On 10 February 2016, on the occasion of the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions the Committee’s members had the opportunity to hold a debate with Mr Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. The debate focused on the current challenges of the EU and, inter alia, on: migration and integration, international security, the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. Mr Stanisław Szwabski, Councillor of the city of Gdynia spoke for the EA group, as its Chair.
In his statement, he stressed the clear objectives for the EU such as security and prosperity in the European regions for the benefit of all their citizens. He also focused on enhancing the European cultural prosperity, a richness of which all we Europeans have the right to be proud of. Therefore, it is important to ensure participation by local and regional authorities in implementing these objectives. He called for the abandonment of any political activity which might jeopardise the integrity of the Union.
He said that the European Union is lacking generosity in its external relations and therefore he called for more solidarity in this issue. In the light of this he urged that “the European Union uses all available tools and mechanisms for achieving the objectives of the neighbourhood policy, and in tackling the migration crisis." Finally, he underlined that “the principle of European solidarity must remain the Union’s internal policies. In order to recover credibility in the eyes of citizens, Europe must face the challenges of our times!!!"
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