On 12 October the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EL/EPP), will present the 2021 Regional and Local Barometer to local leaders and the European Commissioner Vice-President, Maroš Šefčovič. The comprehensive report measures the impact of the pandemic on EU's regions, cities and villages, providing key findings, facts and figures on the economic, social, health and digital consequences. WATCH LIVE 

The 7th meeting of the European Committee of the Regions' Green Deal Going Local Working Group focused on the role of subnational governments to effectively deliver on the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. Members also exchanged views on the new European Commission's Horizon Europe mission on 100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030 and the future of the Covenant of Mayors, the world's largest city coalition on climate action. During a plenary session debate with Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, next Wednesday 13 October, the European Committee of the Regions will debate and adopt its resolution on COP26, which gathers the key messages that EU cities and regions will put on the table of the global climate negotiations. The UN's climate summit is due to kick off in Glasgow on 31 October 2021. 

The prospect of assembly for members of the UK and European parliaments was on 5 October welcomed by members of the European Committee of the Regions, who called for its evolution into a forum to which regions and cities could also have access. 

​Today, the European Commission Joint Research (JRC) Centre launched the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy (CC). It aims at providing tools, resources, research and methodologies to build capacity and best practice in participatory and deliberative democracy across different levels of governance in the EU. Mark Speich, Chair of the CoR commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs – CIVEX - stated that the cooperation between the CC and regions and cities could be mutual: On the one hand the CoR can be a full partner of the JRC in its work on the EC policy priority "A new push for European democracy" by contributing with regional and local best practices to the community of practitioners around the CC. On the other hand the CC could develop a mechanism to mainstream citizens' participation in the EU policy making and support the local and regional level to systematize the use of participatory tools on a permanent basis. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has a long and fruitful cooperation with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), which turns 70 this year. Many joint initiatives, consultations and activities have been developed by the CoR and the CEMR so far and many others are already in the pipeline. Just a few days ahead of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities, which will take place from 11 to 14 October, we spoke with the President of Emilia-Romagna and CEMR, Stefano Bonaccini, on how local and regional governments take up the new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate disruption and territorial inequalities. 

Herman Van Rompuy shares his vision for the Conference on the Future of Europe and points out the main challenges facing it. 

Homelessness is probably the most severe manifestation of social exclusion in Europe. There were at least 700 000 people who slept rough or in shelter accommodation on any given night in 2019, which represents an increase of 70% in 10 years. An opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions' SEDEC Commission points out that the multiple causes and facets of this urgent societal problem need to be addressed at all levels of government. At the meeting held on 1 October, SEDEC members also adopted an opinion on the European Commission's Artificial Intelligence (AI) package, which seeks to regulate the deployment of AI and prohibit certain AI practices while largely ignoring the contribution of local and regional authorities. 

​During the 11th Annual meeting of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Platform hosted in Innsbruck (Austria) by the Region of Tyrol, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) celebrated the ten years of the EGTC Euregio Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino and welcomed the foundation of the new EGTC Euregio Connect between Austria and Italy. The CoR recently adopted a resolution calling on the European Commission to present a proposal for maintaining cross-border cooperation and life in the event of future crises. The resolution contains multiple proposals to improve cross-border collaboration and calls on the Commission to follow up on already existing legislation and treaties, whose implementation could often still be improved. 

Χρειάζεστε να έχετε τη δυνατότητα να μεταφράζετε αμέσως κείμενα και έγγραφα; Επιθυμείτε να μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε ένα ασφαλές μεταφραστικό εργαλείο σε ολόκληρη την ΕΕ και να έχετε γενική εικόνα των μεταφράσεών σας παντού και ανά πάσα στιγμή; Η λύση είναι ένα εργαλείο μηχανικής μετάφρασης. Επισκεφθείτε την νέα μας ιστοσελίδα για το eTranslation για να μάθετε πώς μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε με ευκολία και ασφάλεια το eTranslation στην καθημερινή σας εργασία. 

