The ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) today held its second Summit of Conservative local and regional leaders in Lublin, Poland, to outline the solutions needed to make European regions more resilient to geopolitical challenges, and to revitalise European competitiveness. Hosted by the Marshal of Lubelskie Region, Jarosław Stawiarski, the event featured several high-level speakers, including President of the ECR Party, Mateusz Morawiecki MP and ECR CoR Group President, Marco Marsilio.
Insights and contributions on Europe's current security and competitiveness landscape were also provided by Vice-President of the European Parliament, Antonella Sberna, Vice-President of the ECR Party, Carlo Fidanza MEP, and ECR EP Group Vice-Chair Charlie Weimers MEP. Additional perspectives were shared by our former Member, Marcin Ociepa, currently Member of the Polish Parliament, and Marko Milanovic Litre, Member of the Board of Directors of the ECR Party.
Marco Marsilio, ECR CoR Group President, underlined the importance that security is having as a topic both on European and global stages quoting Margaret Thatcher in her famous Bruges speech in 1988, "Europe must continue to maintain a sure defence through NATO. Let us never forget that our way of life, our vision and all we hope to achieve, is secured not by the rightness of our cause but by the strength of our defence".
ECR Party President Mateusz Morawiecki underlined that the strength of the ECR must also stem from active engagement at the local and regional levels, where decisions closest to EU citizens are made every day: "it is in regions and communities that the heart of democracy, responsibility, and development beats. This is why the presence and voice of local leaders in our political family are not just valuable – they are essential".
Marshal of the Lubelskie Region Jarosław Stawiarski, host of the Summit: “The ECR Summit is a valuable opportunity to address the role of conservative regions in promoting European competitiveness and securing a safer Europe for all. EU decision-makers must prioritise the security challenges at the Union's external borders to safeguard European citizens from external threats".
The event featured also the participation as speakers of ECR CoR Group 1st Vice-President, Marshal of the Podkarpackie Region, Władysław Ortyl, ECR CoR Vice-President Juraj Droba, Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions, Matteo Bianchi, and Oszkár Seszták, ECR member and President of County Council of Szabolcs-Szatmàr-Bereg Vármegye, Hungary.