The Mons Declaration presents the vision of European local leaders for the future

The document was drafted and signed at the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities

During the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities, which took place in Mons (Belgium), and also marked the 30th anniversary of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), local and regional leaders presented a declaration to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. The document outlines their priorities for a more resilient future in Europe.

Prime Minister De Croo represents the current presidency of the Council of the European Union, and it is during this presidency that the upcoming elections for the European Parliament will take place in June.

The key points of the Mons Declaration

The Summit declaration by local and regional leaders will serve as the position of regions and cities to the leaders of the EU institutions and heads of state and government who will gather in Brussels on 21-22 March and ahead of the European elections.

Here are the five main demands that the declaration contains for the EU authorities:

1. Boosting public investment: Increased budgetary resources are needed to address current and future challenges. Investments should be guided by the principle 'do no harm to cohesion' and recognise that cohesion policy must continue to be the most important and visible EU instrument to reduce disparities, to strengthen the EU's competitiveness and to catalyse long-term innovative transformation.
2. Local solutions for climate goals: Local and regional authorities should have direct access to EU funding to develop innovative solutions that help meet the objectives of the Green Deal, achieve climate neutrality, and foster sustainable development and economic prosperity.
3. Addressing regional needs: all EU policies should promote equal opportunities, combat poverty, secure jobs, and ensure gender equality across all regions, recognising their diverse characteristics, including rural, urban, and outermost regions.
4. EU enlargement and reforms: Regional and local leaders should be involved in the preparation of EU reforms and the enlargement process. Preparations for enlargement with all candidate countries should be based on the partnership principle and promote multilevel governance and decentralisation.
5. Active subsidiarity: The European Committee of the Regions should have a stronger role in the institutional structure of the EU and in the legislative process. In future EU reforms, the local and regional level of European democracy should be strengthened through active subsidiarity reforms.

Prior to the adoption of the Mons Declaration, the leaders of the political groups of the European Parliament and several of their lead candidates addressed local and regional politicians in a dedicated session on the European elections.

Promoting democratic engagement and contributing to an open public debate on the EU's challenges and opportunities are the main objectives of the CoR to mobilise European citizens to vote.