​On 30 September 2016, the 6th Annual Meeting of the Conference of the regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) took place where the representatives of Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia met with the Committee of the Regions Members to discuss the challenges and obstacles that the Eastern Partnership countries face in adopting European values. Topics such as energy efficiency, development and implementation of the green and renewable energy technologies, and the impediments that limit the activity of civil societies in the Eastern Partnership countries were discussed.

During the discussion on active citizenship, Councillor of the City Council of Gdynia and the President of the European Alliance Group Mr Stanisław Szwabski said that poor knowledge of how the EU works often results in citizens' higher exposure to the populist movements, therefore, an early education of the democratization processes and how the EU works is necessary to combat this. Mr. Szwabski suggested that the EU integration process and active citizenship should be a part of the school curriculum. The President of the EA Group said that by teaching children about democracy and the EU, a country could develop a generation of young people who would desire to live in a state with the democratic values. Mr. Szwabski also expressed his full support for improving communication with young people and the cooperation between the Eastern countries and the EU in this matter.