CIVEX secretariat is delighted to report on the commission's contribution to this year's edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities - the largest European event dedicated to our regions and cities and their optimal development. #EURegionsWeek took place from the 11 October to the 14 October 2021 and featured three events organised by the CIVEX commission.  

Take part in the public consultation for more responsible short-term accommodation rental services The ECON commission warmly encourages you to participate in the European Commission's ongoing public consultation on short-term accommodation rentals to get your voice heard. 

Efforts by the European Union to involve regions and cities in counter-terrorism efforts over the past five years have been welcomed by the European Committee of the Regions in a set of recommendations that, as well as calling for a continued deepening of cooperation, urge extra support for law-enforcement efforts at the EU level and the extension of support for the victims of terrorism. 

Lokale og regionale ledere afholdt i dag en debat med Dubravka Šuica, Kommissionens næstformand med ansvar for demokrati og demografi. Medlemmerne af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) roste Kommissionens indsats for at sikre, at regionernes, byernes og landsbyernes stemme bliver behørigt repræsenteret på konferencen. De opfordrede på ny til, at man sætter alt ind for, at debatten om Europas fremtid når ud til borgerne gennem de lokale og regionale myndigheder og imødekommer deres forventninger. 

In an opinion adopted by the plenary session today, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) welcomes the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy but warns that we are at the same time experiencing regression in respect of EU values, with some authorities continuously using anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric and even adopting discriminatory policies and legislation. The assembly of EU's regions and cities argues that European funds should not be granted to governments promoting structural discrimination mechanisms against LGBTIQ people and suggests providing more financial support to equality and diversity programmes at local level. 

Members of the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) discussed with Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira the new programming period 2021-27 and the territorial aspects of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). They asked the European Commission to ensure the full respect of the partnership principle and the multilevel governance, and to provide recommendations to Member States and relevant managing authorities to improve partnership processes. They also called on Member States to guarantee a broader territorial implementation of the RRF, and on the European Commission to guarantee that the National Recovery Plans will be built in full respect of articles 175 and 174 TFEU and prioritise less developed and transition regions, as well as the Regions most impacted by the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis. 

At the event "Cities fostering democracy in the European Union: Urban perspectives for the Conference on the Future of Europe", co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions, Eurocities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), local and regional leaders set out their expectations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and shared their experiences on strengthening local democracy. Examples of innovative participative exercises, green projects, digital services to citizens or integration of communities were discussed. The event led to the adoption of conclusions which will feed the Conference on the future of Europe. 

Et nyt EU-dækkende system til beskyttelse af industrielle og håndværksmæssige geografiske betegnelser, som bygger på den vellykkede model, der anvendes for landbrugsprodukter og fødevarer, vil være til gavn for både håndværkere og lokale økonomier. Det nye system vil styrke den retlige beskyttelse af produkter af høj kvalitet, bidrage til at bekæmpe forfalskning og skabe og bevare arbejdspladser. Forslaget indgår i en udtalelse af Martine Pinville, medlem af regionalrådet i Nouvelle-Aquitaine, som blev vedtaget enstemmigt onsdag den 13. oktober på plenarforsamlingen i Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU). 

Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia, currently holding the Presidency of the EU Council, remotely attended the Plenary of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), discussing with regional and local authorities how to address local communities' needs. He told local and regional politicians that the top priority of his country's presidency of the Council of the European Union is to stop the pandemic and support the EU's economic recovery. Prime Minister Janša also thanked the European Committee of the Regions for excellent cooperation during the first half of the Presidency and for a great discussion in June already when State Secretary Gašper Dovžan presented the Presidency priorities to the Bureau, as well as congratulating the Committee members on their flagship "European Week of Regions and Cities" event. 

