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%. 

While the climate emergency is still very much a pressing matter, the path towards carbon neutrality must take into account the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis and the specific features of each region. Against this backdrop, rapporteur and Mayor of Autun Vincent Chauvet presented an opinion in today's plenary session that sets out the European Committee of the Regions' positions and demands regarding climate change in view of COP26, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, which will take place in November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. 

The work of the European Commission's Fit for Future Platform (F4F) has taken on speed and its subgroups and experts are about to carry out consultations on selected EU legislation in order to check whether it is futureproof and fit for purpose. 

En vellykket omlægning af den europæiske transportsektor, så den bliver mere bæredygtig, kræver, at byer og regioner i EU i højere grad prioriterer at fremme emissionsfri mobilitet og aktiv deletransport, omlægge mobiliteten i byerne og skabe bedre forbindelser i og til landdistrikter. Disse forslag kommer fra en udtalelse om strategien for intelligent og bæredygtig mobilitet, som blev fremlagt af ordføreren Robert van Asten (NL/RE) og vedtaget af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) på plenarforsamlingen onsdag den 30. juni. 

EU har brug for en "ny demokratisk infrastruktur" for at sikre frie og retfærdige valg, forbedre mediepluralismen og fremme borgernes engagement, lød det fra Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg den 30. juni. I en række anbefalinger, der skal styrke demokratiet, ligestillingen og respekten for menneskerettighederne, understregede de kommunale og regionale ledere, at de subnationale myndigheder kan spille en vigtig rolle i indsatsen for at fremme mediekendskab, kritisk tænkning og gennemsigtighed i politiske kampagner samt støtte borgernes deltagelse i politik. 

The European Union should make improving the health of the Mediterranean Sea one of the priorities of its cooperation with countries in its southern neighbourhood, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has said in recommendations that also praise the EU for making support for youth entrepreneurship central to its new strategy for the region.  

De europæiske lokale og regionale ledere opfordrer til, at FN's mål for bæredygtig udvikling igen sættes øverst på EU's dagsorden og opfordrer EU-institutionerne og medlemsstaterne til at sikre, at de bliver gennemført senest i 2030. I en udtalelse , som blev vedtaget af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalgs (RU) plenarforsamling i dag, fremhæver udvalget, at covid-19-pandemien har påvist vigtigheden af bæredygtig udvikling, og at målene for bæredygtig udvikling kan bidrage til, at vi bevæger os mod en sammenhængende, helhedsorienteret vision for Next Generation EU . En nylig RU-undersøgelse påpeger imidlertid, at der mangler en eksplicit og klar henvisning til FN's mål for bæredygtig udvikling i mange nationale genopretnings- og resiliensplaner. 

In a bid to put cross-border cooperation back at the top of the EU's policy agenda, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted a resolution today calling on the European Commission to present a proposal for maintaining cross-border cooperation and cross-border life in the event of future crises. The resolution contains multiple proposals to improve cross-border cooperation and calls on the European Commission to follow up on already existing legislation and treaties, whose implementation could often still be improved. The future of cross-border cooperation will be further discussed during an event organised by the CoR, together with other key European partners, on 5 July. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted its proposals on climate adaptation in the opinion Forging a climate-resilient Europe - the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. The CoR calls for demand-based policies, market incentives, carbon footprints and handprints in public procurement criteria and to accelerate cooperation with academia and businesses to boost broad-scale innovation, sustainable products, services and nature-based solutions. Despite net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 estimated to drop 35% below 1990 levels, the economic rebound from the COVID-19 risks bringing emissions back up. Around 40% of EU cities with more than 150 000 inhabitants have adopted climate adaptation plans.  

The European energy infrastructure update and expansion is a key enabler for the green energy transition and must be consistent with the Green Deal objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, last December 2020 the European Commission adopted a proposal to revise the 2013 Trans-European Energy Infrastructure Regulation (TEN-E). In an opinion drafted by the rapporteur Robert Sorin Negoiță (RO/PES) and discussed today, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the European Commission to ensure that the new regulation takes into account the needs and specificities of EU regions and that it stimulates sustainable energy security, market integration, fair competition, diversification of energy supply and affordable energy for all.  

As Europe's population is ageing, the need for care services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. In an opinion drafted by Heinrich Dorner (AT/PES), Member of the State Government of Burgenland, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the European Commission to support cities and regions in addressing care worker shortages and highlights that family members – most often women – carrying out informal care work need adequate social rights and protection. 

