The Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership brings together local and regional representatives from the European Union and its Eastern partners. Its purpose is to connect European policy with the authorities that must implement reforms and deliver public services locally.<\/p>\n
This is why participation matters. Accession negotiations may take place at national and European level, but implementation takes place in municipalities and regions<\/strong>. Citizens experience Europe through the quality of public services, the transparency of institutions and the ability of local administrations to solve everyday problems.<\/p>\n I focused on one practical question:<\/p>\n How can European cooperation create lasting local capacity instead of producing only new strategies and administrative obligations?<\/strong><\/p>\n The first discussion addressed foreign information manipulation, artificial intelligence-generated disinformation and the role of local and regional media. These threats can undermine confidence in democratic institutions, influence political processes and weaken social cohesion.<\/p>\n In my contribution, I stressed that European resilience cannot be built exclusively through central structures<\/strong>. Local authorities and independent local media understand the language, concerns and information habits of their communities. They are often the first to identify when a manipulated narrative begins to spread.<\/p>\n Public authorities must not direct editorial decisions. They should support an environment in which independent media can work with reliable data, timely institutional responses and transparent access to public information.<\/p>\n European support should therefore strengthen:<\/p>\n This is particularly important in rural, border and linguistically diverse regions<\/strong>, where limited access to trusted information can increase vulnerability.<\/p>\n The second discussion focused on strengthening evidence-based policymaking at local and regional level. The objective is to help administrations use reliable information, European experience and practical tools to improve public services.<\/p>\n My contribution underlined that evidence-based governance must not become another layer of reporting and bureaucracy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A small municipality cannot be expected to build the same analytical structures as a capital city. Proportionality must remain a guiding principle.<\/p>\n Local authorities need simple and practical tools that help them understand:<\/p>\n Data should support decisions. It should not increase bureaucracy.<\/strong><\/p>\n Cooperation between EU regions and Eastern Partnership authorities must also deliver measurable results. The number of meetings held is not enough.<\/p>\n We should assess whether:<\/p>\n The third contribution concerned the launch of the pilot project for the Eastern Partnership Academy for Public Administration at local and regional level \u2013 EPAPA<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The initiative is intended to strengthen administrative capacity and support sustained cooperation between authorities in the European Union and the Eastern Partnership.<\/p>\n I expressed my support for the academy and proposed that it remain accessible to smaller, rural and border municipalities<\/strong>. These authorities often have the greatest need for professional development, but the fewest staff and resources available to participate.<\/p>\n The academy should focus primarily on practical competences, including:<\/p>\n Its long-term value will depend on continuity.<\/p>\n Short training sessions can provide useful knowledge, but mentoring, peer exchange and institutional partnerships are needed if that knowledge is to become part of everyday administrative practice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n EU regions should not approach this cooperation as one-way technical assistance. We also need to listen, learn and develop solutions together with our Eastern partners.<\/p>\n Mutual respect is essential for credible and sustainable cooperation.<\/strong><\/p>\n The European path of Moldova and Ukraine requires strong national reforms. It also requires capable local administrations that can apply European standards and explain those changes to citizens.<\/p>\n A municipality with insufficient staff cannot implement complex reforms effectively.<\/p>\n A local authority without reliable data cannot plan services responsibly.<\/p>\n A community without trusted information becomes more exposed to manipulation.<\/p>\n European enlargement policy should therefore connect legislative alignment with territorial implementation.<\/p>\n Local administrative capacity, democratic resilience and access to reliable information are not secondary issues. They are conditions for successful accession.<\/strong><\/p>\n CORLEAP can help close this implementation gap. It creates direct cooperation between EU regions and Eastern Partnership authorities and gives local leaders an institutional channel through which they can contribute to the European process.<\/p>\n Harghita County participates in this work as a European region with practical experience.<\/p>\n Our rural and mountain communities understand the challenges of delivering accessible services across large distances and with limited administrative capacity.<\/p>\n We also have experience in:<\/p>\n These lessons can contribute to partnerships with Moldovan and Ukrainian municipalities.<\/p>\n At the same time, Harghita County can also learn from its partners<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Cooperation can open opportunities for professional exchanges, joint training, digital public services, media literacy initiatives and future European projects.<\/p>\n This is not about presenting one region as a model for others.<\/p>\n It is about combining different experiences to create solutions that work in real communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n At the CORLEAP Annual Meeting, I supported stronger local resilience against disinformation, the proportionate use of evidence in public administration and an accessible, practice-focused academy for local officials.<\/p>\n One annual meeting cannot resolve every administrative challenge. It can, however, establish partnerships, improve policy design and prepare the ground for concrete cooperation.<\/p>\n That is why it is important to be present.<\/p>\n We must listen carefully, contribute constructively and follow the work beyond the meeting room.<\/p>\n European credibility ultimately depends not only on the quality of its strategies, but on whether citizens can see and feel their results locally.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At the 15th CORLEAP Annual Meeting in Chi\u0219in\u0103u, I contributed to all three policy discussions on behalf of the European People\u2019s Party. My message was consistent: enlargement and the Eastern Partnership will succeed only if European objectives become practical, measurable improvements in cities, counties and rural communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,1,84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cor","category-hirek","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1994,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992\/revisions\/1994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Resilience against manipulation<\/h2>\n
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Evidence for better decisions<\/h2>\n
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An academy for practice<\/h2>\n
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Enlargement through local capacity<\/h2>\n
Harghita as a partner<\/h2>\n
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A commitment to delivery<\/h2>\n