse water Members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted the position paper of local and regional politicians on EU regulations on minimum requirements for water reuse during the 5-6 December plenary session. This important document, containing innovative proposals, was prepared under the leadership of the ECR Vice-President Oldřich Vlasák. It calls on the EU institutions to enlarge the scope of the proposed regulation for the irrigation of urban areas.

In May of this year, the European Commission published its first proposal for a regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse.

As part of the approval process, the proposal is being discussed by local and regional authorities in the European Committee of the Regions. The CoR spokesperson on this dossier is Oldřich Vlasák (ECR/CZ).

Mr Vlasák, Councillor for Hradec Králové, stated: “we propose increasing the scope of the proposed regulation not just for agricultural irrigation, but also for the irrigation of green spaces in urban areas, parks, gardens and grounds for public use. We need proper and standardised regulation at the EU level

to safeguard the single market with regard to agricultural products.”

In the CoR’s position paper, Mr Vlasák referred to the need to extend the scope of the regulation to other areas of use, such as irrigating urban green spaces, washing cars and cleaning streets. The document outlines that for the regulation to be implemented successfully, responsibility for the use of treated waste water should also be shared out among producers (operators of wastewater treatment plants) and future users.

Mr Vlasák, apart from being a Councillor and a Member of the CoR, is also the Director of the Water Supply and Sewerage Association

ECR spokesperson Oldřich Vlasák

of the Czech Republic (SOVAK). The groundwork for his opinion was provided by a team of experts on the use of treated waste water, led by Professor Jiří Wanner from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.

“EU’s youth volunteer scheme needs a stronger local dimension” says Matteo Bianchi Members of the EU’s political assembly representing local and regional authorities adopted during the 5-6 December plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions an opinion on the “European Solidarity Corps and the New EU’s Youth Strategy” drafted under the leadership of ECR Group Member Matteo Bianchi (Mayor of Morazzone and Member of Italian Parliament).

The position paper, outlining the opinion of local and regional authorities in the EU countries, was prepared in response to the European Commission’s proposal to establish the European Solidarity Corps. This new EU initiative would aim to create opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

Underlining the need for a stronger local community angle in the voluntary scheme, the CoR’s spokesperson on the issue Matteo Bianchi said: “we want to stress that the needs and demands of local communities should be an important quality criterion for identifying eligible projects”.

Mr Bianchi stressed that the role of local volunteering needs to be strengthened, pointing out that many young people take part in local community projects whose contribution to civic engagement, social inclusion and countering migration from rural to urban areas should be highlighted.

Another important proposal in the CoR opinion prepared under Mr Bianchi’s leadership is the new EU youth strategy for 2019 to 2027.

The European Commission is proposing to have an EU youth coordinator, in order to give young people a voice in shaping EU policies.

Commenting on this new EU-level position, Mr Bianchi proposed a solution that would enable a more genuine bottom-up engagement with Europe’s youth. “Given that the

Matteo Bianchi and EP rapporteur Michaela Šojdrová

new EU youth coordinator will not be able to be in contact with all European regions, I propose to organise regular meetings between the CoR and the new EU youth coordinator in order to establish structural cooperation, as they will be responsible for conveying all social needs at local and regional level on youth-related issues”, he said.

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ECR Group President Rob Jonkman appointed CoR spokesperson on “European Semester and Cohesion Policy: aligning structural reforms with long term investments” Our President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands) was appointed the spokesperson (rapporteur) for the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on the “European Semester and Cohesion Policy: aligning structural reforms with long term investments”.

This opinion looks at the links between the European Semester and the EU’s Cohesion Policy. The former is the framework used at the EU level to coordinate economic and fiscal policies between the EU member states.

The later is the EU’s strategy for promoting and supporting an overall harmonious development at the local and regional level aiming at redusing development disparities. Funds allocated to the Cohesion Policy account for approximately one third of the EU’s budget.

fully implemented. In an attempt to better link the existing system of coordinationg the economic and fiscal policies of EU member states with the way the EU is financially supporting the cohesive development of those countries, the Commission has been exploring the links between the Semester and the Cohesion Policy. The new EU budget for 2021-2027 as proposed by the European Commission will enhance the connection between the EU’s cohesion spending and the European Semester.

The opinion looks specifically at the connection between the European Semester and the new cohesion programmes under the 2021-2027 EU budget. This opinion is being produced also following a request from the January-June 2019 Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“There is a strong local and regional angle to the European Semester”, said Rob Jonkman. He underlined that “currently, the implementation of half of the European Semester’s Country Specific Recommendations requires local and regional authority action. However, local and regional authorities are not formally involved in setting the recommendations. This is one of the reasons why the recommendations are hardly ever implemented. We need a more bottom-up system that respects the principle of subsidiarity by treating local and regional authorities as partners in the Semester proces. We already have such a partnership approach in place in the Cohesion Policy. If more synergies are going to

The Romanian Presidency has underlined to the European Committee of the Regions that it is interested in exploring the ways in which the Semester could be improved in terms of better ownership and governance.

The implementation of the recommendations relating to the European Semester has been a long standing issue with less than 5% of the recommendations usually being

ECR President Rob Jonkman

be put in place between the Semester and the Cohesion Policy, it becomes even more urgent that we get a code of conduct for the involvement of local and regional authorities in the Semester.”

In 2017, only 1% of the Country Specific Recommendations were fully or substantially implemented. The CoR has been calling for local and regional authorities are treated as partners as is already the case for the Cohesion Policy. In Europe, there are approximately 41 national parliament chambers, 74 regional legislative assemblies, 280 regions and 80,000 local authorities. “Any synergies to the Semester and Cohesion Policy coming at the cost of a more centralised system that excludes local and regional authorities is likely to lead to serious subsidiarity concerns” underlined Mr Jonkman.

LOCALISM SUMMIT ECR Localism Summit: A New Vision for Europe The European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Committee of the Regions held its first Localism Summit on 19 September in Milan, Lombardia. The Summit brought together thinkers and leaders from government and business to explore bottom-up solutions to global trends. Organised under the theme of ‘A Glocal Vision for the Future of Europe’, the Summit addressed issues such as access to urban services, social inequalities, climate change, disaster risk management and migration.

The ECR Group Localism Summit focused on the future of Europe and identified the kind of reforms needed to deliver greater innovation, competitiveness and democratic accountability. Cities and regions are facing bigger challenges than ever before

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and are developing innovative solutions to address these. Things like the digital transformation created by the 4th industrial revolution, growing urbanisation, climate change, disasters and the influx of migrants and refugees are all felt locally and

resonate globally. Cities and regions are not only responsible for the about two thirds of public investment in the EU aimed to help our localities with smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and job creation, but they are also at the forefront of responding and

developing solutions to these global developments. This Localism Summit brought together leading thinkers, movers and shakers from government and business to shape the agenda of the future and advocate a more localism based reform of the European Union.

The summit took place in a context of ongoing reflection on the future of Europe and how its governance could be improved. It took place after the report of the Commission’s Task force on subsidiarity, proportionality and doing less more efficiently has been published calling for more active subsidiarity in the EU and ahead of the State of the Union speech of the Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker where the Commission President sets the agenda of the Commission for 2019 outlining the kind of legislative work that can be expected. It also took place a ahead of the campaigning period for the 2019 European elections when citizens will go to the ballot box to elect their members of the European Parliament and ahead of the decisions on the leadership of the European Commission and European Council.

“Our Group believes that empowering communities and developing bottom-up solutions is the best way to prepare for and respond to global trends,” said Rob Jonkman, President of the ECR Group in the CoR. He added, “localism is about civil empowerment. Understood as taking decisions at the most practicable level, by the individual where possible and by local or national authorities in preference to supranational bodies, it can help us achieve an improved and better-functioning EU. We need better governance, not bigger government.

In light of the UK’s departure from the EU and the internal reflection we have gone through on our future, the time is right for us to pursue genuine reform of the EU.” Matteo Bianchi (Member of the Italian Parliament and Mayor of Morazzone and leader of the Italian delegation in the ECR Group in the CoR), underlined that “the citizens of Lombardy recently voted with a majority of over 90% in favour of greater decentralisation of powers. They want to be empowered to decide for themselves how to manage their localities. They do not want big national or EU government.”

able to serve its citizens. In light of the upcoming European elections, I can think of no better time than the current to be discussing Europe’s future and how we deliver a reformed EU.” The main conclusions of the event were:

ECR Group Localism Summit

The Summit took place in a founding member state of the European Union that has seen its citizens increasing opt for a change to the status-quo. In the October 2017 referendum in the two Northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, citizens of these regions voted with a majority of more than 90% voted in favour of greater autonomy from the national government. The national elections of March this year also saw citizens opt for parties presenting a new and alternative vision for a reformed EU. Opening the Summit, President of Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana said: “we need more localism and more regionalism. From Lombardy we are calling on the European Commission for greater simplification at the EU level”. Deputy President of the Lombardy Regional Council Francesca Brianza welcomed the Summit’s participants in the region and expressed the desire “to build together a new direction at the EU level listening more to regions and local communities.”

