This year's European Green Capital is Lisbon. Its mayor, Fernando Medina (PT/PES), is a member of the European Committee of the Regions, and we asked him to introduce some of the achievements that have placed Lisbon at the forefront of Europe's greenest cities - and best places to live. 

The Kick-Off meeting of the 18th European Week of Regions and Cities 2020 takes place on 30 January at the European Commission. Please follow the web-streaming and ask questions on social media using the hashtag #EURegionsWeek. 

The Just Transition Fund and Mechanism proposed by the European Commission today have taken on board the EU's regions' and cities' demands for place-based tools to address the transition towards climate neutrality. But Europe's local and regional leaders warn against diverting funds from EU regional funds - cohesion policy - and centralising the new fund's governance.  

The Secretary-General of the European Committee of the Regions invites the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation to submit their applications for the 2020 edition of the award "Building Europe across borders" – Award for EGTCs.  

​The network of regional hubs has concluded its second consultation, on the implementation of the EU's Air Quality Directives. It has once again been a very extensive consultation, reaching more than 170 local and regional stakeholders, who have all provided unique data, based on their "user experience" of this EU policy. 

COP25 did not reach an agreement on the rules for the full implementation of the Paris agreement. Regional indicators within the Paris rulebook and the call for multilevel collaboration did not make it to the final decision either. Nevertheless, Madrid demonstrated that cities and regions worldwide are firmly committed to higher climate ambition and action. The delegation of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) strongly defended the pivotal role cities and regions play in tackling global warming and the need to formalise their role in global climate governance. Glasgow is to host COP26 in December 2020 with expectations focusing on higher climate commitments and multilevel action. Click here to access the CoR's COP25 photo album.  

While national governments fall short in agreeing on carbon neutrality objectives, local and regional representatives shared their will to commit and deliver ambitious climate policies during the meeting of the European Committee of the Regions commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy. At the COTER Commission meeting that took place today at the European Committee of the Regions, local and regional leaders and representatives of the European Commission exchanged their views. 

Early December, the final evaluation of the CoR's Communication Strategy 2015-2020 was published. Carried out by an external contractor, the works consisted of an online survey (350 replies), structured interviews (25) and a cost-efficiency analysis of the tools and channels employed 

Petr Blizkovsky, du har været medlem af byrådet i Brno, professor i økonomi, embedsmand i Tjekkiet og EU-tjenestemand. Hvad har disse erfaringer til fælles? Jeg har tilbragt næsten hele min karriere i offentlige roller, bl.a. som lokalpolitiker. Jeg begyndte mit arbejdsliv på et helt særligt tidspunkt i historien, hvor de central- og østeuropæiske lande – herunder Tjekkiet, der dengang var en del af Tjekkoslovakiet – var på vej til at blive frie, demokratiske og uafhængige nationalstater.  

Turkey would like to increase its participation in cross-border programmes and to see an upgrading in relations between Turkey and the European Committee of the Regions, Faruk Kaymakci, Turkey's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Director for EU Affairs, told local and regional politicians from the European Union and Turkey on 27 November.  

The European Commission released its communication and timeline for the European Green Deal. Upgrading energy and climate targets along with new strategies and legislation for climate adaptation, air quality and biodiversity protection are amongst the measures ahead. While COP25 negotiations block on international carbon market rules, the EU's assembly of local and regional representatives calls on the Parties of the Paris agreement to foster cooperation with cities and regional governments as the only way to deliver effective climate action and reverse global warming.  

2021-2027, the #CohesionAlliance – an EU-wide alliance calling for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020 – has demanded budgetary allocations aimed at delivering a greener, more inclusive and smarter Europe be preserved. The Alliance also warned against any centralisation, which would weaken the role of regional and local governments in managing funds. 

Den 15. november 2019 modtog alle kontaktpunkter i de regionale knudepunkter deres spørgeskema til netværkets høring om grænseoverskridende sundhedsydelser via EU Survey. Netværkets kontaktpunkter har indtil den 13. januar kl. 24.00 til at indsamle feedback fra deres relevante interessenter, foretage en opsummering, udfylde spørgeskemaet og indsende det til sekretariatet for de regionale knudepunkter.  

During the 137th European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Plenary, that took place on 4-5 December 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 "The challenges of metropolitan regions and their position in the future Cohesion Policy post 2020" , drafted by Juraj Droba (SK/ECR) , Chairman of Bratislava Self-Governing Region, the CoR called for increased recognition of the contribution of metropolitan regions (MRs) to the objectives of cohesion policy. The CoR also stresses that although MRS are seen as engines of Member States' economies, they have to address economic, fiscal and territorial challenges, while at the same coping with an expanding demand for quality public services and limited financial resources. 

​Declaration “JOIN, BOOST, SUSTAIN” for greater uptake of digital solutions and the creation of the European Way of digital transformation was kicked-off in Oulu on 10 December.  

Members of the European Committee of the Regions debated the Conference on the Future of Europe on 9 December, voicing support for a process of active listening to citizens and arguing that the conference should be accompanied by a broad shift towards a more transparent and open way of governance. They also called for cities and regions to be involved in the Conference, an argument supported by MEP Daniel Freund, coordinator of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), who said that the involvement of regions and cities would be critical to the success of the Conference. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) har fremlagt en række krav til den europæiske grønne pagt, som efter udvalgets mening skal opfyldes, hvis vi skal opnå klimaneutralitet inden 2050. I spørgsmål om alt fra energi til mobilitet, landbrug, biodiversitet, digitalisering og den cirkulære økonomi mener RU, at den grønne pagt har brug for en klar handlingsplan med målbare mål, målrettede tiltag og passende finansiering, som bør udarbejdes sammen med de lokale og regionale myndigheder, hvis Europa skal kunne håndtere klimakrisen. 

