The EU approves the MEANING project
| Subject: International Relations
The purpose is to reduce the distance between citizens and the EU at a time of European political and social crisis.
With the approval of MEANING (Metropolitan Europeans in Active Network, Inducing Novelties in Governance) a new governance project is started up in the Europe for Citizens programme that –with a total budget of €150,000– will work to strengthen the identity of European citizens by creating subject-based networks on European metropolises and on exchanging experiences in order to improve the governance systems of its metropolitan cities.
MEANING shall also create a debate forum on the institutional and political future of Europe, centring on the role of metropolises in European governance, both due to their proximity to citizens and due to their growing role in the international political agenda.
The Europe for Citizens programme that started up the MEANING project is being led by the Milan Metropolitan Area, and have a further seven partners: the metropolitan areas of Lyon (France), Porto (Portugal), Bari (Italy) and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), as well as the cities of Zagreb (Croatia) and Riga (Latvia) and the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA).
The EU is currently undergoing a period of uncertainty on its future, with challenges like those posed by the refugee crisis, the consequent agreements on the future of the Schengen Agreement, and the growing distancing of citizens from institutions. In this setting, the objective of the MEANING project is precisely to promote citizens' active participation in European affairs, empowering them and making their awareness grow of the importance and direct impact of European policies on their daily life, as well as informing them of the different participation methods and the decisions they can make.
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