The European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) discussed the role of cities and regions in reinforcing the resilience of critical entities during its plenary session on 1 July. To ensure a comprehensive approach, each Member State should have a strategy prepared in cooperation with local and regional authorities, setting out objectives and policy measures based on an assessment of all natural and man-made risks that may affect the provision of essential services. 

Mange regionale lufthavne kæmper for at komme ud af de økonomiske trængsler, der er en følge af pandemien, og derfor vedtog Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) den 1. juli en udtalelse, som opfordrer Europa-Kommissionen til at udvikle mere fleksible og effektive regler for offentlig støtte, der giver medlemsstaterne mulighed for at yde økonomisk støtte til regionale lufthavne. I udtalelsen , som er udarbejdet af Wladyslaw Ortyl (PL/ECR), understreger RU også, at den økonomisk støtte skal investeres i at gøre lufthavnene mere bæredygtige for at bidrage til at nå målene i den europæiske grønne pagt. 

Covid-19-krisen understreger behovet for at koble EU's politiske beslutningsproces sammen med lokalsamfundenes behov gennem den vigtige rolle, som de lokalvalgte politikere spiller. Det er det budskab, som medlemmerne af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg i dag sendte til Kommissionens næstformand Maroš Šefčovič. Under en plenardebat gentog de lokale og regionale ledere deres tilsagn om at forbedre EU - lovgivningen ved at bidrage til Fit for Future-platformen (F4F) . I en resolution med forslag til Kommissionens arbejdsprogram for 2022 opfordrer RU's medlemmer Kommissionen til at sørge for, at de lokale og regionale myndigheder inddrages i gennemførelsen af de nationale genopretnings- og resiliensplaner for at sikre, at konsekvenserne af pandemien håndteres effektivt på lokalt plan. De opfordrer også til en forlængelse af de utroligt vigtige fleksibilitetsforanstaltninger, som blev indført for at mobilisere de europæiske struktur- og investeringsfonde under covid-19-krisen. 

De regionale og lokale folkevalgte politikere, der i EU repræsenteres af RU, og medlemmerne af Europa - Parlamentet, som er den eneste EU-institution, hvis medlemmer vælges direkte af borgerne, bør gå sammen inden for rammerne af konferencen om Europas fremtid. Deres fælles mål bør være at realisere borgernes ønske om et EU, der er tættere på dem, respekterer nærhedsprincippet og ser fremad, når det gælder om at håndtere nye udfordringer på globalt og lokalt plan. Det er det budskab, som RU-medlemmerne deler på RU's 145. plenarforsamling med Guy Verhofstadt, Manfred Weber og Iratxe Garcia Perez – de tre repræsentanter for Europa-Parlamentet i konferencens bestyrelse. De tre MEP'er understregede, at RU's medlemmer er stærke allierede i en bred, reelt inkluderende, gennemsigtig, geografisk og politisk afbalanceret debat om Europas fremtid. 

The publication of the long-term vision for rural areas by the European Commission is a major success for the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), which has been asking for a rural agenda since 2016. Local leaders welcome the proposal of a Rural Pact and Action Plan setting objectives and reinforcing the political ownership for investment on sustainable rural developments. The CoR appreciates the long-term vision of rural areas in all their diversity and the effort to revitalise them in a way that goes beyond agriculture and considers every policy area through the rural lens. As foreseen in the Commission's proposal, the Committee is ready to promote the mobilisation of local communities in the implementation of the rural action plan and vision. At the same time, the CoR demands that EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is coordinated not only with cohesion policy but also with the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg øger sit engagement i EU's omfattende lovgivningsprojekt, som skal styrke den demokratiske kontrol med dominerende internetplatforme og genoprette en onlineøkonomi med lige vilkår, som fungerer for både SMV'er og de enkelte forbrugere. På plenarforsamlingen i juni vedtog udvalgets medlemmer en udtalelse , som bakker op om Kommissionens plan om en strammere regulering af digitale markeder og tjenesteydelser, og fremhævede samtidig de innovationer og kompetencer, som byerne og regionerne kan bidrage med for at sikre en forsvarlig og effektiv regulering. RU's udtalelse om lovgivningspakken om digitale tjenester indgår i et bredere net af initiativer, som skal skærpe RU's profil som en af EU's drivkræfter for en inklusiv og digital omstilling. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg og Europa-Kommissionen vil udvikle fælles projekter, der skal understøtte undervisningen i EU-værdier i skolerne med hjælp fra regionale og lokale myndigheder. Det skal ske på frivillig basis. Under en plenardebat med Margaritis Schinas, Kommissionens næstformand med ansvar for fremme af vores europæiske levevis, understregede de regionale og lokale ledere også, at uddannelsessystemerne fuldt ud skal respektere og fremme frihed, lighed, tolerance og ikkeforskelsbehandling. De fremhævede desuden, at undervisning om Den Europæiske Union, dens værdier, kulturarv og mangfoldighed er helt afgørende og skal tilbydes overalt, til alle aldersgrupper og til hver eneste EU-borger. 