The Summit was attended, among many others, by Marcin Ociepa (Polish Deputy Minister for Entrepreneurship and Technology and Deputy spokesperson of the ECR Group on Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs), Dario Galli (Italian Undersecretary for Economic Development), Attilio Fontana (President of Lombardy Region in Italy) as well as regional ministers for autonomy and culture & immigration and security.

Offering some concluding remarks, Carlo Fidanza (Member of the Italian Parliament and Member of Rosazza Municipal Council and a member of the Bureau of the ECR Group in the CoR) said that he has seen “first-hand the importance of reforming the EU. Events such as this Summit play an important role in enabling collective thinking on genuine reform so that the EU is better

• The future EU mandate should be characterised by a more bottom-up decision-making process. In particular, the EU institutions should envisage a stronger role for the European Committee of the Regions and ensure greater participation of local and regional authorities in defining the strategic priorities of European policies; •

The European Commission should respect the principle of subsidiarity and refrain from establishing a “European welfare state”. Enhancing competition, boosting productivity and reducing red tape are key steps in reducing inequality and creating jobs. These should be priorities for the European Commission;

•

The speed with which private companies operate is usually different from the speed to which politicians are accustomed. It is fundamental that the political leaders and policy makers at all levels of government and administration take the necessary steps to ensure that their programmes and actions provide the right platform for businesses to develop;

•

Migration is one of the few areas where conservative politicians do not believe in a free market. Conservative politicians do not believe in the free movement of people as they believe in the free movement of capital. The Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme in the United Kingdom is a model example of a properly managed integration scheme for refugees;

•

The EU has one of the most ambitious frameworks in the world to address climate change. This is positive from an environmental perspective but industry and consumers tend to criticise the cost of compliance and therefore more needs to be done to lower the cost of the transition to clean energy. Energy transition needs to be advanced

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through free market and bottom-up solutions; • Examples in Italian and Polish regions have shown that even if EU help through the Solidarity Fund, triggered in the case of regional disasters, is not

as significant compared with help from national governments, it helps to boost acceptance of the EU among citizens and is highly appreciated by them; •

The cost of producing resources is on an upward trend – therefore there is an

underlying notion that we have to do better with the resources that we have.

Plastics should be recycled. If that is not possible, they can be burnt so that some energy is recovered from them.

Landfill is the least desirable option.

Europe should start focusing on things which are relevant to people’s lives - By Mr Dario Galli (Italy’s Undersecretary for Economic Development) If we stopped ten people at random in the centre of Milan – one of the biggest cities in Europe – and asked them how European action has changed their lives, I don’t think many of them could come up with an answer. By this I mean that I do not believe that Europe, like all central bodies, can aim to make a real difference in the daily lives of individual people. Some things should be done at the most suitable level and the higher levels should simply set general rules. This is how it should be in Italy and in the European Union.

For instance, despite everything that has happened this summer with regard to migrants, for 48 hours last week the national news was talking about Juncker’s proposal to stop the clocks going back. You will understand that proposals like this do tend to leave people rather bemused, particularly when we consider that Europe could be ensuring that people aren’t kept waiting as long at hospital A&E departments.

If we consider the nitty gritty of life in Italy – and Lombardy in particular – what do we see? That things don’t happen by chance!

We have a decent level of public healthcare because Lombardy has an excellent culture of social protection and because the highly trained people who keep it running, primarily doctors, technicians and nurses, have a strong sense of social responsibility.

They are willing to work in the public sector for wages which may be only a third or a quarter of what they could easily be earning in nearby Switzerland. Their dedication to their work comprises what I would describe as the fundamental culture, which goes hand in hand with Lombardy’s tradition of local administration which is just as important and of a very high standard. These are the basic building blocks, without which

there can be no lasting national or supranational law.

So how can Europe act? By giving guidelines to be adopted across the Union in the coming years, flagging up the three or four countries out of the 27 or 28 which are most efficient. These countries could be an example for the rest. A well-structured study which looks into these issues and is then made available to other, less efficient countries. However, I doubt that Europe could do this because, I say again, it seems to me that Europe is focusing on things which are irrelevant to people’s lives and ignoring the major issues – and healthcare is fundamental because it has an impact on the health of every Italian and European. I therefore believe that Europe is currently light years away from being a body that could provide practical help here.

Dario Galli was mayor of Tradate for two terms from 1993 to 2002. He was elected as a member of the Italian parliament for the first time in 1997, representing the Lega Nord party. During his term of office he was a member of the budget committee. In 2001 he was reelected as a member of parliament. In 2006 he ran successfully for the Italian senate. During the XV legislature he held the position of

Mr Dario Galli (first from the left) with ECR President Rob Jonkman and ECR Member Matteo Bianchi MP

deputy leader of the Lega Nord group in the senate. In 2008 Mr Galli was elected president of the province of Varese. In June 2017 he was re-elected mayor of his town, Tradate. Finally, in March 2018 he was elected as senator and was then appointed deputy minister for economic development.

Liguria regional president Giovanni Toti nominated local leader of the year Giovanni Toti, President of the Liguria Region in Italy, was awarded the title of local leader of the year by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Committee of the Regions. Mr Toti won the prestigious award in recognition of his successful handling of the tragic collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa that led to many lives being lost.

The local leader award is granted annually in recognition of showing exceptional local or regional leadership in addressing press-

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ing challenges. It is granted during the ECR CoR Group’s Localism Summit, which this

year took place in the Italian city of Milan on 19 September.

The bridge in Genoa collapsed on 14 August, killing 43 people.

Mr Toti promised to rebuild the bridge quickly. To this end he requested the government to issue a decree to waive lengthy European Union tender rules for public works and fast-track the reconstruction process. He also announced that Italy’s best-known architect, Renzo Piano, would design the new structure.

ECR Member Carlo Fidanza accepting the award on behalf of the President of Liguria region

The Liguria regional president worked efficiently on behalf of citizens following the bridge tragedy that shocked Italy and Europe. Following the tragic events, Mr Toti requested the national government to declare a state of emergency in the region. As

a result of this request, the central government not only declared a 12-month state of emergency, but also decided to release EUR 5m from the national emergency fund for immediate needs.

Other nominees for the 2018 local leader award were (in alphabetic order): Robert Godek (Head of Strzyżów County in Poland); Paweł Grzybowski (Mayor of Rypin in Poland); and Josip Pavić (Mayor of Sibinj in Croatia).

LOCALISM State of the European Union: ECR President outlined an ECR vision for a more inclusive, competitive and localist EU EU’s cities and regions outlined what they would like the EU to focus on in the upcoming year. Responding to the European Commission President’s annual state of the union speech, each political group President gave the views of their political group on the legislative work and policy priorities they would like to see in the EU. The session was organised against the backdrop of ongoing political debates on the future of Europe and the upcoming European Parliament elections. Speaking on behalf of the ECR Group, its President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland, Netherlands) underlined that “for the EU to succeed, it will need to embrace more inclusive, competitive and localist principles”.

Mr Jonkman said that to create this type of Europe, a more collaborative approach was needed in the EU. He explained that “local and regional authorities should not just be told what they should do for their economic development, but that the EU needs to work with them in close partnership”.

Moreover, he called upon the President of the European Parliament, Mr Antonio Tajani, to “support localities and regions when they need it but also [to] let them get on with it as they know their areas best”.

cess to urban services, social inequalities, climate change, disaster risk management and migration.

Furthermore, the ECR President called upon the EU to rethink its budget and spend its resources on its most immediate priorities

while striking a balance so that local and regional authorities do not become dependent on subsidies, instead allowing those that face social, economic and geographical challenges to receive the necessary support.

In his address to the CoR plenary, Mr Jonkman stressed that our diversity and our local communities are our greatest strength.

He cited the recent ECR Localism Summit as a good example of how different levels of government, the private sector and different parts of the community can work together in search of bottom-up solutions.

The Summit was held on 22 October in Milan, Italy. It addressed issues such as ac-

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Roberto Ciambetti calls for a stronger role for the regions in European decision-making processes Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Veneto Regional Council in Italy spoke on behalf of the ECR Group at the opening ceremony of the European Week of Regions and Cities, in the course of a debate with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Mr Ciambetti called for a more robust, bottom-up governance system in the EU, pointing out to the Commission President that the European institutions should not look on local and regional governments simply as bodies to be consulted. and city-regions are tools for democracy that can think globally - focusing on major worldwide processes - and act locally - choosing the best and best-suited strategies for their own local circumstances”, argued Mr Ciambetti.

He went on to recall the ECR Group’s stance that EU legislation should more consistent in complying with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and should be less dense in legislative terms, leaving greater freedom of action to the local and regional levels. “Since the role of cities and regions is crucial when implementing and applying EU legislation in the field, we must ensure that our point of view is taken into account, and is reflected within the EU institutions”.

ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti

According to Mr Ciambetti “we need a more locally-based approach, so that we can govern independently, with interventions from other levels of government only when absolutely necessary”.