Jari Andersson, chair of Sastamala City Council (FI/EPP), has drafted an opinion urging the EU Member States to accelerate implementation of the EU strategy on the rights of the child and the European Child Guarantee. Mr Andersson's opinion was adopted at the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Tuesday 12 October. The opinion underlines that regions and municipalities play an important role in combating child poverty and exploitation and preventing exclusion. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg vedtog en resolution om COP26 , hvori det to uger inden FN's klimaforhandlinger i Glasgow fremsætter sine klimakrav. I en situation, hvor verden oplever hidtil usete hedebølger, oversvømmelser, orkaner og stigende vandstand i havene, opfordrede EU's lokale ledere FN og de nationale regeringer til formelt at anerkende, overvåge og tilskynde mindskelsen af drivhusgasemissionerne i byer, kommuner og regioner overalt i verden. Større klimaambitioner, gennemsigtighed og ansvarlighed, når det gælder mindskelsen af drivhusgasemissioner, og klimafinansiering til de mest sårbare er de tre vigtigste forhandlingspunkter i Glasgow. 

UN, EU and local leaders must come together to monitor, assess and support regions, cities and villages build resilient communities. On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) held a debate with Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, on how to increase resilience to disasters. Sharing personal experiences of the impact and response to recent disasters, leaders at all levels emphasised the importance of taking a coordinated approach to reduce risks. Local and regional leaders called on the UN and EU to work together with the CoR to monitor, assess and strengthen preparedness in regions and cities. Building local, regional and national resilience through robust risk management structures, supported by technical and financial measures, are key steps to reducing the impact of disasters. 

På plenarforsamlingen i oktober vedtog medlemmerne af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) en udtalelse om den nye forbrugerdagsorden , som fremhæver betydningen af at beskytte forbrugernes rettigheder. Forbrugerbeskyttelsen skal tage højde for virkningerne af covid-19-krisen, miljøændringer, den digitale omstilling, globaliseringen og nye specifikke behov hos sårbare forbrugere. Samtidig understreger de lokale og regionale ledere behovet for at støtte SMV'er i deres digitale og grønne omstilling uden at øge de administrative byrder. EU-finansiering er afgørende for gennemførelsen af denne omstilling. 

Det regionale og lokale barometer – udarbejdet af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg – som blev offentliggjort i dag, advarer om, at genopretningen i EU undergraves som følge af de nationale regeringers manglende høring af byer og regioner om de genopretningsplaner, der finansieres af EU. Udsigten til, at EU-midlerne ikke kanaliseres derhen, hvor byerne og regionerne føler, at behovet er størst, risikerer også at forværre de problemer, der opstår som følge af den finansieringskløft på 180 mia. EUR mellem udgifter og indtægter, der er opstået som følge af covid-19-pandemien. 

The European Committee of the Regions has backed the idea of a European Digital Identity Wallet, which should enable citizens to prove their identity all across the European Union allowing them access both commercial and public services online. Members adopted today at the plenary session an opinion drafted by Mark Weinmeister (DE/EPP), Secretary of State for European Affairs of the Land of Hesse, in which they suggest that this could become a concrete element of European identity that every EU citizen is aware of. However, the opinion points out that the use of digital identity should remain voluntary and underlines it needs to be sufficiently reinforced against the risk of cyberattacks. 

På Det Europæiske Regionsudvalgs (RU) plenarforsamling har medlemmerne vedtaget udtalelsen om effektiv inddragelse af lokale og regionale myndigheder i programmerne under samhørighedspolitikken for perioden 2021-27, som er udarbejdet af Juraj Droba (SK/ECR), regionalrådsformand i regionen Bratislava. Med vedtagelsen af denne udtalelse opfordrer RU's medlemmer til fuld overholdelse af "partnerskabsprincippet" og dets anvendelse i forbindelse med de nye instrumenter, der finansieres gennem NextGenerationEU, såsom Fonden for Retfærdig Omstilling og genopretnings- og resiliensfaciliteten. 

The EU’s zero pollution ambition was set out in the European Green Deal to protect Europe’s citizens and ecosystems. It aims to reduce air, water and soil pollution to levels that are no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystem. 

