Emeritus Fellow Professor John Loughlin FAcSS has been appointed by the EU’s Committee of the Regions as Senior Expert Adviser to a High Level Group on European Democracy in view of the regional and local contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The Conference aims to bring Europe closer to its citizens and to strengthen European democracy, notably the “European House of Democracy”, with local and regional authorities as its foundations, the Member States as its walls, and the European Union as its protective roof. To this end, the High Level Group will provide critical analysis, strategic insights and innovative ideas from an independent, experienced and external perspective, focusing on the challenges, obstacles and opportunities for local and regional authorities in European Governance.