​The European Union's efforts to reduce its reliance on Russia for energy will feature prominently at a meeting of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 8-9 February, with a resolution focused on the challenges facing EU cities and regions. 

Two sets of recommendations – on the future of the Eastern Partnership and media freedom – won preliminary support from members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 1 February. Both opinions secured strong backing at a meeting of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) and are now poised for adoption at the CoR's plenary on 15-16 March. 

Short-term accommodation rentals represent nearly one-third of the total EU supply of tourist accommodation, and this has been boosted by the rise of online platforms. During a debate promoted by the Commission for Natural Resources of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), local and regional leaders discussed the implications of a trend that, over the years, has created opportunities for travellers, SMEs and local economies, especially in rural areas, but has also raised concerns in big European cities facing excessive tourism flows and a growing demand for affordable housing. 

The Fit for Future (F4F) Platform plenary– an evaluation tool established by the European Commission for better and less burdensome EU legislation - met on 27 January to discuss and adopt its 2023 work programme. Two opinions out of eight that were retained to be analysed in 2023 in view of the revision of the EU legislation will be drafted by CoR members Anne Karjalainen (FI/PSE) and Michiel Rijsberman (NL/Renew Europe), respectively on the review of the EU Directive 2014/24/EU of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and on the Digital Europe programme. Both topics were ranked as high priorities by the F4F platform participants and are of great relevance for local and regional authorities. 

The benefits and potential pitfalls of short-term rentals were the main topics of debate at the meeting of the European Committee of the Regions' commission for Natural Resources (NAT) on 31 January. A lively debate including local representatives, MEPs and representatives from the short-term rental sector concluded that while there were clear benefits to the local economy of these rentals, more regulation was needed to ensure local accommodation needs are prioritised. 

​​2023 is the European Year of Skills during which the European Commission will shine light on what is done to support training and lifelong learning. Up-skilling however is not a panacea to all forms of unemployment and today's interviewe​e Yonnec Polet (BE/PES) holds that a reallocation of public resources is necessary to create employment where the market otherwise won't. 

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. 

The municipality of Michałowo in Poland has been honoured with the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award for the help it has provided refugees at the border with Belarus. The award, which was created to promote the legacy built up by Paweł Adamowicz during his 20 years as mayor of Gdańsk, was announced at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk on 13 January and will be presented to the Mayor of Michałowo Marek Nazarko at the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 8 February. 

​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.  

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. 

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.  

Στη γνωμοδότησή της που εγκρίθηκε στη σύνοδο ολομέλειάς της στις 30 Νοεμβρίου, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) υποστηρίζει την πρόταση της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής να συγχωνευθούν τα τρία συστήματα γεωγραφικών ενδείξεων σε ένα ενιαίο σύστημα, με κοινές διατάξεις για τα γεωργικά προϊόντα, τα τρόφιμα, τους οίνους και τα αλκοολούχα ποτά. Η ΕτΠ επικροτεί όλως ιδιαιτέρως την ανάθεση μέρους της διεκπεραίωσης των φακέλων στο Γραφείο Διανοητικής Ιδιοκτησίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (EUIPO), το οποίο διαθέτει αποτελεσματικά εργαλεία που μπορούν να τεθούν στην υπηρεσία των παραγωγών προϊόντων με γεωγραφική ένδειξη για την απλούστευση των διαδικασιών καταχώρισης, τη βελτίωση του ελέγχου των γεωγραφικών ενδείξεων και την καταπολέμηση της απάτης. 

Οι νησιωτικές, οι αγροτικές, οι παραμεθόριες και οι ορεινές περιοχές χρειάζονται ειδικά προσαρμοσμένα μέτρα για να παραμείνουν ελκυστικές, να αντιμετωπίσουν τις ανισότητες και να αντισταθμίσουν, ως εκ τούτου, τα γεωγραφικά τους μειονεκτήματα, επισημαίνει η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) σε γνωμοδότηση που εκπόνησε η πρόεδρος της περιφερειακής συνέλευσης της Κορσικής. 

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. 

Ενίσχυση της αγωγής του πολίτη, μείωση της ηλικίας ψήφου και στήριξη των νέων για την υποβολή υποψηφιότητας στις εκλογές, θέσπιση μόνιμων μηχανισμών διαβούλευσης με τους νέους, διερεύνηση της επίδρασης κάθε νέας νομοθεσίας στους νέους, ενίσχυση των προγραμμάτων της ΕΕ για τη νεολαία· αυτές είναι ορισμένες από τις συστάσεις του Χάρτη για τη Νεολαία και τη Δημοκρατία. Με την υποστήριξη της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) και του Ευρωπαϊκού Φόρουμ Νεολαίας, ο Χάρτης συνδημιουργήθηκε σύμφωνα με διαδικασία από τη βάση προς την κορυφή, από κοινού με εκπροσώπους οργανώσεων νεολαίας και νέους αιρετούς τοπικούς και περιφερειακούς εκπροσώπους από ολόκληρη την ΕΕ, και υπογράφηκε στη σύνοδο ολομέλειας της ΕτΠ την 1η Δεκεμβρίου κατά τη διάρκεια συζήτησης για τη νεολαία και το μέλλον της Ευρώπης. 

Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών άκουσε τις προσδοκίες των πολιτών και παρακολουθεί εκ του σύνεγγυς τις προτάσεις της Διάσκεψης για το μέλλον της Ευρώπης, οι οποίες δεν μπορούν να υλοποιηθούν πλήρως χωρίς την ενεργό συμμετοχή του τοπικού και του περιφερειακού επιπέδου. Αυτό είναι το βασικό μήνυμα των τοπικών και των περιφερειακών ηγετών της ΕΕ πριν από την εκδήλωση κατά την οποία τα τρία θεσμικά όργανα της ΕΕ που ηγούνται της Διάσκεψης θα παρουσιάσουν στους πολίτες τον τρόπο με τον οποίο δίνουν συνέχεια στις προτάσεις τους. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών επισημαίνει επίσης τα επιτεύγματά της σε τοπικό και περιφερειακό επίπεδο και σε όλους τους τομείς πολιτικής στην τελευταία της έκθεση. Σε δήλωσή της, η αντιπροσωπεία της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών και των ευρωπαϊκών ενώσεων τοπικών και περιφερειακών αρχών τονίζει την ανάγκη περαιτέρω συμμετοχής των δήμων και των περιφερειών σε αυτό το νέο κεφάλαιο για την ευρωπαϊκή δημοκρατία. 

Οι πόλεις, οι περιφέρειες και οι δήμοι της Ευρώπης που επιθυμούν να αναδείξουν, να μοιραστούν και να εμπλουτίσουν τη στρατηγική και την εμπειρία τους όσον αφορά την προώθηση της βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης μπορούν να υποβάλουν τώρα υποψηφιότητα για το βραβείο «Ευρωπαϊκή Επιχειρηματική Περιφέρεια» (ΕΕΠ) του 2024 που προωθεί η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ). Με γενικό θέμα «Πόλεις και περιφέρειες σε πορεία προς μια βιώσιμη, ανθεκτική και ψηφιακή ανάπτυξη», το βραβείο ΕΕΠ 2024 θα αναδείξει τοπικές και περιφερειακές δράσεις που θα στηρίξουν, κατά την επόμενη διετία, την πράσινη και την ψηφιακή μετάβαση των ΜΜΕ, ενισχύοντας την ανταγωνιστικότητα και τη μακροπρόθεσμη ανθεκτικότητα των τοπικών οικονομιών τους. Οι τοπικές και οι περιφερειακές αρχές μπορούν να υποβάλουν τις στρατηγικές τους έως τις 29 Μαρτίου 2023. 

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. 

The textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industry has an annual turnover of €195 billion, employs more than 2 million workers and encompasses more than 220 600 businesses in EU 

Η προσήλωση της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης στην προσέλκυση ειδικευμένου εργατικού δυναμικού από τρίτες χώρες θα πρέπει να είναι εμφανής σε κάθε στάδιο της μεταναστευτικής διαδικασίας, αναφέρει η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών σε γνωμοδότηση που υποστηρίζει ότι οι δήμοι μπορούν να βοηθήσουν την ΕΕ και τα κράτη μέλη της να βελτιώσουν τη διαχείριση της νόμιμης μετανάστευσης. Στις συστάσεις υποστηρίζεται επίσης ότι ο πόλεμος στην Ουκρανία ανέδειξε την ανάγκη να επιταχυνθεί η αναγνώριση των δεξιοτήτων των προσφύγων –ζήτημα ζωτικής σημασίας για την ένταξή τους και για τις τοπικές οικονομίες. 

Ο πόλεμος της Ρωσίας κατά της Ουκρανίας απειλεί τις παγκόσμιες προμήθειες τροφίμων και έχει επιπλέον αποσταθεροποιήσει τις γεωργικές αγορές και επιφέρει αύξηση των ήδη υψηλών τιμών των τροφίμων, των ζωοτροφών, της ενέργειας και των λιπασμάτων, κατάσταση που επιδεινώνεται περαιτέρω από τις υφιστάμενες διαταραχές στις αλυσίδες εφοδιασμού τροφίμων εξαιτίας των πανδημιών και των επιπτώσεων της κλιματικής κρίσης. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, τα μέλη της ΕτΠ συζήτησαν σχετικά με το πώς μπορεί το ευρωπαϊκό σύστημα τροφίμων να καταστεί πιο βιώσιμο και προετοιμασμένο για μελλοντικές κρίσεις με τον Janusz Wojciechowski, Επίτροπο Γεωργίας της ΕΕ, και τη Marlene Mortler, μέλος του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου, κατά τη σύνοδο ολομέλειας στις 30 Νοεμβρίου. 

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). 

Τα μέλη της #CohesionAlliance –του πανευρωπαϊκού συνασπισμού 12.000 υπογραφόντων υπέρ μιας ισχυρότερης πολιτικής συνοχής– υποδέχονται τα Συμπεράσματα σχετικά με την πολιτική συνοχής που εγκρίθηκαν σήμερα από το Συμβούλιο Γενικών Υποθέσεων της ΕΕ. 

​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.