Den 12. oktober præsenterer formanden for Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg, Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EL/EPP), det regionale og lokale barometer 2021 for lokale ledere og Kommissionens næstformand, Maroš Šefčovič. Den samlede rapport måler pandemiens indvirkning på EU's regioner, byer og landsbyer og fremlægger vigtige resultater, fakta og tal om de økonomiske, sociale, sundhedsmæssige og digitale konsekvenser. SE MED LIVE 

The 7th meeting of the European Committee of the Regions' Green Deal Going Local Working Group focused on the role of subnational governments to effectively deliver on the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. Members also exchanged views on the new European Commission's Horizon Europe mission on 100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030 and the future of the Covenant of Mayors, the world's largest city coalition on climate action. During a plenary session debate with Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, next Wednesday 13 October, the European Committee of the Regions will debate and adopt its resolution on COP26, which gathers the key messages that EU cities and regions will put on the table of the global climate negotiations. The UN's climate summit is due to kick off in Glasgow on 31 October 2021. 

The prospect of assembly for members of the UK and European parliaments was on 5 October welcomed by members of the European Committee of the Regions, who called for its evolution into a forum to which regions and cities could also have access. 

​Today, the European Commission Joint Research (JRC) Centre launched the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (CC). It aims at providing tools, resources, research and methodologies to build capacity and best practice in participatory and deliberative democracy across different levels of governance in the EU. Mark Speich, Chair of the CoR commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs – CIVEX - stated that the cooperation between the CC and regions and cities could be mutual: On the one hand the CoR can be a full partner of the JRC in its work on the EC policy priority "A new push for European democracy" by contributing with regional and local best practices to the community of practitioners around the CC. On the other hand the CC could develop a mechanism to mainstream citizens' participation in the EU policy making and support the local and regional level to systematize the use of participatory tools on a permanent basis. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has a long and fruitful cooperation with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), which turns 70 this year. Many joint initiatives, consultations and activities have been developed by the CoR and the CEMR so far and many others are already in the pipeline. Just a few days ahead of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities, which will take place from 11 to 14 October, we spoke with the President of Emilia-Romagna and CEMR, Stefano Bonaccini, on how local and regional governments take up the new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate disruption and territorial inequalities. 

Herman Van Rompuy shares his vision for the Conference on the Future of Europe and points out the main challenges facing it. 

Homelessness is probably the most severe manifestation of social exclusion in Europe. There were at least 700 000 people who slept rough or in shelter accommodation on any given night in 2019, which represents an increase of 70% in 10 years. An opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions' SEDEC Commission points out that the multiple causes and facets of this urgent societal problem need to be addressed at all levels of government. At the meeting held on 1 October, SEDEC members also adopted an opinion on the European Commission's Artificial Intelligence (AI) package, which seeks to regulate the deployment of AI and prohibit certain AI practices while largely ignoring the contribution of local and regional authorities. 

​During the 11th Annual meeting of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Platform hosted in Innsbruck (Austria) by the Region of Tyrol, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) celebrated the ten years of the EGTC Euregio Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino and welcomed the foundation of the new EGTC Euregio Connect between Austria and Italy. The CoR recently adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to present a proposal for maintaining cross-border cooperation and life in the event of future crises. The resolution contains multiple proposals to improve cross-border collaboration and calls on the Commission to follow up on already existing legislation and treaties, whose implementation could often still be improved. 

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The European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) met on 27 September to discuss the EU health policy and the resilience of cities. During the meeting, members also analysed how to boost consumption, increase production and further improve sustainability in the organic sector as well as in the blue economy. Both sectors can ensure a green and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Representatives of Europe's local and regional authorities have again voiced their concerns over the lack of sub-national involvement in the implementation, further planning and evaluation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans. In an opinion drafted by Rob Jonkman (NL/ECR), Alderman of the municipality of Opsterland, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) underlines that local and regional authorities are responsible for more than half of public investment in the EU and that the objectives of the EU's €750 billion recovery package Next Generation EU can't be reached without their involvement. The opinion was adopted by the CoR's Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) on Wednesday following a debate with Maarten Verwey, European Commission's Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN). 

​​In the framework of the debates that feed into the Conference on the Future of Europe, members of the CoR commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs – CIVEX – discussed on equality as a building block of European democracy. They argued that local and regional authorities play an important role in building up an inclusive democracy and equality because they are the level of governance closest to citizens and can have an influence on these issues. The CIVEX commission also adopted an opinion on better EU law-making emphasising that the territorial dimension of EU policies must be bolstered and that local and regional authorities should be involved in every stage of the EU decision-making process, notably by using the RegHub implementation reports as a tool for examining the legislative proposals. 

