Local and regional leaders met in Edinburgh on 11 November to discuss how to further develop the relationship between sub-national authorities in the European Union and in United Kingdom, focusing on the importance of promoting peer-to-peer exchanges, particularly through mobility of researchers and students.
Members of the European Committee of the Regions-UK Contact Group, which was hosted by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in cooperation with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament, emphasised the value of youth exchanges, cultural collaborations, and academic partnerships in maintaining a spirit of cooperation and solidarity – a message underscored by the timing of the meeting, on Remembrance Day.
Since its creation in 2020, the Contact Group has argued that sub-national authorities need to be involved in all UK-EU discussions with a territorial and citizens’ dimension, a point made again during the meeting.
The meeting in Edinburgh – the second time that the Contact Group has met in the UK, following a meeting in Cardiff in 2022 – took place in the context of political momentum to re-set the UK-EU relationship between the recently elected UK government and the incoming European Commission, and with a view to the upcoming review of implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
The Contact Group’s discussion of the TCA was informed by a report on the implementation of the TCA recently published by the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. The report was presented by Clare Adamson MSP, the chairperson of the Committee. Stephen Gethins, a member of the UK Parliament, noted the wide-ranging issues where a further deepening of cooperation between the EU and the UK would be welcome and beneficial to both sides, including energy security and defence.
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