FRINGE EVENT – Panel Discussion: Our Communities, Our Future: for a Union that Works for All Citizens
Friday, 17 October
17:45 – 19:00, Jo Cox stage
Organiser: PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions
Europe was built on a promise: shared prosperity and convergence. Today, that promise is under threat. The Commission’s current MFF proposal centralises power, cuts cohesion and rural development, and risks turning our Union into an “à la carte” budget for capitals. If we force regions to compete every year for shrinking funds, without any chance of long-term planning, we fracture the very fabric of our Union. Territorial cohesion is not a luxury the European Commission can simply delegate member states – it is the backbone of solidarity in Europe. We need a different story: a Europe that invests in all its regions, empowers local governments, and delivers stability and fairness everywhere. Only then can we live up to the promise of a truly cohesive Union – one that leaves no one behind.
Introduction and Chair:
- Luca Menesini, President of the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions
Keynote addresses:
- Fernando Sampedro, Secretary of State for the European Union, Spain
- Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions
Debate with:
- Victor Negrescu, Vice President of the European Parliament, PES Vice President and Vice President of PSD Romania (tbc)
- Heike Raab, State Secretary, Rhineland Palatinate State Government and Chair of the CoR Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC)
- Vasco Alves Cordeiro, Chair of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) at the European Committee of the Regions
- Christophe Clergeau, Vice President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament
- Peppe Provenzano, Italian MP, PD International Secretary and former Minister for the South and Territorial Cohesion