We must step up the fight against cancer, was the main message shared by Brigitta Sacrédeus (SE/EPP), rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) at the Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan on 27th September. The CoR calls for a debate on how to improve people's health awareness so that patients can reduce their exposure to risk factors to get ahead of the disease while making use of research and available digital tools. 

Den 24. september mødtes regionale og lokale ledere i Lipica (Slovenien) for at drøfte, hvordan man rettidigt kan investere i lokalområdernes genopretning og undgå forsinkelser og overlapninger mellem EU's politikker. EU's kommissær med ansvar for økonomi, Paolo Gentiloni, Sloveniens finansminister, Andrej Šircelj, og fremtrædende medlemmer af Europa-Parlamentet understregede, at en vellykket gennemførelse af de nationale genopretningsplaner kun er mulig, hvis man samarbejder med regionerne og byerne. 

Cities and regions in the Mediterranean and the EU should try to develop a more integrated approach to the provision of basic public services for migrants, senior members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) have said. They also urged public authorities at all levels, including the EU, to make the personal day-to-day challenges faced by migrants, particularly women and the vulnerable, central to how they design policies.  

One year after the launch of the Green City Accord, the European Commission organised a ceremony to celebrate new signatories joining this flagship initiative, which reunites cities committing to ambitious environmental protection goals by 2030. The high-level signatory ceremony took place on 22 September 2021. 

The #EURegionsWeek 2021 will consist of 300 sessions spread over 4 days: in total, about 850 speakers will take the floor from all over the EU and beyond during 365 hours of interactive conferences, and more than 100 video clips will show stories and testimonials about concrete projects. 

The United Nations' climate summit is to kick off in Glasgow in less than two months. Six years after the signature of the Paris Agreement, national governments are to provide concrete answers on how they plan to meet their climate targets. As the world goes through unprecedented heat waves, fires and floods, COP26 will put the spotlight on the need for higher climate ambition to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The formal inclusion of local and regional governments and their climate contributions remains a key demand that EU cities and regions will put forward in Glasgow, in close cooperation with international networks of sub-national government actors.  

 

Covid-19-krisen har vist, at der nu mere end nogensinde er brug for samhørighedspolitikken for at styrke modstandsdygtigheden i Europa, beskytte borgerne, få genopretningen ud i alle hjørner af Den Europæiske Union og sikre, at ingen lades i stikken. Siden den blev etableret i oktober 2017, har Samhørighedsalliancen (#CohesionAlliance) , der er en EU-alliance med 12.000 underskrivere , været fortaler for en stærkere samhørighedspolitik, og alliancen har formået at forebygge dramatiske budgetnedskæringer i tiden efter 2020. Den har sikret en samhørighedspolitik, der når ud til alle regioner i EU, og fremsat forslag til mere enkle og fleksible regler. På en videokonference om den fremtidige kurs for #CohesionAlliance bekræftede de stiftende medlemmer deres tilsagn om at forene kræfterne og fastholde samhørighedspolitikken som en topprioritet for EU. #CohesionAlliance vil være opmærksom på, at partnerskabsprincippet anvendes fuldt ud af medlemsstaterne i forbindelse med udformningen og gennemførelsen af samhørighedspolitikken 2021-27. Sammenhæng og synergi mellem genopretningsinstrumenterne og strukturfondene har afgørende betydning for at undgå overlapninger og maksimere virkningen af EU's indsats. 

European Committee of the Regions critical of New Pact on Migration and Asylum at a European Parliament hearing​ Antje Grotheer (DE/PES), rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and Vice-President of Germany's Bremen City Parliament, presented the opinion of EU's cities and regions on the asylum & migration reform package at the hearing of European Parliament's LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on 2nd September. She was highly critical of the importance of the first entry criterion in the analysis of asylum applications, a criterion on which Member States “waste too much time", as well as of the failure to take account of the realities of the regions, particularly those on the front line of migration. She urged to this effect for a greater consideration of regional specificities in every aspect of the process. 

