30.12.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 498/5
29.
Welcomes the call by the President of the European Commission for more inter-generational solidarity and stresses the leading role of the CoR in engaging with young people and youth organisations to shape the future of Europe, notably by developing an EU charter on youth and democracy; 30.
Takes note that in the period 2011–2020, the share of women elected to all political levels increased, from local to national level, but regrets that they still account for only a third of the total across all levels.
In 2021, only 16 out of 285 regional assemblies in the EU achieved parity in the candidates elected.
The CoR acknowledges that its membership is also far from being gender-balanced and expects the Member States to address this issue.
The CoR therefore will launch reflections on how to increase women’s participation in its work, its leading positions and its composition, and calls on the Member States to organise initiatives aimed at empowering women in local and regional politics to overcome the discrimination in the political world and fighting the obstacles women encounter through their path, including stereotypes; 31.
Urges Member States to put in place, with the full involvement of local and regional authorities, all the necessary measures to promptly attain the goal set by the EU Directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence; emphasises by the same token the importance of all EU Member States ratifying the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe treaty that seeks to create a comprehensive framework at pan-European level to protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence; 32.
Considers the role of municipalities and regions as employers and as providers and commissioners of welfare services to be crucial for social cohesion, gender equality and employment in Europe.
There needs to be robust involvement by social partners, municipalities and regions in both the development and the implementation of EU initiatives in the social field, in order to ensure that the measures have an appropriate and genuine impact on the implementation of the Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights.
The European Semester plays a crucial role here, and the local and regional level must have ownership of the decisions and responsibility for how the common objectives are to be achieved.
A territorial dimension and the Sustainable Development Goals should also be included in a reform of the European Semester; 33.
Supports the call of the European Parliament and of the President of the European Commission in the State of the Union for a Convention to revise the Treaties.
The CoR should be fully involved in the Convention, to represent local and regional European elected representatives, and is fully committed to promoting the concept of active subsidiarity and engaging more with regional parliaments and associations of local and regional authorities.
Multi-level governance is a must for an inclusive and effective EU decision making process, with particular attention to regions with legislative powers and their legitimate competences.
The CoR welcomes in this context the European Commission's announcement to mainstream citizens’ assemblies and other practices of participatory democracy in EU policy making stressing, however, the role of democratically-elected representatives that are accountable towards their electorates, and commits to playing an active role in these processes; 34.
Intends to propose concrete measures to address the territorial dimension of European policies in the achievement of the EU's overall cohesion objective, also having regard to the CoFoE proposals and the specific needs of border regions and peripheral regions; 35.
Instructs its President to transmit the EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities and the present resolution to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council, as well as to the Heads of State of the 27 EU Member States, and encourages regional and local elected representatives in Europe to disseminate the report to citizens and local media.
Brussels, 12 October 2022.
The President of the European Committee of the Regions Vasco ALVES CORDEIRO