Dr. Dirk Ehnts:

I believe that is very important. The European Union wants always to make sure that policy is decided at the lowest possible level, which is that concept of subsidiarity. It is important that economic decisions are influenced by its citizens. That is why I would argue the European Green Deal could be much more regional and local. Currently, it is very much centralised in Brussels. It could be something which improves European democracy. It is giving a voice to citizens and lets the people decide on what type of solutions we should spend our money. For example, it would be a nice idea to have the European Commission agree under the European Green Deal to give money to local communities but allowed them to decide what to do with that money and told them only what is expected of them. For example, it the issue was fixing local transportation, the discussion would be about electric buses, additional bicycles etc. All of that would be a matter for the communities. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. This can be about playing on the strengths of Europe. We all come from different cultural backgrounds, with different histories, so we will find different solutions. It is not necessary to have only one solution for the whole of Europe, but it would be nice if all of the regions would bring in their own advantages and peculiarities so that the solution is basically fitted to the citizens that are in the end the consumers of those public infrastructure. Again, it would be nice to give a voice to people in order that they can see that voting and making decisions on various issues makes a difference in their lives. That is very important for democracy.