During the 201st meeting of the European Committee of the Regions' Bureau, held on 16 March, members had an exchange of views on the Conference on the Future of Europe with Ms Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament and President of the European Movement International (EMI).
The debate focused on the EMI's vision and expectations of the Conference and its interaction with local and regional authorities.
During the debate, EA group president Kieran McCarthy (Cork City Council, Ireland) said that there are plenty of opportunities to increase cooperation between the CoR and the EMI, especially in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe and local and regional authorities' potential to reach out to citizens.
Earlier this month, the EMI published its policy position on the Conference which stresses the need to put citizens at the heart of the process and ensure the true and genuine involvement of organised civil society, social partners, and local and regional governments. Cllr McCarthy therefore drew Ms Maydell's attention to the CoR's opinion on setting up a mechanism for a permanent dialogue with citizens, drafted by our member Cllr Declan McDonnell (Galway City Council, Ireland) and adopted at the October 2020 plenary session.
CoR is set to contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe in manifold ways: directly through its observers in the Conference's Executive Board, its representatives in the Conference plenary, through a series of local citizen dialogues organised by CoR members, topical debates, as well as through its opinions and resolutions.
