At the end of March, the ESEC Policy Board and Officer Group went to Brussels on a Brexit fact-finding mission, the objective of the trip being to investigate how third country local authorities engage with the EU institutions. Board members included Cllr John Reynolds (Aberdeen City Council), Cllr Ben Lawrie (Angus Council), Cllr Will Dawson […]
On 6 March 2018, the Scottish Parliament chamber debated LEADER, the EU’s rural development fund, following a motion submitted by Mairi Gougeon MSP. The debate followed an initial meeting between Members of the Scottish Parliament, ESEC EU officer Joanne Scobie and the LEADER Forth Valley Lomond programme manager, Anne-Michelle Ketteridge. The meeting provided the opportunity […]
ESEC has joined youth, third sector and sports organisations across the United Kingdom to launch #KeepErasmusPlus, a national campaign to save a vital European exchange programme which has benefited over half a million people. Erasmus+ is a European funding programme for education, training, youth and sport. It enables people – especially those who can’t otherwise […]
ESEC’s ongoing to research into the impact of EU funding in our region has revealed that one of the main EU programmes we work with, Erasmus+, has provided financial support of over €11 million to projects in the east of Scotland since 2014. “Our area has received €11,042,493 to date but even this is a conservative […]
ESEC chair Cllr Ben Lawrie and policy officer Joanne Scobie have returned from a packed visit to Brussels for the EU Week of Regions and Cities, brushing up on familiar topics and learning about lots of new issues. We had sessions on resilient communities, transnational cooperation in the Brexit era, 25 years of LEADER and […]
On Tuesday 22 August, the new ESEC Policy Board met for the first time since the local elections of 4 May 2017. The meeting was opened by ESEC Chair, Councillor Ben Lawrie, who welcomed the elected members and officers to Dundee. The board then elected two Vice-Chairs, Councillor Will Dawson of Dundee City Council and […]
A new study by the Centre for Economic Performance and the Centre for Cities has produced an analysis on the potential impact of both a Hard and Soft Brexit on British cities and Local Authorities, and has concluded that Aberdeen will be the UK’s worst affected city when it comes to the economic repercussions of […]
On 23rd February 2017, ESEC hosted an event in the Scottish Parliament to showcase the quality and diversity of EU funded projects supported by our member authorities in the East of Scotland. The evening featured a key note speech from Mike Russell MSP, the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mairi Evans […]
The Scottish Government has today published its Brexit plans on Scotland’s place in Europe. ESEC welcomes the statement from the Scottish Government that local government has a significant stake in future options. Local councils deliver on the ground a significant amount of EU policy, including social inclusion, environmental protection, transport, rural and maritime development, procurement and state […]
On 14 September 2016, former ESEC chair Mairi Evans MSP spoke in the Scottish Parliament about the impact of Brexit on Local Authorities. MSP Evans informed the chamber that the impacts of the Brexit vote are already having a real impact on local government, particularly in relation to funding. She pointed out that local authorities are […]