On 24 June, the Polish representatives of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions had a fruitful discussion with President of the CoR, Mr. Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The purpose of this meeting was to compare experiences in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout Europe, representatives, civil servants, as well as local and regional authorities are managing multiple challenges on a daily basis. The decisions they take are for the purposes of protecting the public health and the interests of their citizens. Civil dialogue, as well as the exchange of ideas and experiences, are extremely important in order to assess practical policy solutions to defeat the pandemic. Speaking on the meeting, Władysław Ortyl, President of the Podkarpackie region and the President of the ECR Group in the CoR said: “I am grateful to the European Committee of the Regions for supporting us and making it possible to compare our experiences with COVID-19 through this special platform. Reorganising the CoR's way of working and switching to remote systems has enabled us to continue our activities."

​During the meeting, Mr. Tzitzikostas emphasized the importance of strong European cooperation, which is most critical in periods of crisis. As a body the advises the European Commission, the European Committee of the Regions is trying to adapt to its activities to meet the needs of EU citizens. Through its members, the European Committee of the Regions is the European institution working closest with individual citizens.