​​As rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the opinion on rural areas, the President of the Region of Andalusia Juanma Moreno, today took part in an exchange meeting between the European Commission and the EU Ministers of Agriculture on the future of rural areas. President Moreno stressed the need to further involve regions and local communities in the implementation of the Next Generation EU funds so as to ensure the sustainable development of rural areas in Europe. The CoR will organise a high-level forum in December dedicated to the recovery of rural areas in the Union.​ 

The deadline for nominations for the 2021 edition of the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award has been extended to the end of September. 

Cities are on the frontline for promoting diversity, inclusiveness, social cohesion, and sustainable development and the coronavirus pandemic has even deepened some of the existing social challenges. Thus within its Intercultural Cities and Learning Programme, the Anna Lindh Foundation launches the EuroMed Capital for Dialogue Award – Call for Candidatures. 

The Connecting Europe Express is one of the key initiatives of the European Year of Rail 2021 and aims to draw attention to the many benefits of rail in both the passenger and freight sectors. It also feeds into the EU's overarching goal set out under the European Green Deal of encouraging a 'shift to rail' across the EU in order to decarbonise transport flows and increase sustainable mobility. The importance of the territorial dimension of the initiative has been underlined by the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, in a letter sent to the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Apostolos Tzitzikostas, which invited all members of the CoR to join the project and visit the train at one of its destinations. 

Under the heading "Together for recovery", this year programme is focused on the capacity of the EU and of national and regional governments to support European citizens and their local communities with practical measures and public policies aimed at investing in a fairer, greener and more digital future for recovery 

Trade effects of Brexit likely to become clearer only after 1 October, senior EU official tells EU and UK local and regional politicians at meeting that puts spotlight on Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. Movement across the United Kingdom's borders with Ireland and Spain were central issues discussed at a meeting of British and EU local and regional politicians that focused on connections at risk of being lost by the UK's withdrawal from the EU. 

The results of a survey carried out by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) show a clear demand among local and regional authorities to extend the flexibility measures introduced last year to mobilise EU structural funds and state aid in the fight against COVID-19. Regions and cities need extraordinary rules to be maintained in order to secure the continuity of emergency investment and the deployment of crucial initiatives such as job retention schemes. This request is included in a letter co-signed by the CoR President Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the chair of the CoR's COTER commission Isabelle Boudineau, addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the commissioners responsible for the relevant policies.  

Som reaktion på Kommissionens Klar til 55-pakke , der har til formål at reducere EU's kulstofemissioner med 55 % inden 2030, opfordrer Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) til, at de nye og ajourførte regler sikrer en central rolle for og direkte finansiering til byer og regioner, som har juridiske kompetencer og er tæt på borgerne i omstillingen til klimaneutralitet. 

​​​Countries in the Western Balkans should use significant new financial support from the European Union to make their economies greener and more digital and to advance their case for EU membership, local and regional leaders heard at the Enlargement Day conference held by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 13 July. The conference – which was addressed by the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission's Acting Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations – also identified the post-pandemic recovery as a major milestone in the history of regions' and cities' involvement in the EU accession process.  

Bringing cross-border cooperation back to the forefront of the EU’s policy agenda is one of the European Committee of the Region’s (CoR) top priorities. The Conference on the Future of Cross-Border Cooperation, organized together with the other founding partners of the European Cross-Border Citizens' Alliance, feeds into this objective. During the event, which took place on 5 July, participants reflected on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, identified the ongoing and future challenges for cross-border regions, and held a debate on the vision for cross-border cooperation as part of the future of Europe. The event took place just a few days after CoR's plenary adopted a resolution on cross-border cooperation which will serve as a contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe. 

The EU's regions and cities are looking forward to the Social Economy Action Plan, which the European Commission is expected to publish before the end of the year. The opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Thursday underlines that it is essential to harness the full potential of social economy enterprises and organisations to ensure economic recovery, to promote collective entrepreneurship and to create high-quality jobs after the COVID-19 crisis. 

​Aviation has been one of the sectors worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller regional airports have recorded the greatest decline in direct flight connections, particularly in passenger flights. Treviso (Italy) lost 95% of its connections, Vaasa (Finland) 91%, Quimper (France) 87%, and Burgas (Bulgaria) 82%.