“To build Europe we should go back to our roots and invest in the regions - they are the institutions closest to our citizens, as shown by the subsidiarity principle, one of the Union’s main, but overlooked, pillars. Regions

In conclusion, Mr Ciambetti emphasised the vital importance of a stronger role for the regions in European decision-making processes, making sure they are more involved in shaping the strategic priorities of European policies. “We believe that closer involvement of local and regional authorities in the European decision-making process is essential to rebuilding public trust in the EU”.

Pavel Branda: Prioritise people-to-people projects to drive winning results On 9 October and as part of the 2018 European Week of Regions and Cities, the Members of the CoR’s Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) and the European Parliament’s Committee for Regional Development (REGI) held a joint meeting. In his contribution to the debate, ECR Member Pavel Branda underlined that the best example of the EU’s added value is its investment in cross-border cooperation and called for more funds to be devoted to this important area under the next EU budget.

“People-to-people projects play a key role in cross-border cooperation programmes and have contributed greatly to building trust between local communities. Introducing cuts in this area, as proposed by the European Commission in its May legislative package, would be a mistake,” said the ECR Coordinator.

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The purpose of the COTER-REGI meeting was to align the positions of the two committees with regard to the European Commission’s proposals for Cohesion Policy beyond 2021. During the discussion, Members from both the CoR and the European Parliament took turns in sharing their support for ECR Member Dr Pavel Branda

Cohesion Policy and their frustration with the announced cuts to its budget.

Regarding simplification, Mr Branda welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to create a Cross-Border Mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context. According to Mr Branda, this voluntary mechanism will “help facilitate cross-border activities and encourage small-scale projects that are of added value.”

In her keynote speech, the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu outlined the changes to the funds proposed by the Commission. She explained that “the radical simplification will shift the focus from procedures to results and deliver a smarter, more competitive and greener Europe”.

Apart from the ECR Group Coordinator, Mr Pavel Branda (Deputy Mayor of Radlo in the Czech Republic), the meeting was also attended by ECR Member, Juraj Droba (President of the Bratislava region in Slovakia).

ECR Member Juraj Droba meeting Commissioner Corina Creţu

ECR Group President supports Austrian EU Presidency’s focus on subsidiarity On 4-5 July the ECR Members of the European Committee of the Regions met in Brussels to take part in the 130th plenary session.

The programme for the two-day plenary saw the adoption of 11 opinions and was full of topical discussions, including one on the Austrian presidency’s priorities. In light of the publication of the report of the Task Force on subsidiarity, proportionality and “doing less more efficiently”, and of the priorities of the Austrian presidency, ECR Group President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands) called for the EU to place more of a focus on the role of local and regional authorities in the policy-making process, in order to ensure that the EU does more with less, more efficiently and with an emphasis on the level of government that is closest to the citizens.

The Austrian government was represented at the plenary in Brussels by Juliane Bogner-Strauss, Federal Minister for women, families and youth. In her speech to CoR members, Ms Bogner-Strauss stressed that Europe was facing numerous challenges, including international competition, conflict, migration and climate change. She noted that the EU needed to be closer to the citizens. Referring to the presidency’s slogan, ‘Europe that protects’, she explained that the EU needed to strengthen the subsidiarity principle and give local and regional authorities the capacity to find solutions that worked. The EU, in other words, should ‘deliver more for less’.

Speaking on behalf of the ECR Group, its president Rob Jonkman welcomed Austria’s emphasis on subsidiarity and reminded those arguing for an ever closer union that “an ever closer union does not require ever more regulation”. He gave a clear example of how the EU unnecessarily intervenes in areas that are best managed by local and regional authorities, the closest level of government to citizens.

Alongside his comments on subsidiarity, Mr Jonkman also welcomed the presidency’s effort to highlight the issue of digitalisation and its importance for the economy. He underlined the key role of local and regional authorities, noting that “modernising our public administration through the use of digital technologies will bring benefits and added value to our citizens and businesses”.

Austria assumed the six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July, taking over from Bulgaria. The Task Force on subsidiarity, of which the CoR has been part, published its long-awaited report on 10 July. The document argues that the EU needs a new way of working when it comes to subsidiarity and proportionality, and also recommends that the EU institutions agree on a “focused” multi-annual programme that would “promote a rebalancing” of the EU’s work in some policy areas towards “more effective” implementation of existing legislation and away from initiating new legislation. The full report can be accessed online.

ECR President Rob Jonkman

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Austrian Presidency Conference on Subsidiarity: More needs to be done to actively engage local and regional authorities The Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, chairing the Council meetings that bring together the representatives of national governments, organised a high-level conference on subsidiarity. The event brought together representatives of the EU institutions, national authorities and local and regional leaders. The ECR Group President was among those who participated in the debate. and regional authorities are impacted by approximately 70 percent of EU legislation.

However, their views on EU legislation are not always listened to.

Bregenz conference

The conference with the full title of “Subsidiarity as a building principle of the European Union” and took place in Bregenz in Austria on 15-16 November. It focused on scenario “doing less more efficiently” presented in the white paper on the future of Europe published by the European Commission 1 March 2017. The event was attended, among many other high level guests, by the country’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Among the key conclusions was the need for “active subsidiarity” understood as im-

proved involvement of local and regional authorities in EU policy development. This could be achieved by better use of impact assessments and consultations.

In light of the ongoing efforts to improve the democratic accountability of the EU and better connect it with citizens, the conference focused on the role of local and regional authorities. In addition to being the level of government closest to citizens and the level that is most trusted by them, local

Underlying the importance of the takingdecisions as close as possible to citizen, the ECR Group’s President Rob Jonkman took the floor during the discussions raised a question to the Commission’s First VicePresident Frans Timmermans about the links between subsidiarity and the Urban Agenda. The Urban Agenda was launched in 2016 by the Pact of Amsterdam and represents a new multi-level working method promoting cooperation between Member States, cities, the European Commission and other stakeholders. It does this in order to help stimulate growth, liveability and innovation in the cities of Europe and to identify and successfully tackle social challenges. The ECR Group was active in 2016 in underlining that rural areas and cities of all sizes and their functional areas needed to be taken into account in the Urban Agenda.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE ACTION Climate change: Let the free market dictate the right decisions Dale Ross, mayor of the largest city in the United States powered entirely by renewable energy, was the keynote speaker at the ECRhosted event at this year’s European Week of Regions and Cities. The ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions invited the mayor of Georgetown, Texas to explain his commitment to wind and solar energy, and to exchange views with representatives of the European Commission, the oil and gas sector, and conservative local and regional politicians from Europe.

Mr Ross argued that “as Conservatives what we need to remember is that we need the free market solutions to dictate the right decisions”. According to Mr Ross, who like US President Donald Trump is a member of the Republican Party, “it is the facts that need to lead politicians to the right choices” and “at the end of the day, we need to understand that, on the city and regional or provincial

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level, local politicians are the ones that are responsible for delivering electricity that’s both affordable and available”.

Speakers underlined that the EU is responsible for less than 10% of global CO2 emissions and that therefore there is a continuous need to exchange views with partners from the other side of the Atlantic, including local and regional players.

Elena Višnar Malinovská, head of the Adaptation unit at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Climate Action, noted that European leaders had reacted with regret to the decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change. That is because “Europe is fully committed to lowering emissions and proposing long term solutions for

From left to right: Maurice Golden MSP, Ms Elena Višnar Malinovská, Cllr Linda Robinson, Mayor Dale Ross and Mr Christian Schwark

achieving global commitments”. She also highlighted that local players play a crucial role in the clean energy transition through measures such as the decarbonisation of public transport.

In agreement was the deputy director of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers’ office in Brussels, Christian Schwarck, who said that the fight against climate change is “a bottom-up exercise”. He underlined that while oil and gas companies

were increasingly investing in clean energy, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), “the transformation depends on local action”. He said that local and regional government can, for instance, require that cement and steel used in public buildings has been produced with zero emissions.

ECR Group member Maurice Golden (Member of the Scottish Parliament and Conservative spokesperson on the Low-carbon economy) pointed to the fact that achieving the

objectives of the Paris agreement will also depend on investments in the circular economy. “We need to build business models to keep goods circulating in our economy and design products that last”, said Mr Golden.

The event was moderated by Cllr Linda Robinson (Leader of Wychavon District Council in the UK and ECR Group Deputy Coordinator in the CoR’s Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy).

COP24 climate summit – message from local and regional politicians - By Daiva Matonienė (Member of Šiauliai City Municipal Council and former Deputy Minister of Environment of Lithuania) In December this year I had the pleasure to represent the ECR Group and the European Committee of the Regions in the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. plementing guidelines and the technical rules of the Paris Agreement, the so-called “Rulebook”, so that implementation can start in practice in 2020. Our work helps to set global climate and energy policy for the coming years.

ECR Member Daiva Matonienė

The conference was attended by nearly 30 000 delegates from all over the world, including heads of government and ministers responsible for environment and climate issues, as well as local and regional politicians. Our objective was to finalise the im-

During the discussions in Katowice I focused on exchanging views on the ways of mitigating the disastrous impact of climate change on our local communities. The unprecedented frequency and cost of natural disasters is affecting all of us. What is worrying is that disasters are becoming more severe, more frequent and more costly.

