Adapting food policy to increase the EU's self-sufficiency is essential in face of climate crisis and war in Ukraine. Russia's attempt to conquer Ukraine and the unfolding climate crisis should accelerate further far-reaching changes in the European Union's food-security policies, leading to changes in production, supply, and regulation, local and regional leaders agreed at a conference co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Polish region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region on 2 June.  

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission jointly held the sixth meeting of the Broadband Platform on 25 May. Members learnt about the latest policy initiatives on digital transformation, such as the European Commission's proposal on Gigabit Infrastructure, the proposal on the Cyber Solidarity Act and discussed challenges and opportunities linked to connectivity, digital resilience and a digital maturity assessment for cities, villages and regions in Europe.  

Important role of local government in reconstruction in spotlight ahead of international Ukraine Recovery Conference. The governments of Ukraine, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and representatives of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, the European Commission and the OECD have agreed that continuing Ukraine's pre-war efforts to decentralise government will help to bolster Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction and to drive forward its ambition to join the EU. 

​At a joint debate at the Committee of the Regions' Plenary sitting, the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, and the newly elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Röpke, underlined their joint commitment for a social Europe that leaves no one behind, ahead of their participation in the Porto Social Forum on Saturday, 27 May, Portugal. 

Zwei Jahre nach seiner Verabschiedung ist klar, dass der mehrjährige Finanzrahmen (MFR) 2021-27 der Europäischen Union keine ausreichenden Antworten auf aktuelle Krisen wie die Folgen der russischen Invasion in der Ukraine, die hohe Inflation und den starken Anstieg der Energiekosten bietet. Die von der Europäischen Kommission für den 20. Juni 2023 vorgesehene Halbzeitüberprüfung des langfristigen Haushaltsplans sollte sich daher an den Bedürfnissen der Regionen und Städte vor Ort orientieren und den wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und territorialen Zusammenhalt fördern. Dies sind die wichtigsten Forderungen, die die Mitglieder des Europäischen Ausschusses der Regionen (AdR) während einer Plenardebatte mit prominenten Mitgliedern des Europäischen Parlaments erhoben haben und die in einer am 24. Mai verabschiedeten Stellungnahme enthalten sind. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has thanked cities and regions in the European Union for giving shelter to Ukrainians following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He also urged the EU's cities and regions to join the work of ensuring an "effective recovery of Ukraine", saying that "we will recover every ruin that russia brought with its war… to show that our strength – the strength of our Europe – is obvious".