Of Portuguese local elected officials, 76% are much more critical than the average of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) when asked if the influence of regions and cities should be greater in policy formulation and in the debate about the future. from EH. The 2023 annual barometer of the Committee of the Regions (CDR) of the European Parliament (EP) reveals that the European average that points to the same perception does not exceed 62%.
In the report that anticipates the European Week of Regions (RegionsWeek), which began this Monday in Brussels, and the European institutions, local elected officials consider that the areas that should have the most influence of cities and regions in the development of policies of the EU are “a stronger economy, social justice and employment” (for 65% of Portuguese and 52% of EU Europeans overall), followed by “education, culture, youth and sport” (62 % of the Portuguese compared to 51% of the European average) and climate crisis and environment (for 51% of the European average and only for 47% of Portuguese respondents).
Does cohesion policy funding represent, asks the CoR barometer, “added value for your city or region, compared to other funding sources (national or regional)? And in what way?”
Since several answers are allowed and not just one, respondents (in Portugal there were 97 local elected representatives, 2,907 in the EU as a whole) almost two out of three national elected representatives (62%) speak in favor of specific projects. , a value much higher than Europeans in general (53%).
Europeans are more concerned than the Portuguese (perhaps geographical location explains and justifies it) about cross-border cooperation with other cities and regions (25-22%).
Long-term financial stability is also valued more by the European average of 27 than by the Portuguese (18% vs. 15%), and national elected officials are more interested than Europeans in “partnerships between actors in all sectors.” institutional levels”.
Source: TSF
