Calpe Town Hall will broadcast live the State of the European Union speech to be given by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 13 September. This is an initiative promoted by the BELC council after Calpe joined the network "Building Europe with Local Authorities" (BELC), a pilot programme of the European Commission with the aim of creating a European network of political representatives at local level to improve the communication of the European Union with local administrations and its citizens.
In this way, the elected officials who are part of this network - in Calp the municipal representative of this initiative is Marco Bittner - have among their functions to promote in their municipalities a constructive dialogue on the local impact of EU policies and programmes.
"We consider it relevant to invite citizens to the joint viewing of the 2023 State of the Union address, where von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, will outline the main priorities and flagship initiatives for the coming year, building on the successes and achievements of the European Union in recent years," said Marco Bittner. The speech will be followed by a debate with the audience on the Commission President's priorities for this year: a European green pact, a Europe fit for the digital age, an economy serving people, a stronger Europe in the world, promoting the European way of life and a new impetus for European democracy.
Through the BELC project - to be implemented during 2023 and 2023 - mayors and councillors from Spain and the European Union as a whole have the possibility to access relevant information on European policies, which will enable them to increase their knowledge and involvement in EU matters that concern citizens at local level, as well as to stimulate dialogue on the future of Europe in their communities.
The State of the European Union address, von der Leyen's fourth as Commission President, will be broadcast live from the Saló Blau on 13 September at 9am.