The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, and the Minister-President of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo, visited two projects in Mons and Charleroi co-financed by European structural funds in order to showcase the impact of European cohesion policy on the daily lives of citizens. 

The CoR has just launched a study on Digital Resilience, which will investigate the state of play of digital resilience across local and regional authorities (LRAs) from the EU27 countries and understand which solutions and funds are used at the subnational level to strengthen it. 

The CoR would like to inform its valued members that the URBACT call for Action Planning Networks is open. The URBACT call for Action Planning Networks offers cities the opportunity to work together and co-create integrated solutions to their urban challenges. 

Für die Hilfe, die sie Flüchtlingen an der Grenze zu Belarus geleistet hat, wurde die polnische Stadt Michałowo mit dem Paweł-Adamowicz-Preis ausgezeichnet. Der Preis wurde ins Leben gerufen, um das Vermächtnis der 20-jährigen Tätigkeit von Paweł Adamowicz als Bürgermeister von Danzig zu bewahren und zu fördern. Die Preisträger wurden am 13. Januar im Europäischen Solidaritätszentrum in Danzig bekannt gegeben, und die feierliche Verleihung an den Bürgermeister von Michałowo, Marek Nazarko, findet auf der Plenartagung des Europäischen Ausschusses der Regionen (AdR) am 8. Februar in Brüssel statt. 

​The European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) are taking part in this solidarity initiative by turning off the lights of the EESC-CoR buildings today 21 December between 20:00 – 21:00. We invite all regions and cities to switch off their festive lights tonight at 8 pm local time and join "The Hour for Ukraine". 

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Let´s shape EuroPCom 2023 together, with the help of your ideas! Let us know your proposals for session topics or suggestions for inspiring speakers! Please submit the filled in form by 20 January 2023! 

Since 1987, the Erasmus programme has been connecting people and regions in Europe and all around the world. These ties have boosted European identity and introduced young people to new cultures, languages and professional vocations. Speaking at the closing event of the 35th anniversary year, Tanya Hristova (BG/EPP), Chair of the European Committee of the Regions' SEDEC Commission, called for the European Commission to collaborate with regions and cities to ensure that people from all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and from all EU regions are able to benefit from the programme. 

While air and pesticides pollution have decreased in the EU, harmful noise, nutrient pollution and municipal waste have stalled. Much stronger action is needed if the EU is to achieve its 2030 pollution reduction targets. These are some of the conclusions of the first Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook Report, the main topic of the Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform conference that took place in Brussels on 14 December. The report provides a snapshot of pollution in the EU and includes guidelines to deliver the 2030 targets of the EU's Zero Pollution Action Plan.  

​Two key initiatives linked to the European Pillar of Social Rights were on the agenda of the SEDEC Commission's meeting of 12 December: one on the Council recommendation for adequate minimum income and the other on the proposal for a European Care Strategy. Members also adopted a set of recommendations for creating an enabling environment for the social economy and elected a new First Vice-Chair, Mayor of Alimos Andreas Kondylis (EL/Renew). 

Cities and regions should urgently consider donating power generators and heating equipment to Ukraine to cope with the worst of the winter, the European Commission and European Committee of the Regions have urged. The call was made in a letter sent on a day when the French government hosted an international con ference – "Standing with the Ukrainian people" – to gather aid to help Ukraine through the winter, as well as a bilateral conference for resilience and reconstruction with the Ukrainian government. 

Chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles, the Meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) was held on 12 December 2022 in Brussels, at the Council of the EU premises. Commissioner for Enlargement and neighbourhood policy Olivér Várhelyi made the opening speech. Ministers of foreign affairs or their deputies of all 27 EU Member States and the five participating Eastern partner countries (Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) took part. 

The Valea Jiului Development Society Project was announced as the winner of the sixth edition of the Transformative Action Award at a ceremony hosted by the European Committee of the Regions. The Romanian civil society coalition’s transformative action focuses on spearheading systemic change in the Jiu Valley, a former mining region, by strengthening local civil society, promoting sustainable development, fostering collaboration, and encouraging equitable investments. 

