ECR News - 19th edition by ECR Group in the Committee of the Regions

ECR News European Committee of the Regions | 19th edition

CONTENTS

Improving the European Semester

ECR GROUP OPINIONS

Improving the European Semester

Reducing disaster risk in Europe

The EU and Eastern Partnership

LOCALISM

ECR priorities for upcoming EU mandate

Encouraging healthy lifestyle

Time to empower local communities

Benefits of Cohesion Policy

FUTURE OF EUROPE

European Summit of Regions and Cities

European Agricultural Forum

UK’s withdrawal from the EU

Beyond GDP

European culture

EU’S NEIGHBOURHOOD

Changes in the ARLEM Bureau

Addressing root causes of migration

The refugee crisis

MEMBERS ACTIVITIES

Angels of peace

EVENTS 14 Localism Summit

MEETINGS CALENDAR

ECR Group Secretariat Committee of the Regions

During its April plenary session the European Committee of the Regions adopted a position paper on “The European Semester and Cohesion Policy: aligning structural reforms with long-term investments”. Prepared under the leadership of ECR President Rob Jonkman and upon the request of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in the document the EU’s local and regional authorities are raising subsidiarity concerns with the Commission’s attempts to align structural reforms with long-term investments resulting in a top-down process that sees local and regional Rob Jonkman and EP rapporteur Iskra authorities treated as stakeholders at best. Mihaylova

European Summit of Regions and Cities in Bucharest On 15 March in Bucharest the 8th European Summit of Regions and Cities came to a close. It brought together over 500 politicians in Romania’s capital, mainly from the level of local and regional, but also EU and national authorities from the whole of the European Union. The panellists included many representatives of the ECR Group and young local and regional elected representatives affiliated with it.

Stepping up cross-border regional cooperation to reduce disaster risk in Europe The opinion by ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Veneto Regional Council, on possible solutions to the cross-border dimension in disaster risk reduction was adopted at the external meeting of the CoR’s Natural Resources Commission held in Gozo (Malta) on 28 March 2019. The draft opinion calls both for scientific committees to be set up to define risk scenarios more accurately, and for the introduction of highly-qualified “risk manager” posts. ECR rapporteur Roberto Ciambetti

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ECR GROUP OPINIONS Improving the European Semester Upon the request of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Committee of the Regions prepared its position paper on “the European Semester and Cohesion Policy: aligning structural reforms with long-term investments”. This document was prepared under the leadership of ECR President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands), who is also the ECR spokesperson on economic policy and the 2nd Vice-Chair of the Economic Policy Commission of the European Committee of the Regions. The CoR is raising subsidiarity concerns with the Commission’s intention of creating synergies between the EU’s investments like the EU’s Cohesion Policy and the EU’s mechanism for coordinating economic and fiscal policies of its Member States (also known as the European Semester). While the Cohesion Policy is bottom-up treating local and regional authorities as partners, the Semester remains a top-down exercise.

ECR Group rapporteur Rob Jonkman

The European Committee of the Regions has been a strong advocate of local and regional authorities being treated as partner in EU policies that impact them, including the European Semester and the EU’s investment policies like the Cohesion Policy. Local and regional authorities are responsible for delivering more than half of public investments. This is one of the reasons why they are treated as partners in the delivery of the EU’s Cohesion Policy, which accounts for approximately one third of the EU’s budget. Yet, this is not the case when it comes to the European Semester.

The European Semester provides the framework for the coordination of economic policies in the EU. It is a tool used by the Member States to discuss their economic reforms and budget plans and for the European Commission to monitor progress. Currently, the implementation of half of the European Semester’s country-specific recommendations prepared by the European Commission and the Council require local and regional authority action. However, local and regional authorities are not formally involved in setting the recommendations. “As the Commission tries to align investments more closely with structural reforms, as local and regional authorities we have underlined that the need to treat local and regional authorities as partners is crucial. Failure to respect our role as partners in investments like Cohesion Policy Funds as synergies are created between such investments and the Semester will create subsidiarity issues. I raised these concerns with Ms Viorica Dãncilã, the Prime Minister of Romania at the 6 February plenary debate. I was glad to see her agree with me on this” said Mr Jonkman.

“Cities and regions are formally recognised as partners in the delivery of EU investments through the rules governing the use of the Cohesion Funds. However, in the European Semester process, during which the investment recommendations are formulated, local and regional authorities are sometimes excluded from the process entirely or only treated as one of many stakeholders. We are proposing concrete solutions as to how this can be changed in the future EU budget”, he added. The position paper drafted under the leadership of Mr Jonkman recommends that local and regional authorities should have a “formal, structured and permanent presence” in the European Semester and draws attention to the fact that the CoR has proposed establishing a code of conduct to this purpose. “Side-lining local and regional authorities – the key implementing actors of country specific recommendations – from the European Semester cannot be tolerated. The current situation risks leading to a lack of ownership of programmes and policies, inevitably leading to poor delivery”, in the words of Mr Jonkman.

