Putting local and regional authorities at the heart of EU law-making would make EU legislation simpler and more flexible. This is the conclusion of an important report drafted jointly by a high level group, including the Vice President of the ALDE Group in the Committee of the Regions (ALDE-CoR), François Decoster, set up to design a more efficient EU.

“Local and regional authorities can provide a clear assessment of the impact of European laws if they have a greater say in EU policies, which would benefit EU citizens, increase efficiency and improve politics," said Decoster.

The Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and Doing Less More Efficiently presented their recommendations to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday 10 July.

Their proposals suggest that EU legislation must be more efficient and its added value made more visible by “upgrading” the involvement of local and regional authorities. Under these proposals, local and regional authorities would be able to provide legislators with a clear assessment of the impact of EU legislation on the ground and have more influence in reviewing existing legislation and developing new laws

They would have an opportunity to develop their relations with national parliaments, working together to assess the impact of EU legislation and be involved in the design and delivery of economic reforms.

One of the concrete ideas taken on board to build capacity for local and regional authorities includes for example, an Erasmus-like programme for local and regional politicians. This programme is specifically suggested and encouraged by François Decoster.

More information on the ALDE-CoR's website.

.@fdecoster urges for a more active subsidiarity, representing @EU_CoR in #Subsidiarity Task Force with recommendations for a more #EfficientEU, ahead of official handover of final report Task Force. pic.twitter.com/BXVQese5tn

— Renew Europe CoR (@RenewEuropeCoR) July 10, 2018