During the second day of the 151st plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, members held a debate on the future of Europe with the Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica.
During the debate, our first Vice-President and member of the Cork City Council Kieran McCarthy expressed disappointment with how the Commission has communicated with the citizens in the aftermath of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
"I have been contacted by a number of citizens who in one way or another took part in the consultations in the framework of the Conference (through local dialogues, citizens' panels, online platform…) and they are asking what is happening with the process," he said. "There is no point of contact where citizens, but also us, policymakers, could get informed about what is happening with the recommendations we put so much attention and energy in drafting."
"Not providing what we promised - feedback and transparency – risks creating a diametrically opposite effect to the one we want to achieve. We could be faced with more distrust, less ownership, lower participation rates, to start with," he concluded.
Cllr McCarthy was himself a delegate at the Conference on the Future of Europe's plenary and contributed significantly to its recommendations in the fields of education, culture, youth and sport.