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.  

EU bør "hurtigst muligt" inddrage de lokale og regionale myndigheder i indsatsen mod desinformation, siger Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) i en rapport, der blev vedtaget den 5. december. EU's forsamling af lokale og regionale politikere opfordrer desuden EU til at lægge større pres på de sociale medieplatforme for at få dem til at reagere hurtigere, mere effektivt og mere hensigtsmæssigt på desinformation. 

Den Europæiske Unions partnerskab med seks lande ved Unionens grænse mod øst, herunder Ukraine, bør tildeles betydeligt flere midler i det næste årti, sagde Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg den 5. december i en række anbefalinger, hvor udvalget også opfordrer til, at EU arbejder hårdere for at udvide fordelene ved samarbejdet, så de rækker ud over de nationale hovedstæder. Blandt de mange konkrete forslag opfordres der til, at der oprettes et akademi til uddannelse af tjenestemænd hos lokale og regionale myndigheder, og der efterlyses mere støtte til lokale grænseoverskridende projekter. 

Lokale og regionale ledere har understreget over for Nicolas Schmit, den nye kommissær for beskæftigelse og sociale rettigheder, at EU er nødt til at fastsætte klare regler for platformsøkonomien for at garantere arbejdstagernes rettigheder og lige konkurrencevilkår mellem online og offline økonomiske aktiviteter i det indre marked. 

Handelskonflikten mellem EU og USA har ramt europæiske regionale landbrugsfødevarer hårdt. EU's byer og regioner har i en plenardebat udtrykt dyb bekymring over, at amerikansk told skader produktionssektorer, forstyrrer lokale økonomier og påvirker et stort antal familievirksomheder. Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) har tilsluttet sig den spanske delegations initiativ om at indarbejde en række appelsager om forskellige handelsaftaler i en udtalelse i maj 2020. Som reaktion på EU's støtte til Airbus har USA siden den 18. oktober 2019 pålagt told til en værdi af 6,9 mia. EUR på over 1.400 produkter. 

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. 

The potential of the rail sector in delivering EU policy priorities is the main topic and title of the opinion adopted by the members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) during their December plenary session. Pascal Mangin (FR/EPP), Regional Councillor of Grand Est, highlights in his opinion ways to make the transport sector greener by making better use of rail and how rail can contribute to greater economic and social cohesion in Europe's regions. 

​At a hearing held at the European Parliament on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Guillaume Cros (FR/PES), Vice-President of the Occitan Region and European Committee of the Regions rapporteur on the CAP, pointed out that according to the Court of Auditors report of 20 November, environmental aspects are not given sufficient weight among the many challenges to the future CAP that have been identified. The Committee of the Regions' recommendations also match the aims of the Green Deal announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

At its December plenary session, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion on a macro-regional strategy for the Carpathians, following an initiative by the Marshal of the Podkarpackie region Władysław Ortyl (PL/ECR). Putting in place a fifth macro-regional strategy would mean additional funding for all regions in the Carpathians, both EU and non-EU such as Ukraine, Serbia and Moldova.  

På en konference i dag roste den nye EU-kommissær for indre anliggender, Ylva Johansson, storbyer, mindre byer og landsbyer i hele EU for deres arbejde med at integrere flygtninge og indvandrere. Formand for Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, glædede sig over støtten og bemærkede, at der i forbindelse med migration i Europa er behov for "en mere retfærdig, pragmatisk og inklusiv tilgang, som støtter byerne og regionerne". 

Undersøgelsen fokuserer på de vigtigste frihandelsaftaler (dem, der er trådt i kraft, og dem, der er indgået, men endnu ikke trådt i kraft) og vil køre frem til midten af oktober. Resultaterne vil blive fremlagt på en workshop tilrettelagt af RU og Eurochambres i november 2019. Resultaterne af undersøgelsen vil også bidrage til en RU-udtalelse, som vil se nærmere på de overordnede udfordringer, som EU's handelspolitik står over for, og hvordan de offentlige myndigheder og SMV'erne kan udnytte og drage fordel af handelsaftaler.  

Den 4. december holder formanden for Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU), Karl-Heinz Lambertz, sin tredje tale om "Den Europæiske Unions tilstand – byernes og regionernes perspektiv" under en debat med Europa-Parlamentets formand, David Sassoli . Talen, der holdes i forbindelse med RU's 25-årsjubilæum, vil redegøre for regioner og byers forventninger til det nye EU-mandat. RU's medlemmer vil også drøfte, hvordan man kan styrke de sociale rettigheder med den nye kommissær Nicolas Schmit, og vedtage deres holdning til den europæiske grønne aftale efter en debat med ledende næstformand i Kommissionen Frans Timmermans. 

Brain drain and negative effects of demographic change have been key concerns for the SEDEC Commission of the European Committee of the Regions during the current mandate period, which is nearing its end. At its last meeting of the year on 27 November, SEDEC members adopted an opinion drafted by Emil Boc (RO/EPP), mayor of Cluj-Napoca, which urges to address the challenge of brain drain in coordination with all levels of government. Otherwise, "the phenomenon will have long-term and permanent effects on the future of the European Union", the draft opinion warns.