​In the framework of the June plenary of the Committee of the Regions, a debate on the latest EU elections was held among members in which Karl Vanlouwe, president of the European Alliance Group, delivered a statement on behalf of the group. In Mr Vanlouwe's words, the main takeaway of this election was "that every vote does count". Even in an election such as this one, where polling and analyses have been omnipresent, "it is the voters who decide the outcome" as Mr Vanlouwe stressed.

However, the low turnout, still in spite of this election's increase when compared to 2019, shows that "it is urgent to come up with programmes that convince people to vote" as Mr Vanlouwe noted, with his proposal being "for parties to adopt a regional focus and focus on the issues that appeal more to citizens".

It's not only the parties that need to adopt a regional focus, but the Union itself. In that regard, he launched an open question to the plenary: "Will the European Commission finally embrace the importance of cities and regions in the decision-making process?". As Mr Vanlouwe concluded, to the EA group the answer to the questions this election has left open is clear: "the EU must re-energise itself into a union of, by, and for the regions".