Vice-President Suica addresses the first edition of the EPP Week of Regions and Cities in the European Parliament

VP Suica addresses the first edition of the EPP Week of

Dear Presidents,

Honourable Members,

Colleagues and friends,

My thanks to Manfred for organising this first EPP side event for the European Week of Regions and Cities.

As a former mayor, I value the attention you bring to the important role of the regions, cities, towns and villages that form the backbone of the European Union.

We cherish the rich diversity they represent.

It is indeed an integral part of our European way of life.

With 123 members, the EPP family is the biggest political group in the Committee of the Regions.

It is always a pleasure for me to participate in events organised by the Committee of the Regions.

Being a mayor was excellent training for my current position.

President von der Leyen told me that as the only mayor in the College, I had unique experience to reach out to citizens.

Believe me, I am always looking for partners to address the challenge of bringing Europe closer to local communities.

Tomorrow afternoon I will meet with President Cordeiro and local councillors.

We will discuss several issues including how to bridge the gap between the EU institutions and citizens.

It is not an easy job.

Of course, this was key in my role as co-chair of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

We closely cooperated with elected representatives and representatives of regional and local authorities were actively involved in the Conference Plenary.

It was a unique example of deep engagement with citizens.

We are building on the Conference by holding European Citizen Panels ahead of various key initiatives.

We are the first executive body anywhere to do this.

We have already held a pilot phase of 3 panels over the last year.

And there is more to come.

We will shortly launch the revamped Have Your Say portal.

This online tool will facilitate the involvement of citizens as closely as possible in EU policy making.

It will be a key part of our innovative democratic ecosystem as we seek to build a democracy fit for the future.

I never thought that after 10 years of Croatian EU membership, I would be standing here saying we have to fight and defend our democracy.

But that is the reality we are faced with.

Standing here today as a proud democrat, the European Commission will be coming forward later this year with a Defence of Democracy Package.

Because now is not the time to be naive!

Because we still need to protect freedom of expression against covert and malign foreign interference.

The package will also contain measures on encouraging engagement with civil society organisations and citizens.

And with the European elections approaching, it will also contain measures on secure and resilient elections and electoral observation.

And because democracy and demography are closely intertwined, I would like to give you a short preview of the Demography Toolbox which I will present to the College tomorrow.

This toolbox was requested by the European Council and will offer tailor-made tools to Member States, regions and local authorities to tackle the profound demographic challenges they face.

This is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Because demographic change is different across Member States and even within Member States.

I have been visiting cities and rural areas all over Europe.

We have to help those who are struggling with depopulation and brain drain.

Because people often feel left behind; I understand this and we need to address it.

This Toolbox also aims to develop a truly intergenerational approach in policymaking at all levels.

There are serious gaps on the labour market, in vital sectors like healthcare, education and ICT.

This goes to the heart of the European Union's competitiveness.

We will need to invest in the skills and talents of all generations, young and older, women and men.

We will have to invest in a child-friendly, family-friendly society, that offers affordable and qualitative child-care and a decent life-work balance.

And we have to be clear – managed migration will inevitably be part of the solution.

And let us not forget about enlargement.

Our neighbourhood will be looking at the next European elections to see what standards we hold ourselves to.

To sell enlargement to our own citizens, we need everyone on board. Our regions and cities can help to support an innovative democratic ecosystem in our neighbourhood.

I hope to hear more about that when I meet with mayors and local authorities in my upcoming visits to the Western Balkans countries in the coming months.

In the end, we are all committed to the better functioning of our democracy.

It is not an option for our democracy or the institutions that underpin it to remain stagnant.

We must adapt and innovate to move forward.

Thank you.