​Presidents of regional parliaments with or without legislative powers, Presidents of Regions and other regional entities endorsed today a Declaration which is the starting point of an Alliance of Regions for European Democracy that aims at enhancing the regions' political impact on the European decision making process on matters with direct relevance to the work of local and regional authorities. The endorsement took place during the political event "The place of regions in the European Union architecture in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe" organised by the European Committee of the Regions , the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), and the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. The Declaration also calls for the Conference on the Future of Europe to discuss the role of regions in the EU institutional architecture and to improve it to better address citizens' needs.

Med over 11 millioner smittede og mere end 270.000 døde i Europa har pandemien understreget, at alle myndigheder på regionalt, lokalt og andre mellemliggende niveauer spiller en helt afgørende rolle i leveringen af offentlige tjenester så tæt som muligt på borgerne. De administrerer alle de nødvendige sundhedsmæssige tiltag på lokalt niveau som f.eks. karantæneforanstaltninger og kontaktopsporing.

Local and regional politicians from Serbia on 17 October told members of the European Committee of the Regions that they are working hard to ensure that their administrations are fully prepared to meet European Union standards by the time their country joins the EU. They were speaking at a meeting in Niš at which the EU side voiced continuing concerns about the quality of the rule of law and degree of media freedom in Serbia.

Access to money and how much power should be given to give to local government were the central themes when local leaders from the European Union and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met in Skopje on 11 September, against the backdrop of a renewed drive by the country to join the European Union.