The members of the European Committee of theRegions (CoR) discussed the European Commission'sannual Competition Policy Report during theirDecember plenary session in Brussels. The opinion drafted by Dominique Lévêque (FR/PES) calls for future legislation to account for themore complex state activity needed to unlockregions' full economic potential in the green anddigital transformation.  

The European Union should "urgently" involve local and regional authorities in efforts counter disinformation, the European Committee of the Regions says in a report adopted on 5 December. The EU's assembly for local and regional politicians also urged the EU to exert greater pressure on social-media platforms to respond more quickly, effectively and appropriately to disinformation. 

The European Union's partnership with six countries on its eastern border, including Ukraine, should receive significantly more money in the next decade, the European Committee of the Regions said on 5 December in a set of recommendations that also called for the EU to work harder to extend the benefits of cooperation beyond national capitals. Among the many other specific proposals are a call for the creation of an academy to train civil servants in local and regional government and more support for local cross-border projects. 

Local and regional leaders have highlighted to Nicolas Schmit, new European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, that the EU needs to set clear rules for platform economy to guarantee workers' rights and ensure a level playing field between online and offline economic activities in the single market. 

Obchodní spory mezi EU a USA postihly zemědělsko-potravinářské produkty evropských regionů. Města a regiony EU během rozpravy v plénu vyjádřily hluboké znepokojení, neboť americká cla poškozují výrobní odvětví, narušují místní ekonomiky a dotýkají se mnoha rodinných podniků. Evropský výbor regionů (VR) na základě iniciativy španělské delegace začlení do svého stanoviska, které bude přijato v květnu 2020, řadu požadavků, pokud jde o obchodní dohody. Spojené státy v reakci na dotace Evropské unie pro společnost Airbus uvalily od 18. října 2019 cla ve výši 6,9 miliard EUR na více než 1 400 produktů. 

On 5 December, Jacques Blanc (FR/EPP), mayor of La Canourge and the European Committee of the Regions' rapporteur on pastoralism, spoke at a hearing on wolves held in Brussels by the European Parliament. He called for the Member States to have more resources and more flexibility to manage their populations of large carnivores.