The full extent of the impact of the UK's leaving the European Union is not yet fully known and consequences for both sides will be far-reaching but two hot topics can already be assessed: the devolution of powers and vaccine rollout on both sides of the English Channel. Both were the subject of lively discussion for participants of the virtual conference on post-Brexit Europe organised by the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions. 

Commenting on the need for such conferences, Member of the British Parliament David Simmonds said that "politicians gain enormously when learning from each other. Following Brexit, it is vital that the UK and EU maintain dialogue on our extensive common interests, and the UK has an opportunity to learn from the success of devolved arrangements across our EU neighbours, in order to better address the concerns of our citizens".

The panellists underlined that while action at supranational level is efficient and appropriate in some areas, such as agriculture, cohesion and research, centralisation in a number of other areas can be a source of growing concern for local and regional authorities.

According to ECR Vice-President Councillor Oldřich Vlasák, "Brexit was a warning sign that limits of European integration should be clearly drawn, and a signal that the EU must reformulate itself in order to become more decentralised and less bureaucratic".

The vaccine roll-out in the EU and UK was another major topic. While three out of four British adults have already received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the EU is still lagging behind.

Maurice Golden, Conservative Member of Scottish Parliament, underlined that “the UK's world-leading vaccination programme has saved countless lives and is a cause for celebration." 

​Cezary Przybylski said that "while the EU has not yet achieved the UK vaccination rate, progress is evident and the EU can also be proud of some of its achievements, such as cross-border cooperation between the regions during the pandemic". The Marshal of Lower Silesia in Poland highlighted the positive cooperation with Saxony in Germany and four partner regions in the Czech Republic. EU regions successfully cooperate with regard to COVID-19 research and facilitation of movement of workers during the pandemic.