The European Committee of the Regions (CoR), at the initiative of member of Dalarna County Council Birgitta Sacrédeus (SE/EPP), has adopted an opinion on Active and Healthy Ageing at its October plenary session. Europe is growing older and so the CoR stresses the need for preventive action and the crucial role that new technologies play in ensuring the active and healthy ageing of EU citizens. "Physical and mental balance as well as the silver economy will make it easier to meet this challenge, in the face of a demographic imbalance," said rapporteur Birgitta Sacrédeus. 

During the 136th European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Plenary, that took place on 7-9 October in Brussels, regional and local leaders delivered their recommendations for the preparation of the next generation of cohesion programmes, which set the basis for cohesion policy implementation for the 2021-2027 period. In the opinion on "Recommendations for the successful design of regional development strategies beyond 2020", drafted by Adam Struzik (PL/EPP), President of Mazovia Region, the CoR recognises the urgent need to develop a long-term policy framework at EU level to replace the Europe 2020 strategy. 

The international Athens Democracy Forum prize has been awarded posthumously to the Mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz. His wife Magdalena and their daughters Antonina and Teresa received the award from the Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis at a ceremony in the Greek capital on Thursday, 10 October. 

The European Union needs to invest into policies and programmes that support the development and connectivity of entrepreneurial ecosystems in European regions and cities also in the next EU programming period 2021-27. Furthermore, entrepreneurial education should be embedded in both SME and education policies in Europe – these were the main messages of the final conference of the Interreg Europe-funded iEER project, organised in Brussels during the European Week of Regions and Cities. ​The conference, organised as part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, gathered close to 100 local and regional experts, policy makers and political representatives. 

At its October plenary session, the European Committee of the Regions has unanimously adopted an opinion on pastoralism, at the initiative of Jacques Blanc (FR/EPP), mayor of La Canourgue. Maintaining pastoralism is vital for farming across the EU in order to keep rural areas alive, as well as for meeting our environmental and climate-related objectives, argue local government leaders. Keeping grazing going is also conducive to developing tourism in rural areas and helps to safeguard against fires and avalanches. The common agricultural policy (CAP), as well as environmental and social policy, must therefore take greater account of pastoralism. 

Během 136. plenárního zasedání Evropského výboru regionů (VR), které se konalo ve dnech 7.–9. října v Bruselu, předložili regionální a místní představitelé své návrhy, jak posílit územní rozměr v širší škále politických oblastí a jak zvýšit zapojení místních subjektů do provádění investičního plánu spolufinancovaného z prostředků EU. Ve stanovisku Příspěvek VR k obnovené územní agendě se zvláštním důrazem na komunitně vedený místní rozvoj , jež připravil zastupitel Olomouckého kraje Radim SRŠEŇ (CZ/ELS), tito představitelé požadují územní vize, které by více vycházely z přístupu „zdola nahoru“, a zvýšení části rozpočtu určené na komunitně vedený místní rozvoj.