New approaches and investments aimed at building resilience to natural disasters are required by all actors to help reduce losses. New frameworks for cooperation are emerging at the EU and UN levels and the financial savings from investments in resilience are expected to be significant. At the

same time, I feel that not enough of these initiatives are locally-led.

That is why the presence of local and regional authorities at international climate conferences is so important. We went to Katowice to exchange experiences on disaster risk management, clean energy, energy efficiency, technological innovations and traffic pollution. In all of these areas we have significant expertise and the power to improve people’s daily lives. While national governments are responsible for the overall coordination of policies, it is often up to us to translate goals agreed by them into concrete actions.

I represent Lithuania which, according to the NUTS classification, is treated in the EU as one region. Currently, Lithuania is reviewing the whole country’s master plan and is looking for innovative solutions to achieve sustainable and balanced economic and so-

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cial development in all of its 60 municipalities, in all cities and towns.

nificantly to tackling climate change and reducing major traffic congestion.

Lithuania is implementing innovative mechanisms, distinguishing between regional specialities and functional regions, in order to achieve greater efficiency and economies of scale, while contributing sig-

In Lithuania we agreed to double the financing for climate change and to do even more to combat climate change, aiming to achieve 45% use of renewable energy sources by 2030. Achieving such ambitious targets will help us to reduce the impact

of natural disasters. But we will be able to achieve them only through the active involvement of local and regional government in this process and by learning how to embark on the road to transformation from cities and regions which are more advanced in this area. Conferences like the one in Katowice offer just such an opportunity.

Oldřich Vlasák, ECR Vice-President: Clean energy transformation will not happen overnight In his speech at the July plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, the ECR’s Vice-President, Oldřich Vlasák, outlined the group’s key messages on climate change. The debate was attended by the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete. Mr Vlasák, who also serves as a councillor for the city of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic, said that the Commission needed to be more realistic about the pace of change in some parts of Europe. Furthermore, he underlined the need for more action to prevent natural disasters.

Mariusz Skiba, deputy mayor of Katowice in Poland, also took part in the debate, which took place ahead of the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) in Katowice on 3-14 December.

“not to forget that the transformation of the Ruhr, the former coal-mining region in Germany, took more than 60 years, and in our part of the continent we started reducing emissions only after 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell”.

Mr Vlasák called on the Commission to respect the diverse EU energy landscape, pointing out that some regions and cities will need more time to successfully transition to clean alternative energy sources.

Mr Vlasák warned that phasing out coal entirely in the short run would lead to “blackouts and the loss of thousands of jobs”. Furthermore, looking at the wider context, he observed that the Czech Republic, in spite of having received bad press for its coal industry, managed to cut its emissions by 37% in 2014 in comparison to the levels detected in 1990, while at the same time enabling the country’s economy to grow.

He explained that “countries like the Czech Republic and Poland will not be in a position to phase out coal completely in the short term”. He also asked the Commission

Arnold Hatch takes part in discussion on the lowcarbon energy transition ECR Member Arnold Hatch (Alderman for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon) participated in a seminar entitled “Energy, education and sustainability”, which took place on 8 November in the Austrian region of Burgenland. His contributions focused on Northern Irish experiences with decentralised and renewable energy.

ECR Group Member Arnold Hatch

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ECR Vice-President Oldřich Vlasák

The Vice-President of the ECR also spoke about the link between the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters hitting our cities and regions and climate change. It was therefore necessary, Mr Vlasák pointed out, to “focus more on increasing our disaster resilience as part of our climate action work”.

The Austrian region of Burgenland is selfsufficient in terms of electricity generation and invests heavily in both renewable energy and energy efficiency. That is why Mr Hatch underlined that “Burgenland is an excellent example of how bottom-up solutions can lead to a clean energy transition”.

He said that also in Northern Ireland many investments were being carried out in the renewable energy field.

“Northern Ireland currently has an ambitious 40% target for electricity consumption to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. We have achieved much progress since 2005 when only 3% of our electricity was generated from renewables”, he explained. Mr Hatch added that he is convinced of the need to invest in clean and indigenous sources of electricity, but that special attention needs to be paid by local politicians to the financial impact of

their decisions on those who suffer from energy poverty.

Another topic raised by Mr Hatch in Burgenland was the benefits of small-scale onshore renewable-energy generation systems.

“Although there are different views about this in different countries and regions”, he said, “in the case of Northern Ireland most experts agree that small-scale systems have brought significant benefits to our local farms and industry”.

UK’S DEPARTURE FROM THE EU Life after Brexit – local government cooperation explored at Conservative Party Conference The ECR Group organised a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference on Sunday 30 September. The Party Conference, whose theme was opportunity, took place in Birmingham over the course of four days ending on Wednesday 3 October with the Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech. A key theme throughout the conference was the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.

The ECR Group fringe event titled “life after Brexit – local government cooperation“ looked at how the future relationship between UK and EU devolved administrations and local and regional authorities could be structured. It looked at how the sharing of best-practices can continue after the UK

leaves the EU and what the key areas will be where such continued cooperation will be needed.

The speakers at the fringe event were Rob Jonkman (President of the ECR Group in the CoR), Cllr Joe Cooney (Member of Pendle

Council in the UK, Vice President of the ECR Group in the CoR and leader of the UK delegation in the ECR Group); Andrew Lewer MP (Member of the Parliament for Northampton South and an honorary Alderman of the county of Derbyshire); and Jonathan Werran (Chief Executive of Localis). The event was moderated by Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky (Secretary General of the ECR Group in the CoR).

“As the CoR, we are currently trying to find new platforms for sub-national cooperation after the UK leaves the EU. One option being explored is the creation of a CoR-UK Joint Commission that would explore the opportunities for continuing dialogue and collaboration between the CoR and UK local and regional authorities, and devolved administrations” said Rob Jonkman. He also touched on the importance of continuing political ties and said that “as Conservatives across Europe, we also need to continue to work together in developing free market and localist solutions to global trends. We also should think about how to continue our structured political dialogue.”

ECR CoR Group fringe event

“We need to think about how the relationship of the different tiers of government can continue after the UK leaves the EU so that we can continue to share best-practices and

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ideas. Many of the global challenges we face that impact our localities depend on local action. We will need to see cooperation continue at a devolved administration and local and regional government level not just in the form of cross-border cooperation between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, for example. We will need to see continued cooperation in things like the

buying and selling of public services as well as in collectively addressing things like the quality and protection of our air and seas, illegal migration and mitigating the risk of natural disasters like floods” said Cllr Joe Cooney.

The speakers underlined that structured cooperation at an institutional and political

party level would be needed for devolved administration and local and regional authorities to continue sharing best-practices and lessons-learnt. It was also noted that as the UK looks to devolve some of the powers coming back from the EU, the more localist systems that exist in different parts of Europe could offer some good examples that the UK could draw from.

Local government must retain good European relations after Brexit - By ECR President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands) In the Netherlands, a large majority of our politicians and citizens are sad to see the UK leave the EU. That said, we accept that it is happening and we are keen to ensure that our local cooperation and our business and trade relations continue. Our local, regional and national impact assessments all underline our desire to continue working closely. In their report, the Dutch parliament, stressed for example that “any restriction on free trade with Britain would inevitably be at the cost of Dutch exports, prosperity and employment.”

Within the EU, the Netherlands ranks second after Germany as the country exporting the most to the UK. The Dutch Parliament also added that “there’s no reason at all to allow Britain to cherry pick… but there’s also no reason to prevent Britain from receiving trade advantages.”

In the EU’s assembly of local and regional authorities – the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) – UK local government and devolved administration have been working together with their counterparts from the 27 EU countries. Together, we have been advising the EU on new laws that impact us at the local and regional level. This represents about 70 per cent of all EU legislation. Since the CoR was established in 1992, we have built a strong track record of working together, sharing best-practices and lessons-learnt.

Around five years ago, we also set-up the European Conservatives and Reformists Group together with UK Conservative politicians from local government and the devolved administrations. Together, we have

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been advocating a reformed EU led by the principle of localism so that powers are given back to local communities. With the UK’s departure from the EU, politicians like me will be losing a key ally in the EU decisionmaking process but going forward, our Group will be pushing for a mutually beneficial deal to be carved out as soon as possible. In such a deal, it will be crucial to take into account the voice of local government and devolved administrations’.

The ECR Group in the CoR has been making the point that regardless of what position everyone may have had on the referendum itself, UK citizens have made their choice and we should therefore focus on estab-

lishing a new relationship that is mutually beneficial.

As the CoR’s leadership, composed of the President of the CoR and the leaders of the political groups such as me, we embarked on a fact-finding mission to help the negotiation process for the UK’s departure from the EU. We took this step after a meeting with the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, where we agreed to provide local and regional evidence. As part of our fact-finding activities, we met with the devolved administrations and local government representatives in the UK. We also discussed the specific policy angles of Brexit with local and regional governments

from all 28 EU countries and produced a resolution setting out some of the key local and regional government views.