“Disasters know no border, which is why we need to step-up our cross-border cooperation” says Roberto Ciambetti Mr Roberto Ciambetti (IT/ECR), President of the Veneto Regional Council in Italy and Member of the European Committee of the Regions’ Bureau, is the rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions representing the opinion of EU’s local and regional governments on how local and regional authorities located along national border can work together in becoming more resilient to natural disasters. “Disasters know no border. A flood does not stop at a national border and if one side of a border is not resilient to disas-

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ters, this impacts the other side of the border. As the Veneto region, we personally know what the increase in the fre-

quency and intensity of natural disasters means for local communities. We need the EU to start integrating the principle of

picture of regions in terms of materials, resources, equipment and specialised volunteers, mapping risks and evaluating them. This would enable more effective plans, procedures and interventions in response to disasters,” explained Mr Ciambetti.

ECR rapporteur Roberto Ciambetti

disaster resilience into all its investments so that EU money does not put public lives at risk” said Roberto Ciambetti. The opinion of the European Committee of the Regions being prepared under the leadership of Roberto Ciambetti highlights a number of major challenges and proposes solutions for cross-border regions across Europe when it comes to resilience to natural disasters. “We need integrated databases shared between countries to provide a clear

The CoR opinion is calling for scientific committees to be set up to define risk scenarios more accurately and to network knowledge and skills. It is also suggesting that highlyqualified “risk managers” are recruited in local and regional authorities who would be equipped with specific knowledge and multidisciplinary skills and who in turn can assist local and regional administrators in emergency situations and in planning. Furthermore, the opinion put emphasis on the importance of training and education. It notes the urgent need to provide specialised training for local administrators (in line with the Making Cities Resilient campaign promoted by the United Nations Office

for Disaster Risk Reduction) to boost their awareness and provide them with better information tools given that they are directly responsible for local inhabitants and the protection and development of their areas. It also notes the need for university courses in civil protection for young people including projects on risk mitigation. With regards to young people, the CoR is drawing attention to the significant opportunities that must be offered to those involved in solidarity work in the disaster risk prevention sector through the European Solidarity Corps. This option should take the form of volunteering or apprenticeship opportunities or traineeship or work experiences. Adoption timetable is as follows: Adoption by Members of the European Committee of the Regions’ Natural Resources Commission was on 28 March; adoption by all Members of the CoR will be at the 26-27 June plenary session.

Promoting people-to-people cross-border cooperation between Eastern Partners ECR Member Dr Pavel Branda (Deputy Mayor of Rádlo in the Czech Republic) was one of the keynote speakers at the meeting of the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) Bureau, which took place in Yerevan on 29 March. During the meeting Dr Branda presented a working document on promoting people-to-people contact between Eastern Partnership countries. The document was prepared together with his expert Borys Uvarov from the Centre for Cross-Border Cooperation in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Pavel Branda is CORLEAP’s spokesperson on promoting people-to-people contact through cross-border cooperation programmes in Eastern Partnership countries. His document highlights the crucial role of a strong civil society in the harmonious development of municipalities, regions and countries. As underlined by Dr Branda, “fostering mobility and cross-border contacts were rightly selected by the EU as priorities for the Eastern Partnership during the 2015 Riga Summit given that many border regions in Eastern Europe are sometimes regarded as scars of history”. To overcome the dividing effect of borders, the European Union started to support cross-border cooperation (CBC) in the 1990s, through the Interreg programme. Interreg has become one of the EU’s key instruments in supporting cooperation across borders

through project funding. Its aim is to jointly tackle common challenges and find shared solutions in various fields. In many border regions CBC programmes also support people-to-people projects, focusing primarily on promoting contact and interaction between people on different sides of the border. In 2012, the European Commission launched the Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Programme, aimed at developing sustainable cooperation between the border regions for their socio-economic development. Territorial cooperation covers four regional programmes between the border regions of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Armenia and Georgia, Belarus and Ukraine, and Moldova and Ukraine. One of the aims of Dr Branda’s document is to analyse these programmes and explore the possibilities of transferring best

ECR rapporteur Dr Pavel Branda

practices in supporting people-to-people projects from Interreg. The document drafted by Mr Branda, after being discussed in Yerevan, will be adopted at the CORLEAP annual meeting on 12 September in Turku, Finland.