The CoR would like to inform its valued members that the application for the “European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award" is now open. Launched by the European Commission in 2021, this award is open to all local authorities in the EU who are building fairer societies by promoting diversity and inclusion in terms of: sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief , disability, age, LGBTIQ identity.  

In the context of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) that is taking place in Montreal, EU cities and regions are pushing for more ambitious biodiversity targets while calling for a formal recognition of subnational governments in protecting ecosystems and restoring natural habitats. Zero pollution and the outcomes of the UN climate talks (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh were additional items in the agenda of the ENVE commission meeting which also hosted the 2022 Transformative Action Award ceremony. 

On 9 December 2022, the recently agreed action plan 2022-2024 with Climate KIC was presented to the ENVE commission. The action plan was designed with the aim to facilitate cooperation between the CoR and Climate KIC and to promote their shared goals and objectives with respect to climate policies, biodiversity, regional development and citizens' engagement. 

Over the last decade, both EU bodies have successfully reduced consumption: -42% electricity, -54% gas, -58% water, -83% waste and -96% paper. In the context of the climate emergency, energy crisis and high inflation, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) have signed a new environmental commitment with concrete actions to reduce energy consumption, waste, pollution and to improve the overall environmental footprint of all their activities.  

​​​On 5th and 6th December, the CoR's Network of Regional Hubs (RegHub) met in Brussels to conduct one of its three annual workshops. This December workshop was particularly important because for the first time, the Network's contact points could attend a Fit for Future Platform (F4F) plenary in person, and see the two CoR-led opinions, to which they contributed, being adopted. Both F4F opinions – on the End-of-life vehicles Directive and the Governments Interoperability Strategy – were adopted by the Platform with unanimity. 

​​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Economic Policy ( ECON ) has adopted draft opinions on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, the review report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility as well as on the Single Market Emergency Instrument. On the same day, 7 December, a group of Czech glass producers also presented to ECON members crystal glasses from Bohemia, as an example of regional craft excellence that could be better protected through a new EU framework for geographical indications of industrial and craft products. The CoR has been calling since 2015 for the creation of the new system, which is built on a successful model used for agriculture and food. 

Die lokalen und regionalen Gebietskörperschaften setzen das EU-Recht in die Tat um. Daher ist ihre Rückmeldung darüber, wie die EU-Vorschriften vor Ort umgesetzt werden, um sie einfacher und unbürokratischer zu gestalten, von entscheidender Bedeutung: Dies war die Botschaft des AdR auf der Plenartagung der Fit for Future (F4F)-Plattform am 5. Dezember - ein von der Europäischen Kommission eingerichtetes Instrument für bessere und weniger belastende EU-Rechtsvorschriften. Zwei von den AdR-Mitgliedern Mark Speich (DE/EVP) und Anne Karjalainen (FI/PSE) erarbeitete Stellungnahmen zu Themen Interoperabilität von Datensystemen und klare Regeln für Altfahrzeuge wurden verabschiedet. 

Local leaders are worried that the new own resources proposed by the European Commission will not be enough to finance the EU's challenges and repay the debt generated by the Recovery Plan. 

Local and regional authorities can play a critical role in countering hate crime and hate speech, breaking down barriers to reporting incidents of hate crime, and preventing discrimination and exclusion. This is the key message delivered by the European Committee of the Regions during the 30 November plenary session, by adopting recommendations that support the European Commission's proposals to add hate speech and hate crime to the list of crimes recognised in EU policy.  

