EPP-CoR members asked for effective EU action must be grounded in local realities and tangible impact for young people and cultural actors across Europe — including rural areas, islands, peripheral regions, and minority-language communities – during a debate in SEDEC today that focused on youth, cyberbullying and online protection of minors, the emerging Culture Compass, youth-related aspects of Erasmus+, and culture-related aspects of the new AgoraEU programme.
Roberto Pella (EPP/IT), Mayor of Valdengo (BI) and Vice-President of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) who serves as rapporteur of the Erasmus+ programme opinion highlighted the importance of leadership that understands local challenges and called for a forward-looking approach that combines opportunity, protection and community engagement: “Young people must be at the centre, and our communities are where policies become reality. Local and regional authorities are your operational partners — working daily to turn European initiatives into opportunities for every young person.”
Csaba Borboly, Vice-president of Harghita County Council and rapporteur on the AgoraEU opinion welcomed AgoraEU’s democratic promise while urging stronger territorial fairness and visibility for linguistic diversity, including regional and minority languages: “If we do not change the current pattern, the gap will only grow. We need territorial indicators, simpler small grants, and local contact points — so culture funding truly reaches every community, in every region, including those working in minority languages.”
On online safety, the Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, cautioned against blunt restrictions that may push children into less safe digital spaces, arguing for protection that preserves participation: “Bans do not eliminate behaviour — they push it into the shadows. Children don’t disappear from the digital world; they go around the rules. The task is to protect them where they already live: online — with age-appropriate accounts and education instead of exclusion.”
Speaking from an island perspective, Evangelos Frangkakis, Mayor of Chalki, stressed that territoriality must be a core principle for any effective strategy on housing, youth protection and access to culture: “On islands, all problems are amplified. No strategy will succeed if we don’t take territoriality into account. Implementation happens locally — and everyone must have access to education and culture, wherever they are born.”
Member of the County Council of Baranya Vármegye, Patrik Schwarcz-Kiefer underlined the EPP priority of linking opportunity with responsibility, calling for concrete measures so that Erasmus+ and AgoraEU are truly inclusive for rural and less developed regions: “Europe must not remain a project that is only visible in big cities. Territorial inclusion means better access for rural areas, simpler procedures, and clear results for young people — regardless of where they live.”
EPP-CoR members reaffirmed their readiness to work with the European Commission to ensure that youth and culture initiatives deliver real inclusion, accessible funding, and measurable territorial impact, while strengthening online safety and democratic participation for the next generation.