Our fact-finding activities showed the interest and indeed need, in continuing the sharing of best-practices and lessons learnt at the level of devolved administrations and local and regional government. Cooperation will need to continue not just in the form of cross-border cooperation between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, for example, but also in the form of business links, the buying and selling of services as well as collectively addressing things like illegal migration, climate change and mitigating the risk of natural disasters.

The main message from the UK’s devolved administrations and local government was the desire for the new relationship between the UK and EU27 to establish a close form of cooperation enabling free trade and for it to include a structured cooperation at the sub-national level so that the sharing of best-practices could continue. The desire

to maintain cross-border cooperation was also underlined. Some authorities are also hoping that a deeper form of association could still be applied for several policies of importance. In the case of Northern Ireland, concerns were expressed about how the peace process could be negatively affected.

Most UK local authorities and devolved administrations underlined their wish to see some of the powers repatriated back from Brussels to be further devolved beyond Westminster to local government. We were also told that new UK funding is urgently needed to fill the gap that will be created by the UK no longer being eligible for EU funding instruments.

The bottom-line is, when we think about how to structure the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU, we need to also think about devolved administrations and local and regional governments.

Many of the global challenges we face that impact our localities depend on local action. It is crucial therefore, that we think

about how the relationship of the different tiers of government can continue so that we can continue to share best-practices and ideas. We are currently trying to find new platforms for sub-national cooperation after the UK leaves the EU. One option being explored is the creation of a CoR-UK Joint Commission that would explore the opportunities for continuing dialogue and collaboration between the CoR and UK local and regional authorities, and devolved administrations.

As Conservatives across Europe, we also need to continue to work together in developing free market and localist solutions to global trends. We also need to think about how to continue our structured political dialogue. We don’t need to legislate together to be able to continue sharing best-practices and continue cooperating on areas where we have common interests.

The article was originally published in the Conservative Home on October 30.

EXTERNAL ACTION ECR Group Members exchange experiences with European politicians at the Mayors’ Conference for Sustainable and Liveable Cities The Mayors Conference for Sustainable and Liveable Cities was hosted by the Prosperous Armenia Party in Yerevan, Armenia, from 7-9 September 2018. The ECR Group President, Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland, the Netherlands), and Cllr Joe Cooney, ECR Group Vice- President and Leader of Pendle Council, participated in this conference, along with Matteo Bianchi, MP and Mayor of Morazzone, and over 30 mayors from different countries.

The focus of the conference was to promote better governance and planning, as well as stressing the importance of smart cities, technology and entrepreneurship for more resilient cities and for a more sustainable future.

The Mayors Conference for Sustainable and Liveable Cities was an exclusive meeting for city and municipal leaders and an oppor-

ECR Group Members at the conference with Mr Gagik Tsarukyan, President of the Prosperous Armenia Party

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tunity to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, to share integrated urban solutions and to form new partnerships.

The conference served as a platform for local and regional representatives, academics and private sector entrepreneurs to get together to share best practices and address the challenges that our cities and towns are facing, with a view to influencing the public

policy required to build the communities of tomorrow.

During the sessions, the ECR Members had the opportunity to discuss and address a number of essential issues such as innovation and conservation for sustainable urban living, as well as the importance of creative technologies and infrastructure (water,

sanitation and food security) for sustainable city development. Better governance and planning, a focus on technology and social innovation in collaborations with various stakeholders and the private sector were treated as essential elements in creating innovative and integrated urban solutions for a more sustainable future.

Ukraine: Pavel Branda advocates decentralisation of EU financing and shares lessons learnt from the Czech Republic’s economic transformation “Promoting enhanced cooperation with Eastern Partnership countries requires decentralised solutions. The new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument proposed this year by the European Commission would benefit from earmarking funds specifically for local and regional authorities,” said ECR Member Pavel Branda (Deputy Mayor of Radlo in the Czech Republic) during the annual meeting of the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP).

CORLEAP is the political forum of local and regional authorities from the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries. At the meeting on 24 September in Kiev, Ukraine, CoR Members held discussions with their counterparts from Eastern Partnership countries on the Commission proposal, which envisages scrapping the twelve existing instruments for financial assistance to non-EU countries and replacing them with one global instrument with an increased budget. As it stands, the proposal does not envisage any financing dedicated specifically to local and regional authorities from Eastern Partnership countries. It

is also very vague as to the level of funding to be allocated to particular geographical regions.

In addition to taking part in CORLEAP, Mr Branda attended the meeting of Task Force Ukraine on 25 September, where he shared the Czech Republic’s experiences of economic transformation after the fall of communism. Mr Branda stressed that it is often more economically sound to support the development of new companies than to restructure the ones that do not function.

He also pointed to the fact that supporting foreign investors “cannot be done at the

ECR Member Dr Pavel Branda

expense of local business”, which has been the case in the Czech Republic. The Task Force meeting was attended by Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade and the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

Fostering entrepreneurship in the southern Mediterranean As part of the annual Commission meeting for Sustainable Territorial Development of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), ECR Members Cllr Dee Sharpe (East Riding of Yorkshire Council) and Cllr David Simmonds (London Borough of Hillingdon) met their southern Mediterranean counterparts to look for common solutions to challenges ranging from entrepreneurship to good governance and transparency.

ARLEM Members including Cllr David Simmonds (second from the left) and Cllr Dee Sharpe (in the middle)

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ECR Members were exchanging ideas on how to involve local governments in helping young entrepreneurs start their busi-

ness on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, so they can start their business without having to leave their place of origin.

Councillor Simmonds advocated “learning from the existing experiences across the EU of the credit unions as they will represent a big factor in supporting finance for young

entrepreneurs in southern Mediterranean partner countries”.

Also on that day the ARLEM Bureau meeting took place. It was officially announced that Seville in Spain would host the next annual ARLEM meeting, celebrating its tenth

anniversary. Councillor Simmonds stressed that UK ARLEM members should be invited to attend all future ARLEM meetings after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, to share their experience of local and regional governance with neighbouring countries.

Local and regional authorities from the EU and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia share best-practices - By Adam Banaszak (Vice-President of KujawskoPomorskie Regional Assembly in Poland and Vice-President of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions) I had the pleasure of representing the European Committee of the Regions at talks in Skopje with the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the mayors of its largest cities. I attended the meetings in September as a member of the CoR’s Joint Consultative Committee bringing together local and regional politicians from the EU and FYROM. It was a particularly crucial moment. After many years, Macedonia has managed to reach a compromise with Greece on the country’s new name. Let us hope that North Macedonia will soon become a proud member of NATO and the EU.

Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

ECR Member Adam Banaszak

When I visited Skopje a few years ago, the white monuments on the central square were daubed with coloured paint: residents were protesting against money being spent on useless buildings and monuments while their sewers leaked, their roads were full of potholes, and their tap water was of terrible quality. The capital’s many monuments are white once again – but this is not the only change. The country has finally moved in the right direction. People now run and cycle along the river on specially built paths.

The fight against corruption has started.

The buildings bearing testimony to that corruption may still be imposing, but it is clear that progress is being made.

goslav Republic of Macedonia focused on changes in fiscal law in relation to local governments’ activities, as well as other areas where Macedonia needs to implement reforms. These were delicate discussions, as we wanted to avoid influencing the outcome of the 30 September referendum. Not everyone held themselves to the same standard – there is a widespread belief that Russia does not want to see the country outside its sphere of influence and is interfering in its internal affairs. For us, as European politicians, there can be no doubt that it is the Macedonians themselves who have to choose the best direction for their development.

Negotiations on the country’s membership of the European Union and NATO have finally started in earnest. But the most important thing is that when I spoke to residents, for the first time I sensed hope that the poorest country of the former Yugoslavia would start to develop more quickly.

Returning from Skopje, I was pleased to note that the 30 September referendum saw the vast majority of Macedonians (more than 90% of ballots cast) vote in favour of the new name for their country – and thus in favour of normalised relations with Greece and a rapprochement with the European Union.

The discussions of the Joint Consultative Committee between the European Committee of the Regions and the former Yu-

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Serbia: tourism as a vital generator of income for local communities “Tourism can underpin local community development as long as tourists are presented with a credible offer to stay longer in the area” was the message European Commitee of the Regions Member Arnold Hatch (Alderman for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon) from the meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee of the European Committee of the Regions and the Republic of Serbia.

The meeting took place on 17 October in the Serbian city of Niš. One of its main aims was to exchange experiences in promoting tourism.

“Tourism can be a vital generator of income for local communities. Our experience in Northern Ireland, which may also be applicable to Serbia, is that we need to come up with a package of events. The benefit of such an approach is that we keep tourists longer in the area and generate more income for the local economy”, said Mr Hatch.

The ECR Member gave a practical example from Northern Ireland: “We have built a

new Giants Causeway Visitor Centre, linking this iconic rock formation to the attractions in Belfast in the Titanic Centre and the food heartland in my area. After making a visit to one location the tourist is pointed to the other attractions in our country, including activity holidays for cyclists and walkers on our new greenways”.

Mr Hatch also underlined the importance of working closely with the national tourist boards to bring tourists from all over the world.

