Do you know how important the theme EU is during the municipal elections?
On March 16, 2022, elections for the city council will be held throughout the Netherlands. Logically, the campaigns are about local themes. But what influence does 'Brussels' have on local political issues? And what can local administrators achieve within the European Union? In the coming months, the Lectoraat ‘Changing Role of Europe’ will work to make the theme 'Europe' visible in the context of local politics.
The research group has been awarded a subsidy for this by the European Commission in The Hague. In the coming months, a series of 6 episodes for the podcast series 'Global Gossip' will be created about this theme, together with students and local professionals. In addition, the Lectoraat is organizing a conference in February with the theme ‘Europa op lokaal nivea’ ('Europe on a local level').At the professorship we know that municipalities have a lot to do with European policy. For many voters and administrators, the interaction between the municipality and the EU is often unfamiliar territory. Within their own city and district, the theme of 'Europe' often remains unaddressed. With the podcast and the conference, the lectoraat hopes to create more awareness about this topic and to prepare a new generation of voters and administrators to look 'Europe savvy' at their municipality.
Do you have ideas or would you like to contribute ideas about this project? You can contact Mendeltje van Keulen (lecturer, m.vankeulen@hhs.nl) or Remmelt de Weerd (project coordinator, r.j.deweerd@hhs.nl).