Programme

8:30 am | Coffee and registration

9:00 am | Opening and welcome

  • Chair: José Antonio Moreno Diaz, President of the EESC's Group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law (Gr. II – Workers – Spain)
  • Rapporteur: Karolina Dreszer-Smalec (Gr. III – Diversity Europe - Poland)
  • Co-rapporteur: Jukka Ahtela (Gr. I  - Employers – Finland)

9:15 am | 1st panel

"The growth of populism in rural areas:  a socio-economic context as an explanation"

  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics
  • Ossi Martikainen, President of the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) of the European Committee of the Regions
  • José Manuel Hernández Luque, Conception and Consistency of Rural Development Unit, DG AGRI, European Commission
  • Peter Scherrer, Senior Expert, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

Q&A session – Discussion

11:00 am |  Coffee break

11:15 am | 2nd panel

"The CSOs role in facing populism in rural areas?"

  • Carlo Ruzza, Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Trento
  • Randel Länts, rapporteur on the Action Plan against Disinformation, European Committee of the Regions
  • Assya Kavrakova, Executive Director of the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS)
  • Israel Butler, Head of Advocacy, Civil Liberties Union for Europe

Q&A session – Discussion

Conclusions

1:00 pm | Closing of the meeting

Interpretation: ES/DE/EN/FR/PL