​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. 

When migrants move, it is overwhelmingly to cities that they come. Migrant integration happens in cities, and it is overseen by local governments. EUROCITIES recently published its fourth Integrating Cities Report which gives a direct insight into how cities are integrating migrants today. It is now available to read in full here. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg åbner sammen med netværket International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) og byen Gdańsk op for indstillinger til 2021-udgaven af borgmester Paweł Adamowicz-prisen for udvist mod og særligt engagement inden for fremme af frihed, solidaritet og ligestilling. 

A large number of citizens and experts took part on 23 June in "Towards a multimodal Adriatic-Ionian major line with multiple connections to the Tyrrhenian coast", an event staged by the Abruzzo Region in collaboration with the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) as part of the European Year of Rail 2021. Connecting from L'Aquila and Brussels, speakers included president of the Abruzzo Region and CoR member Marco Marsilio; Portugal's secretary of state for infrastructure, Jorge Delgado on the outlook for the Portuguese Council presidency; the director for Investment, Innovative & Sustainable Transport at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), Herald Ruijters; and Italy's deputy minister for infrastructure and sustainable transport, Alessandro Morelli. 

Three vice-presidents of the European Commission will address the European Committee of the Regions on 30 June, discussing efforts to strengthen and deepen democracy, build inclusive societies, and improve EU legislation. Vice-President Věra Jourová will present the European Democracy Action Plan to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies, Vice-President Margaritis Schinas will highlight the role of education and culture in protecting the European way of life, while Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič will set out the European Commission's work programme as well as the Commission's efforts to embed strategic foresight into its work. Members of the CoR will also discuss the Conference on the Future of Europe with the three MEPs leading the work of the European Parliament in the EU-wide consultation. 

​​​​​​​The webinar looked at the state of digital transformation in European regions, taking stock of the latest research showing an increasing digital divide across European regions and urban-rural communities. Invited speakers shared their views on how public authorities at all levels can facilitate the digital transition of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), showcasing some best practices and collaboration initiatives from the European Entrepreneurial Regions. 

On 13 July 2021, the CoR, in cooperation with the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will hold the Enlargement Day.  

​​​Local communities' needs will weigh more in the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) investment decisions and regions will be among leading actors in shaping, implementing and assessing the national CAP strategic plans. This crucial result was achieved thanks to the work of the CoR, its intense cooperation with the European Parliament and – more recently - with the EU Commission. Regional and local leaders are ready to use the new CAP to deliver the Green Deal on the ground but urge Member States to set adequate rules to make this happen.  

Alt imens EU's stats- og regeringschefer mødes i Bruxelles for at gøre status over den økonomiske genopretning, løfter en ny undersøgelse , bestilt af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU), sløret for den manglende inddragelse af lokale og regionale myndigheder i udarbejdelsen og gennemførelsen af nationale genopretnings- og resiliensplaner. Undersøgelsen blev præsenteret på et møde i RU's Underudvalg for Økonomisk Politik (ECON) . Medlemmerne af ECON-underudvalget har også givet udtryk for alvorlig bekymring over, at planerne ikke har tilstrækkelig fokus på territoriale forskelle, og at utilstrækkelig koordinering med samhørighedspolitikken giver risiko for overlappende fonde. 

The President of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, has received the International Medal of the Community of Madrid in recognition of his "unconditional support" to the region, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

​​Jari Andersson, member of Sastamala City Council (FI/EPP) has drafted an opinion for the European Committee of the Regions on the EU strategy on the rights of the child and the European Child Guarantee. Mr Andersson's opinion was adopted on Wednesday at the meeting of the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) of the CoR. 

