With the Stockholm Programme coming to an end, the CIVEX commission has adopted on 7 April a report setting the vision of the EU local and regional authorities on the future political priorities for justice and home affairs.
Significant progress has already been made over the past five years but much still remains to be done. Ensuring that fundamental rights are respected and enshrined across the different policies areas, true solidarity and responsibility among Member States when dealing with migration flows, addressing new security challenges, have been indicated as areas where additional instruments and actions are needed.
During the same meeting, members had also the opportunity to debate on the Ukraine crisis and the aftermath of "Euromaidan" with representatives of the EU institutions, members of the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) and the civil society from the Eastern partners. The EA coordinator in the CIVEX commission Mr Stanisław Szwabski and the CORLEAP bureau member Mr Jan Bronś have participated in the discussions which focussed on the ways how could the CoR and CORLEAP support the country in its process towards decentralisation.
Mr Bronś, while recalling that Poland experienced a similar situation more than 25 years ago, pointed out that new pieces of legislations are necessary in Ukraine to "build up" the civil society, which lays the foundation for a grassroots democracy.