LOCALISM ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions unveils priorities for 2020-2025 term of office Members of the ECR Group Bureau met on 16 January to discuss the priorities of this conservative group of local and regional politicians for the 2020-2025 term of office. Three main goals were flagged up for the next five years: promoting greater localism in EU decision-making, costefficiency in public services and free enterprise. These were priorities also shared and discussed with Jan Zahradil MEP, the ECR Group’s lead candidate for the position of European Commission President. ECR Bureau Members agreed that they would pursue the principle of localism by “advocating the exercise of power at the lowest practicable level - by the individual where possible and by local or national authorities in preference to supranational bodies”. They also agreed that more eurorealism was needed in Brussels and that this could be achieved in the next term with a more decentralised system of governance and respect for the divergences among EU Member States, regions and cities. Other priorities for the ECR Group for the next term are free enterprise and cost-efficient public services. In the words of ECR President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands): “As conserva-

ECR Group Members with ECR Lead Candidate Jan Zahradil MEP

tives we are always on the side of small businesses. Our big focus is therefore on removing bottlenecks that could restrict their growth and on fostering digitalisation.” The ECR Bureau Members also agreed to prioritise the following policy areas post 2020: - Cohesion Policy; - EU budget; - Cross-border cooperation; - European Semester; - Energy; - Climate change; - Water management; - Agriculture;

- Disaster resilience; - Youth; - Future of Europe; - Integration of legal migrants and refugees; These ECR priorities agreed on were presented to all the Group’s Members and the ECR lead candidate for president of the European Commission, Jan Zahradil MEP, on 6 February. Mr Zahradil expressed his hope that the outcome of the next European Parliament elections, scheduled for 23-26 May this year, would “produce a centre-right coalition supportive of a decentralised Europe that is advocated by the ECR Group”.

Mayor Paweł Grzybowski calls on Commissioner Tibor Navracsics to focus on place-based approach to sport Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, was one of the keynote speakers at the CoR plenary session of 6 February. Addressing him on behalf of the ECR Group was Paweł Grzybowski, Mayor of Rypin in Poland and ECR Group Coordinator in the CoR Commission on Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC). In his speech Mr Grzybowski made the case for an EU approach to youth and sport that is place-based and localist.

ECR Member Mayor Paweł Grzybowski

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“Just look at Robert Lewandowski. Who has not heard about the Polish striker who has scored more than 120 goals for Bayern Munich? And how many of you know the names of football clubs where he started his

career? How many of you have heard about Varsovia, Delta Warsaw or Znicz Pruszków? I guess not many. But it is in local football clubs and local sports centres where big careers begin”, said the ECR Member.

Mayor Grzybowski added that the biggest advantage of prosperous local sport centres is that they unite communities and encourage young people to have healthy lifestyle. “The greatest benefit they bring is that our children will live longer and healthier lives”. In Mr Grzybowski’s opinion, encouraging healthy lifestyle can be most efficient when

carried out through local initiatives, but the EU can also play a role. “The EU could help local sports centres through continuation and expansion of initiatives such as Erasmus+, in order to allow professionals to have work placements abroad or staff trainings for coaches. We

very much count on this type of support especially in small and medium-size European cities”, said Mr Grzybowski. Commissioner Navracsics welcomed these remarks and confirmed that investing in education, youth and sport is key to building a resilient and cohesive Europe.

ECR President to Prime Minister of Romania: Time to empower local communities On 6 February, Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă, the Prime Minister of Romania, presented priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU to local and regional leaders. ECR President Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands) welcomed the Prime Minister to the European Committee of the Regions and called upon her to help deliver greater localism in the EU. “We need to aspire towards empowering local communities - not centralising decision-making processes. We need to open up our markets and help create opportunities – not curb innovation or competitiveness. We need to avoid creating a system that leaves our cities and regions dependent on centralised investment, development plans and centrally distributed subsidies”, said Mr Jonkman. The ECR President explained that as we try to ensure that the benefits of market liberalisation benefit as many of our citizens as possible, we must not fall into the trap of creating a centrally managed system of redistribution. “Such systems were tried in Central and Eastern Europe by the communist regimes and in addition to creating traumas that live on today - they failed”.

According to Mr Jonkman, “local authorities know their areas the best and therefore will be able to identify their investment needs far more effectively than other tiers of government. Such a system of bottom-up decision making is also good for improving democratic engagement”. Last but not least, local and regional authorities need to be treated as partners in the use of funds – not as stakeholders. This is encoded in the rules governing the use of funds like Cohesion Policy, which account for approximately one third of the EU’s spending. The European Semester on the other hand does not treat local and regional authorities as partners and remains a topdown process. Mr Jonkman welcomed that the Romanian Presidency has taken an interest in this topic and asked the CoR for an

ECR President Rob Jonkman

opinion on the subject matter. As the CoR rapporteur on this important subject, Mr Jonkman said he looks forward to communicating the position of local and regional leaders in greater detail once the opinion is formally adopted.

Pavel Branda calls on the Commission to do a better job of talking about the success stories of the EU’s Cohesion Policy Speaking on 5 December 2018 at the 132nd plenary session of European Committee of the Regions, CoR Member Pavel Branda (Deputy Mayor of Rádlo in the Czech Republic) urged Commissioner Creţu to ensure better publicity for the achievements of Cohesion Policy.