Serbian national and local government, EU and private sector representatives attended the meeting.

Western Balkans: Pavel Branda exchanges experiences of territorial reform On 13 November 2018 the working group on the Western Balkans met in Tirana, Albania. The ECR Group was represented by Pavel Branda, Deputy Mayor of Rádlo municipality and ECR spokesperson on Cohesion Policy. The main topic of the meeting was territorial reform and, especially, the amalgamation of municipalities.

Mr Branda shared experiences from his own country (Czech Republic) and recommended that rather than being not merely dependent on subsidies and grants, municipalities should have a sure and stable share of the budget that would allow them not only to finance operational costs, but also their development. He also stressed that smaller municipalities had some advantages of their own, including the fact that they were better suited for involving citizens in decision-making, in accordance with the principles of participative democracy, and in building local identities.

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Tirana, Albania

ECR Member Arnold Hatch

ECR Group President Rob Jonkman speaks on free and fair elections at the ACRE Liberty Summit The Alliance of the Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) organized their Liberty Summit in Chisinau and Orhei, Moldova, on 20 October 2018. The ECR Group President, Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland, the Netherlands), spoke at the summit on the panel looking at best practices in achieving free and fair elections.

The Moldova summit aimed to support the country’s goals for political and economic reforms. In particular, it looked at the reforms that could help strengthen the country’s relationship with Europe and the west and help develop a truer democracy where the rule of law would replace crony capitalism, corruption and poverty and in their place provide the structures that ensure the stability and prosperity of the Moldovan people.

The summit was hosted right before the Moldavian parliamentary elections, which will take place in February 2019. The summit also enabled Conservative and Reformist relations to be further developed. ECR President Rob Jonkman and other conservative politicians from across Europe expressed their hope that the February elections will lead the country towards more transparency and accountability, as well as helping to eradicate corruption.

During the summit, Alderman Jonkman spoke on the panel “Free and Fair Elections”,

where he shared best practices from the Netherlands in terms of achieving greater transparency and accountability. He underlined that “elections are a central feature of democracy but in order for them to express the will of the electorate, they must be “free and fair.” He listed five minimum criteria that must be met for any election to be considered “free and fair”. These include “transparency”, “privacy”, “integrity”, “affordability” and “accessibility”.

The focus of the other panel discussions during the Liberty Summit was the Future of European political and economic integration. The panel on free markets as a means of poverty alleviation was moderated by the Secretary General of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions, Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky.

During the ACRE Council meeting, members agreed to establish the ACRE Women’s Movement. The movement aims to support

women’s political participation and increase women’s representation in public office at national and EU level. The first meeting of the movement took place straight after the council meeting, where board members were elected.

During the constitutive meeting the Georgian Member of Parliament, Nino Goguadze, was elected as chair of the movement and the Secretary-General of the ECR Group in the CoR, Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky, was elected as the secretary-general. Eliana Celaj from the ECR CoR Secretariat was elected as treasurer. The vice-presidents of the movement include member of the Israeli Parliament, Nurit Koren from the Likud Party, and members of the European Parliament, Ruža Tomašić and Jadwiga Wiśniewska. The advisory board includes Anna Fotyga, MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence, and Fleur Butler from the UK.

Zinaida Tresnickaja participates in the Forum on Local Democracy ECR Member from Lithuania Ms Zinaida Tresnickaja (Deputy Mayor of Visaginas municipality) participated in the 2018 edition of Forum on Local Democracy, which took place in Armenia. The discussions, gathering local politicians from both the EU and Eastern Partnership countries, focused on decentralisation and local economic development.

The Forum brought together a high number of mayors, councillors, local government

associations, as well as representatives of the national government. Ms Tresnickaja ECR Member Zinaida Tresnickaja

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spoke on evaluating the impact of division of powers on economic development of the regions. She underlined that in order to be efficient, local authorities need to not only have the powers to exercise them, but also

be equipped with financial means to implement them.

The ECR Member has also highlighted that of key importance to local and regional

government are good relations with central government which can help address specific territorial economic difficulties and create more equal conditions for sustainable development of all regions.

EU supports more sustainable forest management in Georgia - By Daiva Matonienė (Member of Šiauliai City Municipal Council and former Deputy Minister of the Environment of Lithuania) From June 2017 to December 2018, I had the pleasure of being an advisor on an EU-financed project carried out by Lithuania which sought to strengthen capacities for sustainable forest management in Georgia. This project was the first major twinning support between Lithuania and Georgia aimed at improving sustainable management of forests. forest products through harmonising Georgia’s forest regulatory framework with EU standards, methods, guidelines and good practice. The aim was also to improve the forest information and monitoring system and to strengthen communication to this end between the relevant institutions.

After 17 months of intensive work and very close cooperation between the beneficiary country and the Member States, the Strengthening Sustainable Management of Forests in Georgia project has reached its final implementation stage.

Twinning project in Georgia

The overall goal was to support the development of a sustainable forest management system harmonised with EU standards and directives. In other words, our task was to enhance the capacity of the state forest institutions in order to prevent and combat illegal activities in the sector and to ensure the sustainable management of the country’s forests, including legal harvesting and trading of timber and non-timber

Sustainable forest management programme

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Our key achievements are as follows: •

•

Appreciation of the European Union as a partner and donor in the shaping of Georgian forest policy based on principles of sustainable forest management; Creation of a new type of intensive collaboration between different projects and donors in Georgia’s forestry sector,

thus achieving more targeted results and value added; • Useful recommendations and strong incentive input into the drafting of Georgia’s new Forestry Law; •

Understanding and acknowledgement at the political level of the option of an economically efficient state forest management body/system in Georgia based primarily on the Lithuanian example;

•

Improvement of the institutional frame for forestry supervision based on recommendations of the Lithuanian and Hungarian partners.

I would like to voice my great appreciation for the strong collaborative spirit and both professional and personal commitment demonstrated by all the staff of the beneficiary institutions during the implementation of the project. This has proven to be a significant factor contributing toward achieving the project results.

CURRENT CHALLENGES ​Veneto recovers from disastrous storms Violent winds and heavy rain have killed more than 30 people around Italy in November. In the northern region of Veneto, damage estimates have reached over one billion euros, and several villages have been cut off as a result of landslides. “It’s like after an earthquake,” said the President of the Veneto region and ECR Member, Luca Zaia.

After flying over the area with Italy’s Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, Mr Zaia said that the storms had destroyed 100 000 hectares of pine forest in all. “Thousands of hectares of forest were razed to the ground, as if with a giant electric saw”, he said.

Roberto Ciambetti, another ECR Member and President of the Veneto Regional Council, added that around 300 000 trees were flattened after winds swept through the Val d’Assa in the Asiago plateau. “Tens of thousands of tall trees were felled like toothpicks,” he noted.

The recovery process in Veneto is progressing quickly thanks to solidarity among its inhabitants and from private companies, who have provided practical help and do-

nated large sums of money to speed up the process.

“For weeks thousands of volunteers, technicians, workers and professionals, along with ordinary citizens, have been working to restore normality to our region affected by the natural disasters. We are showing wonderful solidarity. I express gratitude to those who are helping us: my gratitude and that of all people from Veneto. On this occasion, we are also proving that we are great people”, said Mr Zaia.

Approximately 95% of first responses to disasters are led by local people. That is why the ECR Group has argued in all of its past position papers that a local approach is key to increasing the resilience of European cities and regions.

ECR Member Luca Zaia (first from the right)

Europe’s regions discuss migration One of the topics discussed at the July meeting of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels was migration to the EU and the impact of this phenomenon on how regions function. Marshal Władysław Ortyl – representing the ECR Group and Podkarpackie region in Poland – welcomed the fact that the European Council conclusions had, for the first time, included a provision on the relocation of migrants on a voluntary basis.

During the Committee’s plenary session, Mr Ortyl mentioned the European Council’s June meeting related to migration, which

was of particular interest to communities in regions situated on the EU’s external border.

Member States. There are currently around 900 000 Ukrainians in Poland.

“As marshal of Podkarpackie region, which has a border with Ukraine, and being aware of the opportunities and challenges of being located on a border, I followed the European Council of 28 June with great interest,” said Władysław Ortyl. He added that “the vast majority of Poles welcomed the fact that the Council conclusions had, for the first time, included a clear provision on the relocation of migrants on a voluntary basis.”

“The Polish government and Polish regional authorities want to continue to support neighbouring countries, but we are strongly convinced that this support will be most effective if its principles are laid down closer to people, rather than coming straight from the European Commission. We do not want to close ourselves off to immigration. There were approximately 900 000 Ukrainians in Poland in 2017. A year previously, we issued more work permits for immigrants from outside the EU than Germany or Sweden.

These numbers must be taken into account in all debates on building European solidarity. This solidarity is needed at all times,” said Mr Ortyl.

Mr Ortyl highlighted the need to provide assistance to the residents of neighbouring countries, as well as the need to consider the scale and directions of migration to the Marshal Władysław Ortyl

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Significant problems with the definition of clean vehicles - By Ilpo Heltimoinen (Member of Lappeenranta City Council in Finland) The European Commission has put forward a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council, which seeks to promote clean vehicles in public procurement. The objective is a good one, but the definition of clean vehicles in the proposal is inadequate.

