A debate on the EU's recovery and trade policy took place during the European Committee of the Region's March plenary and featured European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis. Addressing Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the ECR CoR Group was Mr Rob Jonkman, Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands.

First Vice-President Rob Jonkman expressed concern that local and regional authorities find themselves in a position of implementing recovery plans for which they were not sufficiently consulted. Although pleased to see that the Recovery and Resilience Facility is "firmly embedded in the European Semester and that Member States are drawing up their national plans as part of their national reform programmes", Mr Jonkman, Alderman in the municipality of Opsterland, would like to see the partnership principle introduced in the European Semester.

Mr Jonkman referred to the recent report of the European Parliament on respecting the partnership principle in the preparation and implementation of national Recovery and Resilience Plans, which he is very satisfied with. For him, the partnership principle is an "essential tool" in Cohesion Policy, and he would push for it to be introduced in the European Semester.

On the topic of trade policy, he stated that "free trade has undeniably positive effects on all cities and regions, even if they are remote", and gave the example of Opsterland's farms and businesses being well integrated into international trade. With the European Commission's trade strategy based on the concept of European open strategic autonomy, "municipalities like mine can only support such a concept".

Referring to the current pandemic, Mr Jonkman also emphasized the need to "increase our self-sufficiency in key areas such as health, agriculture and energy". In order to cope with large-scale crises like today, "citizens need sufficient medicines, food and electricity".