ECR Member Dr Pavel Branda

Mr Branda underlined the need to better communicate the benefits Cohesion Policy had brought to Europe’s regions, cities and rural areas, saying: “I think we need to change the way we communicate the results and impacts of Cohesion Policy. Its great added value is that it reaches the smallest municipalities at the periphery of the Member States and touches the lives of almost every citizen. It is not enough to simply stick an EU flag or a poster on projects. We need to really invest in ways of demonstrat-

ing tangible benefits brought about by Cohesion Policy and its impact on people’s lives.” Cohesion Policy is seen as an essential instrument in promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion and gives the EU visibility in every community. To be effective, it needs solid financial backing and bottom-up design. The ECR Group Members in the CoR are therefore united in opposing any cuts in the policy’s funding under the next EU multiannual finan-

cial framework and advocate that decisions on the shape of the policies are made in full partnership with local and regional government. The Group Members are, however, calling for the reform of the Cohesion Policy so that greater added-value can be achieved

with one-third of the EU’s budget currently dedicated to this policy area. The Group has called for a new territorial vision 2050 through the CoR position paper prepared under the leadership of its Vice-President Oldřich Vlasák (Councillor of the City of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic). The ECR

Group has also called for the EU’s Cohesion Policy to focus more on people-to-people projects in cross-border regions given that approximately one third of EU citizens live in cross-border areas. Currently less than 3% of the EU’s Cohesion Policy targets cross-border areas.

FUTURE OF EUROPE Bucharest Summit of Regions and Cities The theme of the 8th edition of the European Summit of Regions and Cities was “ReNew EUrope”. The Summit is organised once every two years. This edition took place in Bucharest, Romania and was co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the Romanian delegation at the CoR. During the event, a declaration by local and regional leaders on the future of Europe was adopted in order to share their voice ahead of the European elections and the next term of office of the EU institutions.

ECR Group Member Maurice Golden MSP (fourth from the left) with a group of Young Elected Politicians

ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti

The Summit brought together EU, national, local and regional leaders from across Europe to discuss the future of the European Union and how to involve the citizens more effectively in the European project through local and regional authorities.

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ECR Group Member Marshal Władysław Ortyl (in the middle)

A delegation of young elected politicians (those 40 and under) were invited to the Summit. From the ECR affiliated political parties, 10 young politicians were present. ECR Group Maurice Golden MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament), as a young CoR

ECR Members Juraj Droba and Pavel Branda (second and first from the right)

politician, spoke at the panel organised for the young elected politicians underlining the importance of using social media as effective tools for reaching the youth. On the subject of female engagement, Maurice Golden also said that women as politicians

are targeted more heavily for abuse on social media. He underlined that all politicians and political parties need to take responsibility in stopping their members and followers from targeting women. Two ECR Members spoke on the panel on the future of the EU’s Cohesion Policy – Juraj Droba (President of the Bratislava Region in Slovakia) and Pavel Branda (Vice-President of the Association European of Border Regions and Deputy Mayor of Rádlo municipality in the Czech Republic). The importance of reforming the EU’s Cohesion Policy was underlined noting the challenge of the current statistical system used by the EU under which social and infrastructural parameters are not taken into account. “As Bratislava, we are the 8th most developed region in the EU according to Eurostat but in the social progress index we rank 181 out of 272 European regions”,

explained Mr Droba. The added-value of people-to-people projects in cross-border areas given that approximately one third of EU citizens live in them was underlined by Mr Pavel Branda, who is the spokesperson of the European Committee of the Regions on this issue. ECR Members who took the floor in the different debates at the Summit included Mr Władysław Ortyl (Marshal of the Podkarpackie Region of Poland), who took the floor in the debate on strengthening European democracy. He underlined the importance of taking a stronger bottom-up approach to policies such as the EU’s Cohesion Policy. He noted that “EU’s Cohesion Policy gives a lot of influence to local communities. But in order to fully untap its potential, it needs to be customised, involve cross-border & interregional cooperation and be supported by new macro-regional strategies.

Daiva Matoniene took the floor in the debate on building a sustainable future. She underlined the importance of coupling ambition in climate action with realism in terms of what is possible at a local and regional level underlining the need for territorial impact assessments. Tadeusz Andrzejewski (Member of Vilnius district Municipal Council) took the floor in the debate on social cohesion and integration in regions and cities highlighting also the importance of focusing on social cohesion in countries of origin to address some of the root causes of why people were leaving their countries of origin. Roberto Ciambetti (President of the Veneto Regional Council in Italy) took the floor in the debate on active subsidiarity underlining the importance of the EU involving regional parliaments with legislative powers in its decision-making process.