There are early signs that changes aimed at making the process of accession to the European Union more dynamic and predictable are yielding results, with local and regional leaders, Serbia's EU ambassador and the European Commission detecting a "new momentum" in the past year.  

Regional leaders from Turkey and the European Union have expressed some optimism that the strains in the relationship between Turkey and the European Union may ease and that a more productive period of contacts and collaboration is possible, with economic sustainability a central theme. 

Albanian municipalities are increasingly focused on improving their capacity to absorb European Union money and implement EU-related reforms, political leaders and government officials said as a meeting with the European Committee of the Regions on 17 June. There were, however, warnings about a continuing imbalance between the level of responsibility they have been given by central government and the funding available to them. 

Montenegro must overcome a period of political tension and administrative disruption and "do its homework" on issues related to the rule of law if it is to maintain the pace of its bid to join the European Union, local and regional leaders from Montenegro were told at a meeting and the European Committee of the Regions on 10 June. 

Over 80 young local and regional young elected politicians (YEPs) from 21 European countries participated in an info session organized by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the implementation of the Renovation Wave at the local level . They engaged in a debate with the CoR member Rafal Trzaskowski, representatives of the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) from the CoR, the Covenant of Mayors Initiative, the European Investment Bank, the European Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the European City Facility Initiative, who provided them with the key information, tools and financial support opportunities to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.  

A joint survey of the European Committee of the Regions and the OECD  

The EU’s pilot initiative “Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainability" (S4) was launched in Seville today by the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Director for Growth and Innovation of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Mikel Landabaso. The initiative represents a voluntary update to the Smart Specialisation Strategies, with a stronger focus on sustainability. The JRC and CoR will cooperate on the piloting of S4 methodology in more than ten regions in Europe. 

The full respect of the "partnership principle" and its implementation under the new instruments financed by Next Generation EU, such as the Just Transition Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, are among the main requests included in the opinion adopted today by the members of the European Committee of the Region’s (CoR) Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER). Members were also briefed on the progress of the European Year of Rail and exchanged views on an opinion about the gender dimension of structural and cohesion funds 2021-2027. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) endorsed today the official launch of the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness and signed the Lisbon Declaration, which sets the target of eradicating homelessness in Europe by 2030. The SEDEC Commission Chair Anne Karjalainen, who represented the CoR in the high-level conference and official signing, highlighted the importance of successful regional and local approaches to tackle the phenomenon which currently affects an estimated 700 000 people in Europe.  

The Green Deal Going Local working group of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) held its sixth meeting today with the green recovery as its top priority. Members discussed the importance of involving local and regional authorities in the implementation phase of the national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs) which will support the European green transition in the next years. The meeting took place while the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen continues her tour through the EU capitals to hand over the endorsement of NRRPs to European leaders, and "make" the recovery "real".  

 

Baseline survey on how cities, towns and rural areas across Europe approach digital innovation launched today 

As bolstering sustainable economic development remains one of the three priorities of ARLEM, the Assembly continues to be invested in supporting young entrepreneurs. After what is now the third successful edition of the ARLEM Award – Young local entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean, the 2022 edition just opened for applications. Once more, we encourage young entrepreneurs (up to 35 years old) from the Mediterranean region to showcase their successful cooperation with their local and regional authorities. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalgs (RU's) delegation til konferencen om Europas fremtid mødtes i dag for at forberede sit bidrag til den konstituerende plenarforsamling på konferencen om Europas fremtid , der finder sted i Strasbourg den 19. juni. De delegerede ønsker at udnytte de muligheder, som konferencen giver for at styrke Den Europæiske Unions demokratiske dimension og genoprette borgernes tillid til det europæiske projekt. RU er i sin egenskab af det repræsentative EU-organ, der forvaltningsmæssigt er tættest på borgerne, fast besluttet på at inddrage de lokale og regionale myndigheder i konferencen. 

The second 2021 Broadband Platform meeting brought together members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) with European Commission experts and a Portuguese Presidency of the Council representative – giving them the occasion to exchange on the latest developments concerning key European initiatives in the field and to discuss critical challenges around the empirical measurement of digitalisation progress. The Broadband Platform's main objective is to accelerate the deployment of high-speed broadband across all European regions, including rural and sparsely populated areas where there is not enough market-driven infrastructure development.