The European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Natural Resources (NAT) met on 27 September to discuss the EU health policy and the resilience of cities. During the meeting, members also analysed how to boost consumption, increase production and further improve sustainability in the organic sector as well as in the blue economy. Both sectors can ensure a green and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Representatives of Europe's local and regional authorities have again voiced their concerns over the lack of sub-national involvement in the implementation, further planning and evaluation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans. In an opinion drafted by Rob Jonkman (NL/ECR), Alderman of the municipality of Opsterland, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) underlines that local and regional authorities are responsible for more than half of public investment in the EU and that the objectives of the EU's €750 billion recovery package Next Generation EU can't be reached without their involvement. The opinion was adopted by the CoR's Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) on Wednesday following a debate with Maarten Verwey, European Commission's Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN). 

​​In the framework of the debates that feed into the Conference on the Future of Europe, members of the CoR commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs – CIVEX – discussed on equality as a building block of European democracy. They argued that local and regional authorities play an important role in building up an inclusive democracy and equality because they are the level of governance closest to citizens and can have an influence on these issues. The CIVEX commission also adopted an opinion on better EU law-making emphasising that the territorial dimension of EU policies must be bolstered and that local and regional authorities should be involved in every stage of the EU decision-making process, notably by using the RegHub implementation reports as a tool for examining the legislative proposals. 

We must step up the fight against cancer, was the main message shared by Brigitta Sacrédeus (SE/EPP), rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) at the Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan on 27th September. The CoR calls for a debate on how to improve people's health awareness so that patients can reduce their exposure to risk factors to get ahead of the disease while making use of research and available digital tools. 

Οι περιφερειακοί και οι τοπικοί ηγέτες συναντήθηκαν στη Λίπιτσα (Σλοβενία) στις 24 Σεπτεμβρίου για να συζητήσουν σχετικά με τον τρόπο έγκαιρης υλοποίησης των επενδύσεων για την ανάκαμψη επί τόπου και αποφυγής καθυστερήσεων και αλληλεπικαλύψεων μεταξύ των πολιτικών της ΕΕ. Ο Επίτροπος Οικονομίας Paolo Gentiloni και ο Σλοβένος Υπουργός Οικονομικών Andrej Sircelj, καθώς και εξέχοντα μέλη του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου, τόνισαν πως μόνο μέσω της συνεργασίας με τους δήμους και τις περιφέρειες μπορούν να ευοδωθούν τα εθνικά σχέδια ανάκαμψης. 

Cities and regions in the Mediterranean and the EU should try to develop a more integrated approach to the provision of basic public services for migrants, senior members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) have said. They also urged public authorities at all levels, including the EU, to make the personal day-to-day challenges faced by migrants, particularly women and the vulnerable, central to how they design policies.  

One year after the launch of the Green City Accord, the European Commission organised a ceremony to celebrate new signatories joining this flagship initiative, which reunites cities committing to ambitious environmental protection goals by 2030. The high-level signatory ceremony took place on 22 September 2021. 

The #EURegionsWeek 2021 will consist of 300 sessions spread over 4 days: in total, about 850 speakers will take the floor from all over the EU and beyond during 365 hours of interactive conferences, and more than 100 video clips will show stories and testimonials about concrete projects. 

Κατά το διάρκειας ενός μήνα ταξίδι του, το ειδικό ευρωπαϊκό τρένο θα κάνει στάση σε πάνω από 100 πόλεις και κωμοπόλεις 26 χωρών ανά την Ευρώπη, στο πλαίσιο του Ευρωπαϊκού Έτους Σιδηροδρόμων 2021 

 

The United Nations' climate summit is to kick off in Glasgow in less than two months. Six years after the signature of the Paris Agreement, national governments are to provide concrete answers on how they plan to meet their climate targets. As the world goes through unprecedented heat waves, fires and floods, COP26 will put the spotlight on the need for higher climate ambition to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The formal inclusion of local and regional governments and their climate contributions remains a key demand that EU cities and regions will put forward in Glasgow, in close cooperation with international networks of sub-national government actors.  

