CoR President Tzitzikostas says Coronavirus crisis questions EU structure

The Coronavirus crisis is questioning the structure of the European Union, said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the President of EU’s Committee of the Regions (CoR), supporting that regional and local authorities should have a greater role in decision-making and enhanced access to EU funds.

“COVID-19 exposed the need for Europe to be better prepared, coordinated and equipped, giving regional and local authorities direct access to EU funds,” Tzitzikostas said during a debate with the EU’s Commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, on June 30.

In light of the Commission’s additional €2 bn financial support for the RescEU mechanism that will assist local communities hit by the crisis, the CoR President supported that it must be a permanent EU fund and not a “one-off reserve”.

In an interview given to Agence Europe, Tzitzikostas reiterated his position that the multifaceted Coronavirus crisis showed the inefficiency of a centralised approach either at a national or European level, in mitigating the pandemic’s impact.

“The crisis put into question the architecture of the European Union. The current 2-dimension politics, which is basically European and national, cannot work any longer. We saw that in the management of the crisis,” the CoR President said. He added that the EU needs a third dimension, meaning the regional and local authorities.

Tzitzikostas, who assumed his post as CoR President on the eve of the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe, has proposed the establishment of an EU Health Emergency Mechanism that should be included in the bloc’s recovery plan, as it will help cities and regions in their fight against the pandemic.