The CoR-UK Contact Group, chaired by EA 1st Vice President Karl Vanlouwe met in Belfast at the invitation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA).
The meeting was held at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, on 19 October and opened by Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Mr Edwin Poots. Discussions focused on the State of play in EU-UK relations; the local and regional dimension of the EU-UK relationship and finally, cross-border collaboration in higher education between UK- and EU-based institutions.
The Chair of the working group Karl Vanlouwe said: “Whether it’s Belfast or Brussels, Nations, Regions and Local Government need to cooperate in areas which impact citizens. We welcome the current positive engagement between the UK and EU and signal that devolved governments on all levels need to be fully involved.”
The programme continued on 20 October with a study visit to Black Mountain Shared Space, where delegates explored the impact of EU PEACE programmes and community-led collaboration. Finally the delegation met with the Lord Mayor of Belfast in City Hall.