The Association of Frisian Municipalities (VFG) met in Brussels for the first time on 8 October. Rob Jonkman, ECR President and Alderman of Opsterland with responsibility for European affairs, convened the meeting on the occasion of the European Week of Regions and Cities.

At the meeting, the Frisian municipalities discussed questions such as "how can Frisian municipalities influence Europe?", and "what can Frisian municipalities achieve in Europe?". There has been a great deal of interest in the meeting on "Frisian municipalities in Europe" – almost all of the municipalities sent at least one representative, and the event was sold out.

Countryside needs to make its voice heard

Mr Jonkman commented: "Europe is increasingly coming to life in the Frisian municipalities. We mustn't leave lobbying in Europe just for the big cities – the voice of the countryside also needs to be heard in Brussels."

Lobby for the region

Over recent years, the European week of regions and cities in Brussels has grown into the largest conference for local and regional leaders in the world. More than 6 000 local and regional politicians from all 28 Member States set up camp for four days in the European capital, where they can choose from no less than 600 meetings on topics including "A greener Europe", "The role of the regions in the future of Europe", and "Bringing Europe closer to citizens".

Strategic timing

The "Week of regions and cities" is taking place at a strategic time, just before the start of the new European Commission. Europe is working on a new budget for the period 2020-2027. Rural areas need to pay close attention, because there are a number of political forces that want to significantly reduce spending on agricultural and regional policy.

EU sign missing in Nij Beets

Rob Jonkman is critical of minister Wopke Hoekstra's call for regional policy to be phased out, pointing out that "without European support, Opsterland and Smallingerland would never have been able to afford the Polderhoofd canal". Many other valuable projects in Friesland would never have happened without support from Europe. Mr Jonkman is also critical of the planned cuts to the agriculture budget. "It all comes down to how you use the money. But for innovation, and for making agriculture more sustainable, European support is vital."

On a visit to the Polderhoofd canal in Nij Beets, he noticed that there was no longer any indication that the European Union had contributed more than EUR 5 million to the project. "There used to be a sign, but it's since disappeared", he said. "That's no good, because you're not showing people all the things Europe does."

The article was originally published on 8 October by Friesch Dagblad. It has been adapted for the purposes of the ECR Group newsletter.