Podkarpackie hosts the European Agricultural Forum The two-day European Agricultural Forum took place at the G2A Arena in Jasionka in Podkarpackie, Poland on 1-2 March. Alongside ECR Group Member and Marshal of Podkarpackie region Władysław Ortyl, those participating in the Forum included the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. The European Agriculture Forum, a two day event organised the European Fund for the Development of Polish Villages, is an annual event bringing together EU, national and local and regional politicians. The Forum is a new, extended form of agricultural conference which began in 2011. This year’s forum was organised in partnership with the Podkarpackie region. Participants in the forum included the ECR Member Władysław Ortyl, who is the Marshal (President) of the Podkarpackie region as well as the Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland and the EU Commissioner responsible for agriculture. Representatives of ministries in Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and the Czech Republic also came to Jasionka as did parliamentarians, representatives of agricultural institutions, politicians, researchers from Poland and abroad, and the clergy, represented by Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga. In total, around two thousand people attended the event. Marshal Władysław Ortyl spoke about the advantages of Podkarpackie and its agri-

Marshal Władysław Ortyl

culture as well as the EU aid enjoyed by farmers: “The Common Agricultural Policy is a very important topic for us as the Rural Development Programme is fundamental to Podkarpackie villages and the living conditions of the population. Improvement is taking place thanks to

EU funds which allow for investment in infrastructure and in agricultural holdings”, Marshal Ortyl emphasised. He also spoke about the agricultural fragmentation of the region which, contrary to expectations, could be an asset as it favours the development of ecological agriculture. He also pointed out that Podkarpackie is

a leader in land consolidation and in the number of traditional products registered on the ministry’s list, which is already 230. “This is our brand, our showpiece”, Marshal Ortyl said and he also read a letter from the Head of the Law & Justice (PiS) party Mr Jarosław Kaczyński. The President of Poland Andrzej Duda and the Marshal of the Polish Sejm Marek Kuchciński also sent letters to the participants of the forum. Phil Hogan, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, who led the attendees in a debate on the EU Common Agricultural Policy, was also a prominent voice in the forum. The Commissioner said that it was one of

the oldest and most successful EU instruments. He devoted a lot of attention to the issue of Brexit, which would mean less budgetary revenue for the European Union. But he stressed that he believed that a solution that is good for everyone could be found: “We want solutions that will be good for all parties. We must remember that we are stronger when we work together, when we are together, when we don’t stand alone”, the Commissioner explained. Phil Hogan also talked about the new perspective and what the EU will place emphasis on in agriculture, which will be innovation and research.

According to Hogan, “we want this money to benefit farmers, particularly small and medium-sized farms.” Further debates took place on the second day of the forum. Participants discussed opportunities and threats to Polish agriculture, at the same time they highlighted that agricultural policy in Poland was heading in the right direction thanks to measures taken in favour of agri-food production. In the discussions, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pointed out that Polish food has an excellent reputation abroad, which is why it is an important and valued export product. However, it is important to ensure the high quality of exported products, because it is high quality products that build the Polish brand around the world.

Bringing local and regional politicians into the Brexit debate The EU’s political assembly of local and regional authorities has been providing input and support to the EU’s Chief negotiator Michel Barnier on the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. In addition to the fact-finding missions conducted by the political leadership of the European Committee of the Regions through its Conference of President’s consisting of the Presidents of the political groups and the President and First Vice-President of the CoR, EU’s local and regional politicians have been holding public debates.

Cllr David Simmonds

The consequences of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU for local and regional authorities were debated by local and regional politicians during the 132nd and 133rd plenary sessions of the European Committee of the Regions that took place in December and February. The main speaker for local and regional politicians in December was Michel Barnier, the European Chief Negotiator for the UK Exiting the EU. ECR Group Members from the Netherlands, Slovakia and the UK (England and Northern Ireland), were among the most active in expressing their expectations and concerns.

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The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union has stirred up many reactions since the 2016 referendum, in which the majority of voters decided that the UK should leave the EU. After the referendum and the subsequent triggering of the process for the UK departure from the EU, local and regional politicians started engaging in a fact-finding activities looking at the local and regional impact of the UK’s withdrawal. The European Committee of the Regions’ Conference of President’s met representatives of English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh local government and devolved administrations preparing a report summarising their findings. The impact of the UK’s withdrawal was also analysed in the Commission meetings of the European Committee of the Regions, where specific policy angles were explored in depth. During the recent plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, public debates were held on the UK’s withdrawal and its impact on local and regional authorities. The terms of the UK’s withdrawal, as well as their future relationship with the

EU, were the main points of their exchange of views with Mr Barnier. ECR President Rob Jonkman and three other ECR Members stressed the need for maintaining good relations between local and regional politicians from both sides of the Channel post-Brexit. “Global trends that impact our localities such as climate change and digital economy often require local action. We do not need to legislate together to be able to continue sharing best-practices and continue cooperating on areas where we have common interests”, said Rob Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands). As the CoR is investigating the best channels for continuing cooperation on these topics post-Brexit, Cllr David Simmonds (Deputy Leader of London Borough of Hillingdon and Deputy Chairman of the Local Government Association) underlined that “the final withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK needs to specifically provide for forms of structured cooperation between local and regional authorities and devolved administrations”.