In der auf der Plenartagung am 30. November verabschiedeten Stellungnahme unterstützt der Europäische Ausschuss der Regionen (AdR) den Vorschlag der Europäischen Kommission, die drei Systeme für geografische Angaben (g.A.) zu einem einzigen System mit gemeinsamen Bestimmungen für landwirtschaftliche Erzeugnisse, Lebensmittel, Weine und Spirituosen zusammenzuführen. Der AdR begrüßt insbesondere die Übertragung eines Teils der Prüfung der Dossiers an das Amt der Europäischen Union für geistiges Eigentum (EUIPO), das über wirksame Instrumente verfügt, die von den Erzeugern geografischer Angaben zur Vereinfachung der Eintragungsverfahren, zur Verbesserung der Überwachung der geografischen Angaben und zur Betrugsbekämpfung genutzt werden können. 

Maßgeschneiderte Maßnahmen sind gefragt, wenn Inseln, ländliche Gebiete, Grenz- und Bergregionen lebenswert bleiben sowie Ungleichheiten bekämpft und geografische Nachteile ausgeglichen werden sollen. Das stellt der Europäische Ausschuss der Regionen (AdR) in einer Stellungnahme fest, die von der Präsidentin der korsischen Versammlung erarbeitet wurde. 

The European Committee of the Regions underlines in its opinion that the EU's ambitious innovation policy goals set in the New Innovation Agenda for Europe can only be achieved by reducing fragmentation among projects and stepping up cooperation in cities and regions between businesses, academia and regional and local authorities. Cities and regions also emphasise the need to set up ERA Hubs, as outlined by the Council of the EU one year ago, in order to speed up the emergence of competitive R&I ecosystems across the EU. 

Urban areas with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants house around 66% of Europe's urban dwellers and play an essential role in making the digital and green transitions happen. For this reason, in an opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions at the plenary session of 1 December, regional and local leaders demand targeted financial support for smaller urban areas to ensure a balanced territorial development. 

As inflation and high energy prices continue to mark the political agenda in the European Union, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) advocates for cities and regions, small businesses and households to have direct access to EU technical and financial support to tackle the energy crisis, help vulnerable households and move climate action forward. 

Die Verbesserung der staatsbürgerlichen Bildungsarbeit, die Senkung des Wahlalters und die Förderung der Kandidatur junger Menschen bei Wahlen, die Stärkung der EU-Jugendprogramme - dies sind einige der Empfehlungen der Charta für Jugend und Demokratie. Mit Unterstützung des Europäischen Ausschusses der Regionen (AdR) und des Europäischen Jugendforums wurde die Charta in einem Bottom-up-Prozess gemeinsam mit Vertretern von Jugendorganisationen und jungen gewählten Kommunal- und Regionalvertretern aus der ganzen EU erarbeitet und auf der AdR-Plenartagung am 1. Dezember während einer Debatte über die Jugend und die Zukunft Europas unterzeichnet. 

Der Europäische Ausschuss der Regionen (AdR) hat den Erwartungen der Bürgerinnen und Bürger Gehör geschenkt und geht nun den Vorschlägen der Konferenz zur Zukunft Europas aktiv nach, die ohne die tatkräftige Beteiligung der lokalen und regionalen Ebene nicht vollständig umgesetzt werden können. So lautet die Kernbotschaft der lokalen und regionalen Entscheidungsträger in der EU im Vorfeld der Veranstaltung, auf der die drei EU-Organe, die die Konferenz leiteten, öffentlich ihre Folgemaßnahmen zu den Vorschlägen erläutern werden. Die Ergebnisse der Konferenz für die lokale und regionale Ebene und in den jeweiligen Politikbereichen werden auch in einemjüngsten Bericht des Europäischen Ausschusses der Regionen dargelegt. In einer Erklärung betont die Delegation des AdR und der europäischen Verbände der lokalen und regionalen Gebietskörperschaften, dass die Städte und Regionen auch künftig in dieses neue Kapitel europäischer Demokratie einbezogen werden müssen. 

