On 2 June 2017, EA group's President Mr Stanisław Szwabski, together with the City of Gdynia, hosted a European Committee of the Regions' citizens' debate "Europe – What Future?" as part of the European Committee of the Regions' Reflecting on Europe series.
Speakers in the debate included Members of the European Parliament, Mr Janusz Lewandowski and Mr Jan Olbrycht, Members of the European Committee of the Regions, Mr Tadeusz Truskolaski and Mr Stanisław Szwabski, as well as the Deputy Head of the European Commission's Representation Office in Poland – Ms Marzena Guz-Vetter.
While opening the debate, Mr Szwabski said: "This is an extremely important moment for the European Union, where nothing is yet decided. Europe is at a difficult point at the moment, and there are a number of crises ... Solidarity, our beautiful Polish word, but also a beautiful concept of interpersonal cooperation, is an important element that must play a decisive role in the future of Europe because Europe is built on solidarity."
Mayor of Białystok and EA group's member Mr Tadeusz Truskolaski recalled that most of Europe, except for the Balkans and now Ukraine, has not experienced war for more than 70 years. "This is another generation that grows in peace. This is a huge success," he pointed out, adding that "young people do not appreciate achievements such as the Schengen zone because they do not know how it is to stand 18 or 20 hours in a car without the use of a toilet or a wash." He further noted: "Someone who has experienced such degradation at the borders, queues, checks, detailed inspections… and I have experienced it several times, appreciates the current situation."
Truskolaski further said that, thanks to Poland's membership in the EU, Białystok has, in the last 10 years, seen a total of PLN 4 billion worth of investments. "Without the EU, it would have taken us at least 50 years, i.e. five times more," he noted, adding that he is a Eurorealist who sees that something absurd is happening in the EU and that needs to be said and changed, singling out the problems of overregulation and bureaucracy.
At the same time, he pointed out that if we compare all the successes and failures of the EU, the successes will win.
The debate, which was attended by around 200 people, and the Reflecting on Europe series aim to engage citizens into a dialogue about the future of the EU. The conclusions of the debate will be published soon.
You can see photos from the event on EA group's official Flickr account.
Press coverage (in Polish):
