The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, met in Brussels on 16-17 March where they accepted the need for more cooperation between local and regional levels across the channel.
Noting that regions and cities "experience the impact of Brexit first-hand", Karl Vanlouwe (EA/BE), member of the Flemish Parliament and chair of the CoR-UK Contact Group, said that the expertise of local and region authorities "is essential to building constructive and meaningful EU-UK cooperation".
Mr Vanlouwe represented the CoR at the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA), which brings together representatives of the UK Parliament and European Parliament. For the first time, the number of observer seats for the CoR was increased from two to three.
The PPA was established by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which has been in operation since 1 January 2021 when the UK ceased to be a member of the EU. The CoR has consistently called for a stronger voice for local and regional authorities in the new EU-UK relationship, chaired by Sandro Gozi MEP.
The UK CoR Contact group alongside the PAP where the European Commission, EESC, Michael McNamara MEP and the first directly elected Mayor of Limerick John Moran outlined their visions on further increasing cooperation between Regions, Cities and local authorities on both sides of the channel.