Europäische Städte, Regionen und Gemeinden, die ihre Strategie und ihre Erfahrungen bei der Förderung eines nachhaltigen Wachstums vorstellen, austauschen und ergänzen möchten, können sich nun für die vom Europäischen Ausschuss der Regionen (AdR) vergebene Auszeichnung „Europäische Unternehmerregion“ 2024 bewerben. Im Rahmen des übergeordneten Themas „Städte und Regionen auf dem Weg zu nachhaltigem, widerstandsfähigem und digitalem Wachstum“ sollen 2024 vor allem Regionen und Städte für Maßnahmen ausgezeichnet werden, die den grünen und den digitalen Wandel von KMU in den kommenden zwei Jahren unterstützen und dabei die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und langfristige Resilienz der lokalen Wirtschaft stärken. Die lokalen und regionalen Gebietskörperschaften können ihre Strategien bis zum 29. März 2023 einreichen. 

Loïg Chesnais-Girard, President of the Brittany region and rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions on the opinion "Regional adaptation strategies for low carbon agriculture", commented the European Commission's announcement of an EU framework for the certification of carbon removal. 

Auf der Plenartagung des Europäischen Ausschusses der Regionen (AdR) am 30. November verabschiedeten die Mitglieder eine Stellungnahme zum Thema „EU-Strategie für nachhaltige und kreislauffähige Textilien“. Berichterstatter für diese Stellungnahme war der Präsident der Provinz Lucca Luca Menesini (IT/SPE). Der AdR begrüßt, dass bis spätestens Januar 2025 eine getrennte Sammlung von Textilabfällen eingeführt werden muss. Er fordert allerdings, dass im Zuge der für 2024 geplanten Überarbeitung der EU-Abfallrahmenrichtlinie spezifische Zielvorgaben bezüglich der Vermeidung, der Wiederverwendung und des Recyclings von Textilabfällen gemacht werden.Die Produktion in der Textil-, Bekleidungs-, Leder- und Schuhindustrie hat sich zwischen 2000 und 2015 verdoppelt. Die Branche ist für 10 % der weltweiten CO2-Emissionen verantwortlich – mehr als der internationale Luft- und Seeverkehr und zusammen. 

Das Engagement der Europäischen Union, Fachkräfte aus Drittländern anzuziehen, sollte in jeder Phase des Migrationsprozesses deutlich werden, so der Europäische Ausschuss der Regionen in einer Stellungnahme, in der er festhält, dass Städte der EU und den Mitgliedstaaten dabei helfen können, die legale Migration besser zu steuern. In den Empfehlungen heißt es ferner, dass der Krieg in der Ukraine vor Augen geführt hat, wie wichtig eine schnellere Anerkennung der Qualifikationen von Flüchtlingen ist, zumal dies für deren Integration und die lokale Wirtschaft von entscheidender Bedeutung ist. 

Der Krieg Russlands gegen die Ukraine bedroht die weltweite Lebensmittelversorgung und hat die Agrarmärkte weiter destabilisiert und die ohnehin schon hohen Preise für Lebens- und Futtermittel, Energie und Düngemittel in die Höhe getrieben; hinzu kommen bereits bestehende Unterbrechungen der Lebensmittelversorgungsketten durch Pandemien und die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise. Vor diesem Hintergrund erörterten die AdR-Mitglieder auf der Plenartagung am 30. November mit EU-Agrarkommissar Janusz Wojciechowski und der Europaabgeordneten Marlene Mortler, wie das europäische Lebensmittelsystem nachhaltiger gestaltet und auf künftige Krisen vorbereitet werden kann. 

Following the first political meeting of the Alliance on 29 November, members from both European and Ukrainian cities and regions adopted the following joint view on the urgent need to stand by Ukraine, by providing emergency support. 

The Presidents of the European Committee of the Regions and of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe have warned that local and regional governments are struggling to cope with the series of crises that have rocked the continent since 2020. 

Today, the European Committee of the Regions hosted the launch of the pilot project “Monitoring the SDGs in the EU regions - Filling the data gaps - REGIONS2030", aiming at providing a framework for regions to monitor the SDGs in their territory. The project was initiated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with EC’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy and Eurostat, with the support of the European Parliament and the CoR, proposed by MEP Petros Kokkalis in 2021, and approved by the European Commission in 2022. 

