Council should only approve national recovery plans that have been prepared with local and regional governments - The Greens & Progressives in the European Committee of the Regions

At an exchange with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, during the Plenary Session of the Committee of the Regions on 17 March, Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Prague and member of the Greens, called for serious involvement of cities and regions in the drafting process of the national recovery plans.

Central governments are currently preparing their national plans, which have to be submitted to the European Commission by 30 April. The regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) foresees the consultation of relevant national stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, and a summary of the consultation process and how their input is reflected in the recovery and resilience plans. The Commission will assess the plans and make a proposal for a Council decision; the assessment will consider the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the plan, but not the involvement of stakeholders.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her speech at the CoR’s plenary in October 2020, emphasised the important role of regions and cities and that they should be involved in the preparation of the national recovery plans.

However, unless it is made compulsory, it does not happen. A recent survey, conducted by the Committee of the Regions and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, confirms that central governments are reluctant to conduct meaningful consultation processes and to involve local and regional governments.

The Greens in the CoR addressed this issue at its Group Meeting on 15 March with Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA), Member of the European Parliament (EP) and shadow rapporteur in the EP Committee on Budgets on the RRF. He stressed the role of the EP in the implementation of the RRF and expressed his support for stakeholders, and in particular local and regional authorities. Moreover, he confirmed his interest to continue collaborating with the Greens in the CoR.

Council President Charles Michel, responding to Zdeněk Hřib, said that as former mayor and minister in charge of local government in Wallonia, he fully understands the view of the members of the CoR. He promised to follow up the question, inviting Member States to involve local and regional governments, knowing that there are different practices and traditions on consultations in the Members States.