What lies ahead for progressive cities and regions?
This has been an intense start of the year. While the world is still facing the pandemic and Europe is slowly setting the recovery in motion, there is no time to waste. Cities and regions are key protagonists of today’s challenges, and, as progressives, we are leading in finding innovative solutions, based on social justice, equality, and sustainability.
So what kept us busy at the PES Group and what lies ahead? Take a moment to scroll through these steps!
🇪🇺🇬🇧 Brexit happened and now what?
The impact of Brexit will be felt for a long time, but what do cities and regions think? We interviewed our member Loïg Chesnais-Girard, president of the region of Brittany, France, and also chair of the Contact Group that keeps the ties between EU and UK cities and regions in our institution. Find out more ➡️
🇵🇹 If mayors ruled the EU...
Not everyone knows that before becoming Prime Minister, António Costa was the Mayor of Lisbon and a member of our Group in the European Committee of the Regions. As of 1st of January, his government takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. We asked Portuguese local and regional leaders to share their key expectations and demands, including Vasco Cordeiro, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions and Member of the Regional Parliament of the Azores. Read them all in English | em português ➡️
🗳️ A new plenary, new fights
Last week the European Committee of the Regions held its first plenary of the year. Two PES Group members led the work on two important issues.
Our coordinator for social affairs and local councillor of Nagykanizsa, Hungary, Jácint Horváth, called for equality, inclusion and participation for the Roma community. Learn how ➡️
Christophe Clergeau, Member of the Pays-de-la-Loire regional council, France, leads the fight for a stronger place-based approach to science and innovation. Read more ➡️
🏠 Everything starts with a home
Housing was, is, and will be one of the biggest priorities for progressive cities and regions, from smaller to bigger ones. We dedicated an entire week to this issue with many inspiring speakers, like European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans. Get a full picture of what happened and watch again the contributions and workshops to know what lies ahead in our fight for the right to housing. I want to know more ➡️
Do you agree that it is time for the European Union to deliver on housing for all? Sign our petition here and share it ➡️
❤️ #ProgressiveLocalStories
We love sharing what progressive cities and regions do, as they can inspire many others with their stories. This month, we bring you an example of local democracy from Paris, where Mayor Anne Hidalgo is launching the 7th edition of the city’s participatory budget. If you don’t speak French, we got this great article for you ➡️
What’s coming next?
♀️ ️March and the fight for women’s rights
Before reading from us again next month, an important milestone of our fight for gender equality will have happened. Stay tuned to our social media for more on this, and in the meantime, register for this event organised by the European Committee of the Regions “For more women in politics” with, among others, our member Concha Andreu, President of La Rioja region, Spain, and rapporteur on the Gender Equality Strategy. Register here ➡️
📢 Young elected politicians, are you ready?
We are happy to announce the opening of the applications next week of the European Committee of the Region’s Young Elected Politicians 2021 programme. We look forward to receiving many applications from the thousands of young progressive local and regional leaders who are making a difference in their territory every day and make our network even stronger.
Header photo by Razvan Mirel on Unsplash