Debate: Discussing the State of the European Union for Local Communities

Event organised as part of the ‘Building European with Local Councillors’ initiative

On September 13, Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta hosted a debate organised by the European Commission Representation in Malta and Europe Direct Valletta. This debate was held with members from the Building Europe with Local Councillors’ (BELC) following the State of the European Union speech by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen to the European Parliament earlier on the same day.

The aim of this debate was to bring together the local communities to discuss ways of communicating the opportunities and benefits of the European Union to their respective communities in various ways according to the diverse need of their communities.

Mr Lorenza Vella, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Malta, opened the event by welcoming the BELC members in attendance and provided a summary of the State of the European Union speech as delivered by the president of the Commission. Mr Vella highlighted the most pressing challenges for the European Union, how the Commission will address these and the ideas for shaping the future of the EU. Mr Vella then went on to mention the main issues noted by President Ursula von Der Leyen, issues that are also felt in Malta both at a local and national level. These include the labour shortage and the influx on imported labour from third countries, inflation which has been at all time high across Europe, and the need to simplify the highly bureaucratic processes to access EU funds.

Mr Vella then invited the panel speakers, Mr Anthony Chircop- Member of the Local Councils’ Association, Mr David Schembri - Mayor of the Qrendi Local Council and Ms Doris Zammit, Councillor from the Ħal Qormi Local Council to discuss the issues mentioned by President von Der Leyen and how they can work together to overcome these issues in their communities.

During the debate, panel members highlighted importance of the European project and the need to better inform and educate our communities about the benefits of the EU at large, rather than solely focusing on the funding aspect of the Union. Mr Schembri remarked that the EU offers unique opportunities for local communities to be able to learn from other European communities and share best practices. The panel members opened the floor to the attended and together they discussed issues within their community such as the integration between locals and foreign workers, difficulty in implementing sustainability measures such as increasing pedestrian areas, and the lack of administrative resources available to local councils to be able to apply for EU funds.

In their concluding remarks, the speakers highlighted the importance of the BELC initiative to help connect local communities with other European communities and welcomed future initiatives to continue discussing and help bring the EU closer to its citizens.