Other ECR Members referred to developments in their home countries during the Brexit discussion. “As someone who has lived through the unrest if Northern Ireland, I understand the sensitivities on both sides of the argument in our island of Ireland. The EU needs to understand the dangers of not respecting the fact that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and creating a border between us and the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland cannot be trapped in a back-stop that creates a regulatory barrier between us and the rest of the UK from which we can only be released if the EU unilaterally agrees. We would be virtual prisoners in this system”, said ECR Member from UK, Northern Ireland Arnold Hatch (Alderman on Armagh City, Banbridge, Craigavon Borough Council).

ECR Member Juraj Droba, Chairman of Bratislava Self-Governing Region, who also took the floor, noted his regret that the UK was leaving the EU and raised geostrategic concerns for the future of Europe such as Russian interference in EU countries. He called on local and regional politicians in Europe “to fight against negative political trends and help bring European countries closer together again”. Brexit was also one of the highlights of the 133rd CoR plenary session, which took place on 6 and 7 February 2019. During the session Juraj Droba expressed concern about damage to Slovakia’s automotive industry, noting that Slovakia now produces more vehicles per capita than any country in Europe. The EU’s assembly for local and regional politicians also heard from Cllr Kevin Bentley, the chairman of the Brexit task-force

Alderman Arnold Hatch

of the Local Government Association for England and Wales. He offered the “reassurance” that local authorities are working “very hard” and “in a calm manner” with the UK government about the impact of Brexit “on real people”. The “vast majority” of EU law in the UK is enacted by local and regional authorities, he noted.

Beyond GDP: Are there better ways to measure living standards? - By Juraj Droba, ECR Group Member and Chairman of Bratislava Self-Governing Region in Slovakia The Bratislava Region has long been ranked among the top ten most economically developed regions in the EU by the European Commission’s statistical office. According to Eurostat findings published on 24 February 2019, the Bratislava region was classified as the EU’s 8th most developed region, with its GDP standing at 179% of the EU average. The Bratislava Region does not consider the current way of measuring the development of EU regions to be objective, and is looking for ways to take account of the discrepancy between economic strength and people’s living standards. in regions, as reflected in household incomes. Regions’ level of development should not be measured through the lens of GDP alone. Social and environmental indicators also need to be included in order to arrive at a more comprehensive assessment of a region’s progress.

ECR Member Juraj Droba

This is because people living in Bratislava know very well that it does not have the living standards of Vienna, London or Paris. The Bratislava region therefore has limited capacity to draw on EU funds and pays the price for statistics which, while taking account of GDP growth at regional level, fail to factor in differences between the price of goods and services across regions. Moreover, these statistics do not take into account the level of wealth of people living

In March 2019, the Bratislava region started taking part in the European Commission’s pilot project to launch the European Social Progress Index (EU SPI) in EU regions (Pilot Project “Measuring What Matters to EU Citizens: Social Progress in the European Regions”). The Social Progress Index is an instrument designed to identify, in a comprehensive manner, countries’ level of development using 50 indicators, and to provide consistent and measurable indicators for the EU’s 272 regions, particularly in the social and environmental fields. Economic indicators have intentionally not been included in the index. The Bratislava region is ranked 181st out of 272 regions on the basis of the Social Pro-

gress Index – a significant mismatch given that it came 8th in the Eurostat statistics. For this reason, the Bratislava region has long been looking for alternative approaches. At the 7th European Summit of Regions and Cities, organised by the region as part of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2016, it started to work with the Social Progress Imperative, and became one of the first regions to explore the use of the EU SPI locally. In cooperation with its partners, the Bratislava region is continually working to support the position of the EU SPI within the discussions on the future EU cohesion policy, and in recent years has participated in a number of technical events on this subject. The EU SPI is an important contribution to the discussion accompanying the “beyond GDP” initiative, which aims to look for alternative approaches – other than GDP as the sole indicator – to measuring regions’ development.

European culture and the role of different minorities The ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions co-organised a conference with the European Christian Political Movement on “the role of minorities in the EU and the European Year of Cultural Heritage”. The event, which took place on 6 December 2018, brought together local and regional politicians with representatives of the European Parliament to exchange views on how community-led solutions can help promote Europe’s cultural heritage. Opening the conference, ECR Group President Rob Jonkman (Alderman of Opsterland in the Netherlands), stressed that cultural heritage is a shared resource which enriches communities and provides a number of benefits. “In the Dutch province of Friesland, where I come from, we have many cultural attractions which help to attract tourists. This stimulates local growth and narrows the urban-rural divide. It also helps us to preserve our unique culture”, said Mr Jonkman. The second part of the debate focused on the European Year of Cultural Heritage, which aims to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe’s cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. ECR Group Member of the European Parliament from Slovakia, Branislav Škripek welcomed the European Commission’s involvement in the European Year of Cultural Heritage. However, he criticised the Commission’s decision not to include Christian heritage in its list of tangible and intangible aspects of cultural heritage. The ECR MEP said that Christianity should be included in such a list, “because it represents the main spiritual heritage of Europe, being the resource and inspiration for European citizens”. Among other key speakers at the event was Mr Adrian Merka, the President of the Democratic Union of Slovaks and Czechs in Romania and the conference was followed by a traditional dance performance by representatives of the Slovak minority in Romania.