The targets set are very ambitious and in some respects unrealistic due to cost implications. In my own province of Etelä-Karjala (Finland), this would translate into a more limited provision of public transport as well as higher prices, while at the same time lowering local people’s interest in using public transport. Under the proposal, over one third of minibuses and small buses used by municipalities should be hydrogen and electricity-powered by 2025. This target is unrealistic.

produced when vehicles are in use (tank-towheels) will be taken into account, and not life-cycle impacts (well-to-wheels). At the same time, this will exclude vehicles using sustainably produced fuels from the definition of clean vehicles. The Commission’s objective has been to increase biogas and the number of vehicles using other biofuels.

The proposal is at odds with previous objectives and will not produce an end result that is positive for the economy or the environment.

Also problematic is the definition of clean vehicles in the proposal.

As a result of its explicit requirements, the proposed directive also infringes the principle of subsidiarity.

According to the proposed directive, in the procurement process only CO2 emissions

ECR Member Ilpo Heltimoinen

Unlocking the benefits of modern agriculture ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti inaugurated the “Meeting the challenges of the 21st century through innovative measures” workshop on 9 October, which was dedicated to the theme of modern agriculture, with particular emphasis on digitalisation. “Regarding the digital aspect of agriculture, we are ahead of the field in the Veneto region”, pointed out the President of the Veneto Regional Council, who encouraged other regions to follow suit.

Mr Ciambetti explained that Veneto can serve as an example for other regions in the EU as “for decades, it has been actively involved in methods and technologies for exploiting waste and refuse from the farming, agri-industrial and urban sectors, with a specific green focus”.

the digital aspect of agriculture for decades, over time building up a robust information system and analysing its data as part of a long-term planning approach taking account of biodiversity and the harnessing of environmental resources, as well as of the sector’s income requirements”.

Composting, anaerobic digestion for producing biogas, making full use of digestates and producing fuels of agricultural origin: these are just some of the areas of the circular economy where the Veneto region has become synonymous with innovation and excellence.

“The regional law of the Veneto, which I backed, seeks to introduce and maintain a circular economy, an economy driven by the four Rs: R for the reduction of waste, R for reusing goods and products, R for recycling waste matter and - above all - R for responsibility on the part of producers and consumers. This is an ambitious objective, but one that is not beyond our reach provided we can substantially reduce the distance between institutions and citizens. And this”, said Mr Ciambetti by way of conclusion, “can be brought about if we can optimise a major weapon in the armoury of the EU: the autonomy of the regions and municipalities”.

Among the issues raised, Mr Ciambetti highlighted the digitalisation of the primary sector: “The digital revolution has huge potential for farm income support, the quality of produce, consumer protection and protecting and enhancing the natural and cultural heritage. It is for this very reason that the Veneto region has been investing in

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ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti

Exploring the work of the World Health Organization - By Cllr Dee Sharpe (Member of East Riding of Yorkshire Council) The study visit to the headquarters of the World Health Organization on 6 November was a very informative meeting. Together with the delegation from the European Committee of the Regions, we covered many health issues over the day.

We discussed childhood vaccinations in all the EU countries, and the fact that a programme needs to be set up in all EU countries. It was also mentioned that migrants from outside the EU who have had vaccinations in one country may then move to another EU country, and that there should therefore be a calendar of childhood vaccinations that would make sure that all children have their vaccines at the right time no matter where they live. The WHO suggests making certain vaccinations mandatory in all countries.

We discussed obesity and nutrition and the fact that the EU really needs to get a grip on this issue and curb the over-consumption of processed foods, and also to start promoting nutrition in early years education. The idea was also mentioned of encouraging people to have a plot in their gardens where they can grow fruit and vegetables.

EU countries also need to deal with the problems of smoking and alcohol consumption. There is a need for more education on these and other health issues from the early years of school so that the next generations will be better informed.

We learned that there are over 200 000 new cases of tuberculosis in the EU every year, and that an action plan is in progress. With regard to HIV, Eastern Europe has the fastest growing number of cases in the world: the

numbers are staggering! Around 15 million people in Europe have contracted hepatitis C, only 3% of whom have actually received any treatment for it.

We discussed antibiotics, how they are becoming increasingly ineffective, and how researchers are creating new ones to help cope with health problems in the world, where antibiotics are really needed to treat disease.

Action needs to be taken to stop travellers bringing diseases back into their countries.

The WHO is encouraging all countries to create walkable, bikeable, liveable streets in their towns and cities.

Mental health is a major issue: suicide numbers in particular are staggering, with nearly a million people worldwide taking their lives each year! We were told that, for every one of those million people, another 20 people are thinking about taking their lives too. We must address this as soon as possible.

Mental health really needs to be a priority in every country of the world. We understand the issues more now and we need to take action.

I came away with a book called Preventing Suicide: a community engagement toolkit, which I read on the way home. It is an amazingly informative booklet on how to set up

Cllr Dee Sharpe

a group of people to work on the issue, including the police and fire services, health services and community mental health groups etc., and people in the community who have experienced suicide in their families.

I have already had discussions on setting up such a group in my area, including the wider area so we have the clout to actually make a difference and to ensure we reach the people who are in need of help and support.

I encourage every one of you to get this booklet for your communities. You can contact Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva.

MEMBERS ACTIVITIES The first Poland-Slovakia Forum to take place in the Podkarpackie region next year on the initiative of the Marshal, Mr Władysław Ortyl The Podkarpackie region will host the first ever Poland-Slovakia Forum. The Marshal of the Podkarpackie region, and ECR Group Member of the European Committee of the Regions, signed a letter of intent to this effect at the 28th Economic Forum in Krynica.

The 2019 event will be jointly organised by the Podkarpackie regional government and

the Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies (ISW) – one of the organisers of the Krynica

forum. This is why the main signatories of the letter were Władysław Ortyl and Zyg-

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ECR Member Marshal Władysław Ortyl and Speaker of the Polish Parliament Marek Kuchciński MP

munt Berdychowski of ISW. The letter was also signed by supporters of the initiative, including the Speaker of the Polish Sejm, Marek Kuchciński.

“The idea of organising this forum was suggested to us by Professor Pavol Mačala and it was Władysław Ortyl who took up the initiative. It is a good example of cooperation between the worlds of academia and local government,” said Mr Kuchciński.

A similar Europe-Ukraine Forum has been held in the Podkarpackie region for the past two years. “A letter of intent on the Ukraine forum was also signed here in Krynica. This is a good initiative, so I am sure that the Polish-Slovak forum will also provide a useful platform for cooperation and an exchange of experience,” commented Mr Ortyl.

The letter states, among other things, that the Poland-Slovakia Forum will provide a platform for the exchange of views and a

meeting place for leaders of different economic sectors, elected local and regional representatives, politicians, representatives of academia and expert communities, NGOs and the media. The signatories state that the first forum will be held in the Podkarpackie region in 2019.

The ECR Group at the European Committee of the Regions brings together a large number of representatives of local and regional authorities from both Slovakia and Poland.

Public diplomacy for Europe Marcin Ociepa – a Member of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology in Poland – was the main host of a debate on “Public diplomacy for Europe” held in Opole and Warsaw on 28-30 August. Participants at the conference emphasised that local and regional authorities remain one of the main pillars of European Union policy.

The conference, organised by the Regional Centre for International Debates (Regionalny Ośrodek Debaty Międzynarodowej) and the Collegium Nobilium Opoliense and taking the form of a European seminar, brought together dozens of local and regional elected representatives and politicians from Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and Hungary, including three representatives of the ECR Group. One of the goals of the meeting was to assess the role of international contacts between local and regional authorities in the economic, scientific and cultural spheres.

Marcin Ociepa argued that investing in international contacts between local and ECR Member Minister Marcin Ociepa

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regional authorities often leads to tangible results, albeit sometimes only after a number of years.

“Public diplomacy creates long-lasting relationships, independently of high-level politics. Many current politicians and members of government used to hold positions in local and regional authorities.

Contacts forged in the past often pay off in the form of specific investments because they have helped build a relationship rooted in mutual trust. This is not just a form of ‘local government tourism’, as some people see it. Contacts forged between local authorities in different countries can, over time, turn into specific economic agreements. Today’s conference is a good example. A large number of participants will continue the discussions in our Ministry,” said the Deputy Minister.

Adam Banaszak, the head of the Polish delegation in the ECR Group of the European Committee of the Regions, pointed out that public diplomacy can have a positive effect on nationwide policies.

“Discussions between local and regional authorities are usually free from highlevel politics, but this doesn’t mean that

they have no impact on this level. The robust, bottom-up impetus generated by individual countries’ local governments can often carry over to a higher level, to the benefit of both sides at national level,” said Mr Banaszak.

