Migration and UK: closer scrutiny of EU powers welcomed by local leaders

​The European Union's leaders will meet on 18-19 February to debate on the migration and refugee crisis and the terms of the United Kingdom's Membership of the EU, two issues that the European Committee of the Regions hopes will reinforce the EU's drive towards a Europe better in tune with its citizens.

The President of the Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula reiterates the call for "revitalising the roots of Europe" shared with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk i, during a debate at the Committee of the Regions plenary on 10 February. President Tusk also stressed that "our cities, local communities and regions will be pivotal in confronting all [the] challenges" currently faced by the EU. He included the UK referendum climate change, economic governance in the EU, terrorism, and security in the Schengen zone in the list of challenges.

The President of the Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula, has welcomed the proposals presented to the UK, telling the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, on 10 February, that the proposals were "respectful of the subsidiarity principle", under which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen.

President Markkula also called for an agreement with the UK that was "inclusive", with "a clear reference" to importance of local and regional authorities in monitoring that decisions are taken close to citizens. This would contribute to the "better Europe" that the EU is promoting.

President Tusk urged the European Committee of the Regions to "work together step by step" with him, warning: "It is dangerous to create the public expectation that the Union has centralised authority over peoples' daily lives. This was never the intention. It is high time to revitalise the roots of Europe by clearly recognising this."

The deal with the UK that will be discussed by the European Council includes an annex on "a subsidiarity implementation mechanism and a burden-reduction implementation mechanism". Ideas being considered by Member States include the possibility of giving parliaments more time to scrutinise legislative proposals presented by the European Commission.

Agreement on adjustments to the EU's decision-making process and scrutiny of EU legislation would have direct implications for local and regional authorities across the European Union, represented at the EU level through the European Committee of the Regions. An agreement would also affect the day-to-day work of the Committee, which is recognised in the EU Treaty as one of the "guardians" of the subsidiarity principle. The European Committee of the Regions fulfils its role as a defender of decision-making at the lowest appropriate level in part through the work of its subsidiarity monitoring network.

Last week the CoR adopted a resolution urging the EU's national leaders to protect freedom of movement in the 26 European countries that make up the Schengen zone of border-free travel. The resolution argues that re-installing national border checks will not solve the underlying problem of mass movements of refugees and economic migrants into Europe, and will instead add to the costs faced by fragile economies.

President Markkula emphasised that "the future of the Union does not belong to one or the other Member State, or depend on a specific challenge, policy or tool. European cities and regions believe in a comprehensive approach and committed partnerships in order to address the challenges of the EU - such as migration, climate change and radicalisation".