The upcoming European Summit of Regions and Cities puts the focus on democracy

The event will take place on 3-4 March in the city of Marseille

The European Committee of the Regions will hold its 9^th European Summit of Regions and Cities in the French city of Marseille, on 3 and 4 March. This year’s event is happening in the context of a new humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That is why the themes of democracy and how to strengthen it will feature heavily on the agenda.

2000 international, national, regional and local leaders are expected to gather and discuss issues that directly affect the local and regional communities of Europe with a view to making them resilient in a world, which offers incessant waves of crises. The politicians will also coordinate their voices to create a single manifesto of demands to be presented at the Conference on the Future of Europe.

2-day programme and the themes

The summit will take place over two days in Marseille, which was chosen as the host city in the context of the French Presidency of the EU Council. Here is a look at the themes which will be discussed on each of the days, with the second one being entirely dedicated to the subject of democracy. No doubt, its importance now once again brutally reminded by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

1. European territories facing major societal challenges (3 March): This plenary and three high-level round table debates will focus on boosting health resilience, accelerating digital transition and anticipating, preventing and adapting to climate risks. Key speakers include Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, David Gallagher, Pfizer's Regional President and Mami Mizutori, Head of the UNDRR.
2. Cohesion and recovery (3 March): The role of EU cohesion policy in post-pandemic recovery will be the topic of a debate featuring Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Jacqueline Gourault, French Minister of territorial cohesion and local and regional authorities and Younous Omarjee, Chair of European Parliament's REGI Committee. Revival of rural areas, cross-border cooperation, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and EU's enlargement are among the topics of the round table discussions.
3. Building the House of European Democracy (4 March): The European Commission Vice-Presidents Margaritis Schinas (Promoting our European Way of Life) and Dubravka Šuica (Democracy and Demography), President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions, and MEP Eva Maydell, President of European Movement International, will join the debate with local leaders on the state of the play of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which aims to give European citizens a stronger voice in the EU decision-making process. The role of local and regional authorities in promoting European democratic values will also be discussed.
4. The Future of European Democracy: Youth engagement and European values (4 March): The afternoon's discussions will discuss how to widen youth participation in civic and democratic life, in the context of the digital transformation and challenges to European values. The final session will include the launch of the co-creation process of a European Charter on Youth and Democracy, and an inspirational exchange between the President of the European Youth Forum Silja Markkulaand the Summit co-hosts Presidents Apostolos Tzitzikostas and Renaud Muselier.

The Manifesto

As already mentioned, the other main objective of this year’s summit is to produce a collective voice of the continent’s regions and municipalities to be presented at the Conference on the Future of Europe. This will be in the form of a "Manifesto of regional and local authorities for European democracy", which underlines that the democratic functioning of the EU requires greater involvement of regions, cities and villages, as well as strengthening the democratic engagement of citizens and young people in particular. The focus should be on building an inclusive recovery after the Covid-19 crisis, strengthening territorial and social cohesion in Europe, and supporting the green and digital transitions.

The 9th European Summit of Regions and Cities will take place on 3-4 March at the Chanot Congress and Exhibition Palace in Marseille, with physical and online participation possible.