Speaking at the CoR's plenary on 12 February, ECR Group vice-president and chairman of the Bratislava self-governing region Juraj Droba addressed challenges relating to population ageing and internal migratory flows. He addressed his words particularly to the European Commission's vice-president for democracy and demography, Dubravka Šuica, who is responsible for preparations for the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE).

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an initiative aimed at remodelling the functioning of the EU. Mr Droba emphasised the need to prioritise the issues of demographic change and internal migratory flows at the Conference. Speaking as head of a metropolitan region, he reiterated the difficulties these regions face: "There is a huge trend of internal migration towards capital cities, which has enormous impact on infrastructures and increases the demand for quality public services."

Cities like Bratislava struggle not only with a growing population, but also with an ageing one. A recent Eurostat forecast showed that the elderly population in the Bratislava region is set to more than double within fifty years.

Mr Droba urged the Commission to empower regions with both smart policies and funding. "I hope that the Conference on the Future of Europe will focus to a large extent on this topic, because our citizens expect debates that will help solve their real-life problems. They do not want more debates on the technicalities of electoral systems or other issues that are of little concern to them. The demographic crisis is something that Europeans feel very strongly about."

The outcome of the Conference on the Future of Europe will set out a new direction on European integration in a high number of fields, including regions, climate change and the digital transformation. A decision has yet to be taken on those to participate in the CFE.