Sari Rautio, President of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions’ (EPP-CoR) held a bilateral meeting with Jessica Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, to discuss the implementation of the European Water Resilience Strategy and the role of cities and regions in strengthening Europe’s water resilience.
During the meeting, Rautio stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the European institutions and regional and local authorities in addressing water-related challenges across Europe. She called for the establishment of a European Platform on Water Resilience, jointly managed by the European Commission, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.
"Based on the experience of our members in the Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform and in the Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, we see how valuable such platforms are to learn from each other, exchange best practices, have a direct channel of communication between the EC, local and regional leaders and other stakeholders," Rautio said.
The discussion also referred to the opinion on the European Water Resilience Strategy adopted earlier this week by the European Committee of the Regions, led by co-rapporteurs Juanma Moreno, President of Andalusia and First Vice-President of the CoR, and Kata Tüttő, CoR President. The opinion calls for stronger involvement of cities and regions in water governance and for increased investment to address water scarcity, floods and pollution across Europe.
The topic of water resilience is of crucial importance for the EPP-CoR and an external meeting of the group will be held in Mikulov (Czech Republic), at the border with Austria, in September. The event will bring together regional and local leaders, European institutions and stakeholders to discuss practical solutions for strengthening water resilience and climate adaptation across Europe.