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ECR conference on the role of minorities

EU’s NEIGHBOURHOOD Paweł Grzybowski, Mayor of Rypin, has become a member of the ARLEM Bureau Mayor of Rypin, Paweł Grzybowski, has become a Member of the 16-person Bureau of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly. He was elected by acclamation during the 10th ARLEM Plenary on 27 February in Seville, Spain. During the meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Seville, Spain on 27 February, ECR Member Paweł Grzybowski, was elected a Member of the Assembly’s Bureau. ARLEM was established by the European Committee of the Regions to strengthen cooperation between representatives of cities and regions on both coasts of the Mediterranean. It consists of representatives of local and regional authorities from the EU and local and regional authorities from the 15 partner countries of the Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Turkey and Israel. Its managing body, the Bureau, consists of 16 members – eight from EU countries and eight from the partner countries. As Mr Grzybowski said in his interview with the Polish Press Agency, ARLEM is a chance to discuss sub-regional agreements not only in the European Union but in the entire Mediterranean. He also said that “it is important to me that we can talk about human rights, about corruption – which is at a higher level in African countries or the Middle East than in the EU, but we must remember that it affects all countries, including EU Member States – and about youth exchanges and current problems such as migration”. He believes that local and regional elected representatives from the EU can bring a lot of experience to the stabilisation process of neighbouring countries, but they can also learn from partners from outside Europe. “In ARLEM I represent the position of our political group, the European Conservatives and Reformists, but also local views. I am a teacher and a political scientist by trade, and therefore education, sports and culture are

ARLEM meeting in Sevilla

issues that are important to me. Education is a very substantial part of expenditure for every local authority, but of course it is crucial for our future” he underlined. The Mayor of Rypin (Kujawsko-Pomorskie region in Poland) has been a Member of the European Committee of the Regions, an EU advisory body that brings together local and regional elected representatives from the 28 Member States, since 2015 and as a Member has taken part in work concerning youth and

sport. He is the rapporteur of a European Committee of the Regions opinion on Investing in Europe’s youth and the European Solidarity Corps. He also represented the CoR at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. He is in his third term as Mayor of Rypin. The article was originally published on PAP Samorząd website and translated into English with minor changes having been made for the purposes of this newsletter.

Improving third countries’ economies and living conditions would help tackle the root causes of migration On 4 and 5 February 2019, the “Cities and regions for development cooperation, local and regional partnerships for sustainable urban development” forum took place in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions. The forum aimed to tackle the issue of subnational cooperation to promote the development of the EU’s partner countries. ECR Members Joe Cooney (County Councillor for Pendle Central, Colne, UK), Maurice Golden (Member of Scottish Parliament for West Scotland), David Simmonds (Deputy Leader of London Borough of Hillingdon, UK) and Luca Zaia (President of the Veneto Region) had the opportunity to exchange views with representatives from the European Commission, international organisations, think tanks and the private sector to identify solutions to the problems beleaguering the EU’s neighbourhood. During the forum, Cllr David Simmonds, ECR Coordinator for the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), noted that subnational cooperation between the EU and third countries should aspire to establish mutually advantageous and sustainable relations. Mr Simmonds went on to say that “we need to bear in mind that instability abroad has a knock on effect for Europe. Improving third countries’ economic and living conditions would help tackle the root causes of migration by supporting refugees in their countries of origin”.

CoR conference on development cooperation

The ECR Group points out that tackling the root causes of irregular migration is a key means of boosting resilience, which is why we must remember that the most effective aid for vulnerable, endangered communities is delivered right where the danger is occurring. During the two-day forum, Luca Zaia met with the Mayors of Libyan cities Tripoli and Bengasi to address future economic relations between businesses in Veneto and Libya. Tripoli and Bengasi are active members of the Nicosia Initiative promoted by the European Committee of the Regions, a project which aims to boost the region’s capacity and so strengthen local authorities in Libya. Without a unified national government, Libyan municipalities play a key role in providing people with basic services despite the prevailing instability, economic crisis and fragility affecting various states.

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ECR Member Luca Zaia being interviewed at the margins of the meeting

The refugee crisis: Vytautas Kanevičius participates in the meeting of the Working Group on Turkey On 11 December 2018, the 21st meeting of the Working Group on Turkey took place in Ankara, in Turkey. ECR Member Vytautas Kanevičius (Mayor of Kazlų Rūda in Lithuania) took part in the meeting, which was attended by European Committee of the Regions members and representatives of Turkey’s local and regional authorities. tween the EU and Turkey, and then turned to a thematic debate on the integration of refugees. There was a strong emphasis on the exchange of good practices between the two sides.

