Mobilizing EU citizens for the European elections in June is the aim of the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed tomorrow in Strasbourg by the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Cordeiro, and the President of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola.
The memorandum will stipulate actions between the two institutions to strengthen cooperation and promote democratic participation.
The two EU political assemblies want to boost the role of their members in decisions made by EU institutions and regional and local communities.
According to the memorandum, MEPs should join regional presidents, mayors, councillors and young elected politicians from the CoR to “involve European citizens in elections and make their voices heard”, reads a press release sent to DI.
“EU policies to tackle climate disasters, support the most vulnerable households, promote young talent or invest in essential infrastructure depend on regions and cities to become a reality,” said Vasco Cordeiro.
To this end, he said that “the European Committee of the Regions, which represents more than a million local and regional leaders, will establish this partnership with the European Parliament” so that the EU can be “debated and voted on”.
“Cities and regions are the heart of our Union – let’s make the voice of every territory count,” said Vasco Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions.
The Memorandum of Understanding aims to achieve joint actions between the 27 member states.

The Committee will mobilize its members and sources of contact, such as the Young Elected Politicians (YEP) program and the European Network of Regional and Local Councillors.
In addition, the Committee will work with the European Parliament to set up the together.eu platform.
The Memorandum will be signed a few weeks before the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities, to be held in Mons, Belgium.
On March 1 and 2, Vasco Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions, will attend the electoral congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Rome.

in Diário Insular–José Lourenço, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)