During the 8th European Summit of Regions and Cities held in Bucharest on 14 and 15 March 2019, the European Alliance group President Karl Vanlouwe told young elected leaders, who were special guests at the meeting, that we needed a new way of open communication with citizens about the future of the European Union, changing the way we communicate and ensuring that cities and regions get more involved. At the same time, the EU also needs to be aware of the needs of regions and take this into consideration, Mr Vanlouwe added.

Cllr Gillian Ford, from the London Borough of Havering, welcomed the 100 young leaders, encouraged them to be active, visit schools and get the youth involved. She also said that, if they needed to see how not to do politics then they should look at Westminster and BREXIT. "We need to be proactive, we need to engage and we need to provide a platform for the youth of today", Ms Ford concluded.