CIVEX meeting discusses humanitarian support in conflict zones,
enlargement, and democratic participation.
Local and regional authorities can best provide emergency support during the humanitarian crises in Ukraine and Gaza by making in-kind donations through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism and by joining calls for the respect of international humanitarian law, members of the European Committee of the Regions heard on 21 November.
The suggestions were made at a meeting of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), by a representative of the European Commission, who identified health, shelter, water, food, non-food items, pharmaceuticals and sanitation items as the principal humanitarian needs in Gaza, where 1.6 million people have been internally displaced. Current humanitarian priorities for the EU in Ukraine are related to preparation for the winter, and helping people regain access to clean water, essential hygiene and sanitation services, and winter-ready shelters and schools. He said that the EU and its member states have provided humanitarian assistance to 9 million people in Ukraine this year.
Juha Auvinen, a deputy director in the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), added that the UN's flash appeal for humanitarian assistance for Gaza is only 11.6% funded. The current humanitarian response plan of the United Nations for Ukraine is only 53% financed, a much lower figure than at this point last year.
DG ECHO also emphasised the value of working with sub-national administrations in Ukraine, saying that coordination with districts – oblasts – and cities in Ukraine is key to ensuring delivery of humanitarian aid and avoiding overlaps among stakeholders in the national, local and international levels.
DG ECHO's representative was speaking in a debate on city diplomacy in the context of armed conflict, focused on Ukraine and Gaza.
CIVEX members also addressed a second major area of the EU's external action, holding a debate on the EU's latest 'enlargement package' – the annual reports on the progress made by would-be members of the EU.
During the meeting, CIVEX appointed two rapporteurs on the 2023 Enlargement Package. Nikola Dobroslavić (HR/EPP), prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, will draft the CoR's opinion on enlargement to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye, while Antje Grotheer (DE/PES), president of Bremen City Parliament, will draw up the opinion on Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. The opinions are pencilled in for adoption at the CoR's plenary in April 2024.
The CoR has a variety of platforms for political dialogue with the local and regional authorities of countries seeking EU membership. The CoR also serves as the secretariat of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which it co-founded.
Democracy
"The level of ambition from politicians needs to be high" if the EU's political groups are to harness the growing youth vote in next year's European Parliament elections, Christiana Xenofontos, Vice-President of the European Youth Forum, told members of the CoR, citing a Eurobarometer survey that found that "a desire to change things is more of a priority for young respondents".
Ms Xenofontos was speaking in a debate on youth participation in elections and public life that brought to the fore the extension of the right to vote to 16- or 17-year-olds in some EU countries and increasing use of youth councils, which are notably common in Denmark, Estonia, and Finland.
Discussion about the role and potential of participative and deliberative democracy at the EU level has been a major element of the CoR's work in its current, 2020-25 mandate, including through the Conference on the Future of Europe and the adoption – supported by the CoR and the European Youth Forum and co-created with young people – of a Charter on Youth and Democracy.
The debate with the European Youth Forum was followed by a presentation by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre on citizens' engagement practices, with a discussion that focused on how participatory and deliberative methods can complement representative democracy.
Other business
CIVEX appointed rapporteurs on two further opinions to be adopted in 2024.
Matteo Bianchi (IT/ECR), member of Varese Municipal Council, has been given responsibility for an opinion on the "EU roadmap to fight drug trafficking and organised crime" presented by the European Commission on 18 October 2023. The CoR's response is scheduled for adoption in June 2024. The Commission describes the trade in illicit drugs as one of the most significant security threats faced by the EU today, with seizures of cocaine in the EU are hitting record levels. The roadmap sets out concrete and targeted actions to close the emerging gaps, with 17 actions in four priority areas, including a new European Ports Alliance to increase the resilience of ports against criminal infiltration.
Subject to approval by the CoR bureau, Mark Speich (DE/EPP), secretary of state for federal, European and international affairs, North Rhine-Westphalia, will lead the CoR's own-initiative opinion on ''Active subsidiarity: a fundamental principle in the EU Better regulation agenda". Active subsidiarity goes beyond a traditional approach to subsidiarity and calls for the different levels of governance in the EU to work together. The CoR argues that an active approach to subsidiarity and a full involvement of local and regional authorities – throughout the EU policy-making process and in the implementation of EU law – would enhance the EU's capacity to deliver better policies. The CoR's work on active subsidiarity is currently focused on advancing debate on European democracy and better regulation ahead of the European Parliament elections in June 2024, with the European Summit of Regions and Cities in Mons in March 2024 serving as a key milestone..