The European Committee of the Regions joins Orange The World to show European cities and regions' commitment to stop this violation of women's rights. By designing safer public spaces for women, opening women's shelters, or mainstreaming gender equality across all policies, we make concrete efforts to put an end to the violence that still affects so many women and girls in the EU. 

At the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions on 30 November and 1 December, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Marian Jurečka, will address the consequences for European households of the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture, will discuss the war's impact on European food security. 

On 24 November 2022, ARLEM vice-president Mark Speich, State Secretary for Federal, European and International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), addressed the co-presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean and ministers of foreign affairs at the UfM Seventh Regional Forum held as part of the celebrations for the Day of the Mediterranean of 28 November. 

On the occasion of NAT's 15th Commission meeting on 22 November, representatives from the European Commission's DG AGRI, Silvia Michelini, DG RTD, Peter Wehrheim and Roman Brenne, JRC, Marios Avraamides, and of the European Forest Institute, Inazio Martinez de Arano, were invited to participate in a debate with NAT's members on the Bioeconomy. 

​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget ( COTER ) debated on local and regional experiences in facing the current energy crisis during the meeting on 23 November. Members also adopted the opinion on "Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU's outermost regions", drafted by Pedro de Faria e Castro (PT/EPP). 

Reaktion der Mitglieder der #CohesionAlliance, eines EU-weiten Bündnisses, dem sich 12 000 Unterzeichner angeschlossen haben, die sich für eine stärkere Kohäsionspolitik einsetzen, auf die Schlussfolgerungen zur Kohäsionspolitik, die heute auf der Tagung des Rates (Allgemeine Angelegenheiten) angenommen wurden 

​The implementation of Just Transition Plans must be fast-tracked in all Member States 

​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Natural Resources (NAT) met on 22 November to discuss and adopt opinions on "Regional adaptation strategies for low carbon agriculture" drafted by Loïg Chesnais/Girard (FR/PES) – President of the Brittany Region and on "the European Health Data Space" led by Daniela Cimpean (RO/EPP) – President of Sibiu County Council. They also exchanged views on "Sustainable use of pesticides" – rapporteur Heinz-Joachim Höfer (DE/PES). 

​​COP27 climate talks reached its conclusions on Sunday 20 November after two weeks of negotiations. During the closing plenary, Vincent Chauvet (FR/Renew Europe), Mayor of Autun and member of the European Committee of the Regions, took the floor as the representative of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency to the United Nations. You can watch his address here (4:44:16 to 4:47:10). Read here a COP27 negotiations wrap up from the LGMA constituency. 

The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) between the European Committee of the Regions and North Macedonia will hold its twentieth meeting on 24 November 2022 in Skopje. This jubilar meeting is the first fully in person in this EU candidate country after the break caused by COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first JCC meeting after the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia. In addition to the discussion of the country's EU accession process, the meeting will discuss the ongoing energy crisis, caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine, that is hitting Macedonian municipalities hard. 

The twelfth day of COP27 marked another important step for the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) delegation to Sharm el-Sheikh, where delegates participated to the first-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change, convened by the COP27 Egyptian Presidency. Delegates continued to contribute to events organised by global and European partners, highlighting the importance of local and regional action in the encouraging climate commitments, enabling public-private cooperation, managing air quality, promoting a fair green skills agenda and leading by example on the road towards climate neutrality. 

​​The future of Europe's democratic development, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and threats to media freedoms dominated the agenda when members of the CIVEX commission of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) met on 17 November.  

The EWWR is a leading international campaign promoting waste prevention during a single week in November. It brings together participants from various backgrounds and sectors – schools, public administrations, companies, NGOs but also citizens – to organise awareness-raising actions at different levels: local, regional, national, and even international. The objective of these actions is to change the behaviour surrounding consumption and production patterns and waste generation habits with the aim of contributing to reaching waste reduction and climate neutrality targets.