Mr Banaszak moderated the panel on public, cultural, local government and economic diplomacy where speakers gave insights into the different types of diplomacy in their parts of Europe. Ms Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky spoke on the panel outlining the local government diplomacy taking place in Europe and indeed globally. “Diplomacy is traditionally handled by central government but nowadays we are seeing new actors emerge in the diplomatic scene. This includes local and regional authorities. Our cities and regions are not only active in shaping diplomatic relations in Europe but are also engaging in sharing best-practices with their transatlantic counterparts on issues like climate action that have a trans-national dimension but require local action”, said Ms Sadikoglu-Novaky.

ECR Member Matteo Bianchi (Mayor of Morazzone, Province of Varese) spoke on the panel on “European identity” touch-

ing on regional identities and how they fit into public diplomacy. Mr Bianchi outlined the importance of regions and regional identities in Italy explaining that his region of Lombardy and the neighbouring region of Veneto had both recently voted in favour of greater autonomy from central governments. “We see that our citizens want governance at a level that is closer to them. Regional and local interests and identities shape policy interests. The future of Europe is one that empowers out citizens bottom-up, not top-down”, said Mr Bianchi.

The conference participants included Piotr Wawrzyk, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs; Dr Marek Cichocki; Matteo Bianchi, an Italian MP and Member of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions; Evelyne Temmam, Vice-Mayor of Vence (France); Péter Róth, Vice-Mayor of Székesfehérvár (Hungary); Edward Wąsiewicz, Honorary Consul of Austria in Wrocław; and Neva Sadikoglu-Novaky, Secretary-General of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions.

Sources: Websites of Opole Regional Council and Radio Opole.

European Cooperation Day 2018 in the Bratislava region On 13 October 2018, the Bratislava region, as the managing authority of the INTERACT III cooperation programme, organised the 6th European Cooperation Day. This year’s theme was the idea of building our shared future. The event took place at a symbolically important venue, the Freedom Cycling-Bridge. The bridge was co-financed by the Bratislava region under the Slovak Republic-Austria 2007-2013 crossborder cooperation programme. Only 30 years ago, the river the bridge now stands on formed the iron curtain that divided Europe for many decades.

The event attracted both young and old, with a number of activities for children.

These included a performance of the musical Ice Kingdom by the Bratislava puppet theatre, a workshop on painting our shared

European Cooperation Day

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future, horse-riding, and an educational activity, ‘Europe in fairy tales’, where, after successfully completing each task, thematically linked to EU Member States, the children received a stamp as a reward for their hard work. The event also featured various popular Slovak bands.

The organisers also managed to break the record for the greatest number of people who crossed the bridge in one day. On 13 October 2018, 3,591 people crossed the bridge – a big increase on the 1,664 people who crossed it the year before, and the 742

ECR Member Juraj Droba

people who crossed it in 2016. On this occasion, the President of the Bratislava selfgoverning region and ECR Group Member, Juraj Droba, said, “We have chosen this place as the venue because it is symbolic.

Some years ago this place was marked by borders that divided free Europe from the rest. Today it is a point of connection that links Slovakia and Austria. It is important to talk about history, to remember and recall it and to emphasise that it is cooperation that will play a key role in the future of generations to come.”

European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction: Adam Banaszak underlines the importance of local action ECR Member Adam Banaszak (Member of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Assembly in Poland) represented the European Committee of the Regions at the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) in Rome on 21-23 November. The goal of the Forum was to exchange views on strengthening resilience at the local level and reaching the targets of the Sendai Framework.

Founded in 2009, the European Forum groups countries from across the continent, as well as the Council of Europe, the European Commission and sub-regional bodies like the Council of Baltic Sea States.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local and regional government, and the private sector. Its goal is substantial reduction of disaster risk and human and economic losses.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Banaszak welcomed the fact that “the Sendai Framework specifically acknowledges the role of local governments and voluntary sector in risk reduction” but warned that local government is not properly involved in designing risk management strategies in many European countries.

“Being myself a Member of a voluntary fire brigade in Poland, I know first-hand that the only efficient way of mitigating the impact of disasters is through local action. However, risk management plans are not always designed in a way that takes into account

ECR Member Adam Banaszak

the views of the voluntary sector and local and regional government. This needs to change”, he said.

ELECTIONS All ECR members from the Czech Republic successfully reelected in municipal elections We would like to extend our congratulations to our four members from the Czech Republic who were all re-elected in their respective municipalities in the last Czech municipal elections. The elections took place on 5 and 6 October 2018 for all 6 533 councils across the country. The ODS (the Civic Democratic Party), which is a member of the ECR Group, and the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) secured 2,600 councillors which represents an increase of 8.5% (or 204 mandates) compared to the previous election.

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The voting ballot for the October local and senate elections in the Czech Republic

number of preferential votes on the ODS list, jumping six places. Štĕpánka Fraňková has also been re-elected as the Councillor of the city of Pardubice, where she formerly served as a Mayor from 2010-2014. Pavel Branda, who is our Group’s Coordinator in the CoR Commission for Cohesion Policy and EU Budget, received the second highest number of votes in Rádlo.

The campaign stand of ODS in Brno during the local and senate elections

All of our four Members – Pavel Branda (Deputy Mayor of Rádlo), Štĕpánka Fraňková (Councillor of the city of Pardubice), Dan Jiránek (Councillor of the city of Kladno) and Oldřich Vlasák (Councillor of the city of Hradec Králové and ECR Vice-President) – were re-elected as members of their councils.

Furthermore, in an election that saw an increase in votes for ODS, Mr Jiránek is poised to lead the new coalition in the city of Kladno where he currently serves as a Councillor and previously served as a Mayor. Mr Vlasák, who is a former Mayor, topped the party list in Hradec Králové, receiving the highest

On top of the municipal elections, the Czech Republic also held its Senate elections, which took place in two rounds on 5-6 and 12-13 October. Of the 81 seats that make up the upper chamber, the country elected 27 new senators. Of those, the biggest share went to ODS which won in 10 constituencies and as a result became one of the biggest political groups in the 81-seat chamber.

ECR Group Members win seats in Polish local and regional elections The ECR-affiliated ruling Law and Justice party candidates dominated Polish local and regional elections on 19 October, scoring highest of all political parties and electoral committees. Among the elected politicians were ECR Members Adam Banaszak, Robert Godek, Paweł Grzybowski, Marcin Ociepa and Władysław Ortyl. Congratulations to all the winners!

Law and Justice candidates won the elections in 9 out of 16 Polish regions: Dolnośląskie, Lubelskie, Łódzkie, Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Śląskie and Świętokrzyskie. They won an outright majority in six regions, meaning that they will be able to govern in them alone, without needing to form a coalition.

In the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region, the leader of the Polish delegation in the ECR

Group in the European Committee of the Regions, Adam Banaszak, was re-elected to the regional assembly and Paweł Grzybowski was re-elected as Mayor of Rypin.

In the Podkarpackie region, County Council Member Robert Godek and Marshal Władysław Ortyl were re-elected. Over 38 000 votes were cast for Marshal Ortyl alone.

Overall, Law and Justice candidates secured 25 out of 32 seats in the Podkarpackie regional assembly.

Polish regions in which PiS candidates received the highest number of votes

Conservative politicians in Opolskie doubled their 2014 elections win. ECR Member Marcin Ociepa received the most individual votes (13 369) of all candidates from all electoral committees in the entire region.

This victory in local and regional elections was the fourth in a row for the Law and Justice party and its coalition partners Alliance and United Poland, underlined Law and Justice Chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, who also stated that this bodes well for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki campaigning in Toruń

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ENDORSEMENT Statement from ECR Group President Rob Jonkman on the ACRE Spitzenkandidat As the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Committee of the Regions, we are proudly supporting the Spitzenkandidat of our political family Jan Zahradil MEP. As local and regional authorities, we look forward to working with our political family’s candidate for the May 2019 elections to the European Parliament so as to ensure not only a high turnout for ECR candidates, but also to facilitate a bottom-up engagement of the grassroot supporters of our political parties.

Our Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe has been the consistent voice of a genuine reform of Europe led by the principle of governance at the most practicable level as underlined in ACRE’s Prague

declaration. We look forward to working with Jan Zahradil in advocating a euro-real-

ist and euro-localist EU and in ensuring that this message is heard.

Jan Zahradil MEP participating in the ECR CoR Group meeting

MEETINGS CALENDAR MEETING

PLACE

DATE

CoR BUREAU

BRUSSELS

4 DECEMBER

CoR PLENARY

BRUSSELS

5-6 DECEMBER

KATOWICE, POLAND

3-14 DECEMBER

Commission for Economic Policy (ECON)

BRUSSELS

13 DECEMBER

Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER)

BRUSSELS

14 DECEMBER

Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX)

BRUSSELS

25 JANUARY

Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE)

BRUSSELS

28 JANUARY

Commission for Natural Resources (NAT)

BRUSSELS

29 JANUARY

CoR BUREAU

BRUSSELS

5 FEBRUARY

CoR PLENARY

BRUSSELS

6-7 FEBRUARY

Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC)

BRUSSELS

13 FEBRUARY

Commission for Economic Policy (ECON)

BRUSSELS

14 FEBRUARY

COP24

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