In the context of the first High-Level Forum on Regional Recovery and Resilience ECR First Vice-President, Mr Rob Jonkman, and ECR Vice-President, Mr Juraj Droba, discussed how investments on the ground could be implemented whilst avoiding delays and overlapping with other EU policies.

Taking place in Lipica, Slovenia, on the occasion of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) external bureau meeting, and jointly organised by the CoR and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, conclusions from the High-Level Forum will feed in to the CoR opinion on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) led by Mr Jonkman. 

The ECR First Vice-President, who also serves as an Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands, called for improving the position of local and regional authorities in the implementation process: "Europe’s recovery, the digital and sustainable transition depend on the direct involvement of local and regional authorities. Therefore, they need to be structurally involved in implementing the recovery plans. As the involvement varies among member states, we must share our experiences and learn from each other."

Mr Juraj Droba, President of the Bratislava Region and CoR rapporteur on "engaging local and regional authorities in the preparation of the 2021-27 Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes" referred to the principles of partnership and subsidiarity: "Partnership, along with the subsidiarity, is the most important principle from the cities and regions’ perspective and we must ensure it is fully implemented in all stages of the new programming period".

Ahead of the bureau, the CoR Young Elected Politicians (YEPs) Programme organised an event on Cohesion Policy where young local leaders from all across the EU were joined by CoR members, the Slovenian State Secretary for Development and European Cohesion Policy Monika Kirbiš Rojs, European Commission's representatives and other prominent speakers.

Discussing with the young people was ECR Member Pavel Branda, Deputy Mayor of Rádlo in Czech Republic, who described Cohesion Policy as a "success story" but warned that for it to remain as such "rules need to be made more flexible and less complicated for final beneficiaries".