The 143rd CoR Plenary session began on 17 March with a debate on the current COVID19 pandemic, recovery, European democracy and the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe with the President of the Council, Charles Michel 

Cllr Kieran McCarthy, president of the European Alliance Group spoke of the need for transparency with the vaccination process and the wish of regions and cities to be fully engaged with the recovery process.

Talking about the forthcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, he said that it must change and simplify the narrative about what the EU is delivering. "We need to link up the local to the European, we need to enact the real sense of European storytelling which gives a sense of belonging," he added, "whether you are in Cork or Corsica, Namur or Naples, we have a common purpose and this is delivering for the better good of those we represent." 

"Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine – it is in each other's shadows we live. We need to bring the sense of community back to the top table in Brussels and Strasbourg and the European Committee of the Regions must be an important partner in this journey," Cllr McCarthy concluded.