ECR Member Vytautas Kanevičius

The meeting opened with a presentation on recent developments in the relationship be-

Turkey is currently hosting over 4 million refugees, 3.5 million of whom are Syrian, and they are having a significant impact on the host communities as well as on the budget. Turkey is providing these refugees with considerable assistance, particularly in the camps, but as many as 90% of them are still living in reception camps. After the meeting, Mr Kanevičius had the opportunity to visit the UNHCR Vocational

Training Centre with a small delegation of CoR members. The centre was set up by the UNHCR, Turkey and the city of Ankara, and its chief objective is to develop refugees’ skills and integrate them into Turkish society. The vocational training is divided into four main sectors: the mechanical sector, the food sector, the textile sector and the information sector. In order to foster integration and improve refugees’ ability to communicate, they study Turkish for three months before starting the vocational training course. Trainees who have taken Turkish language classes then follow the three-month vocational training course.

MEMBERS ACTIVITIES ECR local and regional politicians join Rupert Matthews MEP at exhibition promoting peace and celebrating Europe’s shared culture Members of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions attended an exhibition of the Hansa Group of the ECR Group in the European Parliament on 6 February. The exhibition illustrated Europe’s shared journey towards peace looking at how this was depicted in the form of angel statues across Europe. It was put together by European Conservative and Reformist MEPs Rupert Matthews (United Kingdom), Hans-Olaf Henkel (Germany), Morten Messerschmidt (Denmark), Laurentiu Rebega (Romania), and Ulrike Trebesius (Germany). The exhibition features sculptures of angels on war memorials. The angels are significant; they are a symbol of divine protection for

the dead and of the peace that had returned after the First World War. The same symbolism is to be found right across Europe, showing that our continent has a shared culture, shared history and shared future. The European Parliament exhibition, entitled Angels of Peace, opened on 4 February and features pictures and details of memorials chosen by the hosting MEPs. At the exhibition launch, ECR Group Member from Lithuania Daiva Matoniene said: “I was

pleased to attend the Angels of Peace exhibition organised by our ECR Group MEPs. The angels show the shared cultural heritage of the European nations that were torn apart by war but are now united in peace. By emphasising what we have in common we can put our differences into perspective.” Mr Matthews added: “I am particularly pleased to co-host this exhibition with Hans-Olaf Henkel. His house was destroyed in a WWII bombing raid at the same time

as my father was serving with RAF Bomber Command. It is poignant that of the Member States whose MEPs are co-hosting this event, two were on the side of the Allies and two on the side of the Axis. To ensure peace in Europe going forwards we must remember our past, celebrate our shared culture and look forward to a peaceful future”. At the exhibition, ECR CoR Members were joined by fellow ECR MEPs, staff and European Union officials.

EVENTS Localism Summit in Beetsterzwaag This year’s edition of the Localism Summit will take place in the Netherlands in Beetsterzwaag village in the municipality of Opsterland. The Localism Summit is an annual event bringing together centre-right and euro-realist local and regional government to take stock of global developments impacting local and regional authorities and explore localist solutions.

This year’s Localism Summit will focus on the future of our cities, regions and municipalities. In particular, it will focus on the role of regional development policies in bridging the urban-rural divide, the exchange of best practices and the evaluation of EU instru-

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ments for sustainable management in cities, regions and municipalities. It will also aim to provide a thorough analysis of the technological and wider societal challenges in order to deliver greater innovation, competitiveness and democratic accountability. The Lo-

calism Summit will bring together local and regional leaders from Europe and the Netherlands, as well as leading thinkers, to shape the agenda of the future of Europe in the sense of greater localism, devolving more powers to regions and local authorities.

MEETINGS CALENDAR MEETING

PLACE

DATE

CoR PLENARY

BRUSSELS

10 - 11 APRIL

DRUSKININKAI, LITHUANIA

6 - 7 MAY

Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER)

BRUSSELS

17 MAY

Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs (CAFA)

BRUSSELS

4 JUNE

BEETSTERZWAAG, NETHERLANDS

7 JUNE

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

12 - 13 JUNE

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

BRUSSELS

14 JUNE

Commission for Natural Resources (NAT)

BRUSSELS

17 JUNE

CoR BUREAU

BRUSSELS

25 JUNE

CoR PLENARY

BRUSSELS

26 - 27 JUNE

Commission for Economic Policy (ECON)

BRUSSELS

9 JULY

Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER)

BRUSSELS

10 JULY

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

BRUSSELS

11 JULY

Commission for Natural Resources (NAT)

BRUSSELS

16 SEPTEMBER

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

BRUSSELS

19 SEPTEMBER

Commission for Economic Policy (ECON)

ECR Localism Summit

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

@ECR_CoR