Η κρίση COVID-19 έδειξε πως η πολιτική συνοχής είναι πιο απαραίτητη από ποτέ για να ενισχυθεί η ανθεκτικότητα στην Ευρώπη, να προστατευθούν οι πολίτες, να φτάσει η ανάκαμψη σε κάθε γωνιά της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και να μην μείνει κανείς στο περιθώριο. Από τη δημιουργία της τον Οκτώβριο του 2017, η Συμμαχία για τη Συνοχή ( #CohesionAlliance ) ―μια πανευρωπαϊκή συμμαχία με πάνω από 12.000 υπογράφοντες που τάσσονται υπέρ μιας ισχυρότερης πολιτικής συνοχής― κατάφερε να αποτρέψει δραματικές περικοπές στον προϋπολογισμό μετά το 2020, να διατηρήσει μια πολιτική συνοχής για όλες τις περιφέρειες της ΕΕ και να προτείνει απλούστερους και πιο ευέλικτους κανόνες. Κατά τη διάρκεια βιντεοδιάσκεψης αφιερωμένης στην νέα πορεία της #CohesionAlliance, τα ιδρυτικά της μέλη ανανέωσαν την δέσμευσή τους να ενώσουν τις δυνάμεις τους και να διατηρήσουν την πολιτική συνοχή στην κορυφή των προτεραιοτήτων της ΕΕ. Η Συμμαχία θα επαγρυπνεί για την πλήρη εφαρμογή της αρχής της εταιρικής σχέσης από τα κράτη μέλη κατά τον σχεδιασμό και την υλοποίηση της πολιτικής συνοχής για την περίοδο 2021-2027. Η συνεκτικότητα και οι συνέργειες μεταξύ των μέσων ανάκαμψης και των διαρθρωτικών ταμείων έχουν εξέχουσα σημασία για την αποφυγή αλληλεπικαλύψεων και τη μεγιστοποίηση του αντικτύπου της ευρωπαϊκής δράσης. 

European Committee of the Regions critical of New Pact on Migration and Asylum at a European Parliament hearing​ Antje Grotheer (DE/PES), rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and Vice-President of Germany's Bremen City Parliament, presented the opinion of EU's cities and regions on the asylum & migration reform package at the hearing of European Parliament's LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on 2nd September. She was highly critical of the importance of the first entry criterion in the analysis of asylum applications, a criterion on which Member States “waste too much time", as well as of the failure to take account of the realities of the regions, particularly those on the front line of migration. She urged to this effect for a greater consideration of regional specificities in every aspect of the process. 

​​As rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the opinion on rural areas, the President of the Region of Andalusia Juanma Moreno, today took part in an exchange meeting between the European Commission and the EU Ministers of Agriculture on the future of rural areas. President Moreno stressed the need to further involve regions and local communities in the implementation of the Next Generation EU funds so as to ensure the sustainable development of rural areas in Europe. The CoR will organise a high-level forum in December dedicated to the recovery of rural areas in the Union.​ 

The deadline for nominations for the 2021 edition of the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award has been extended to the end of September. 

Cities are on the frontline for promoting diversity, inclusiveness, social cohesion, and sustainable development and the coronavirus pandemic has even deepened some of the existing social challenges. Thus within its Intercultural Cities and Learning Programme, the Anna Lindh Foundation launches the EuroMed Capital for Dialogue Award – Call for Candidatures. 

The Connecting Europe Express is one of the key initiatives of the European Year of Rail 2021 and aims to draw attention to the many benefits of rail in both the passenger and freight sectors. It also feeds into the EU's overarching goal set out under the European Green Deal of encouraging a 'shift to rail' across the EU in order to decarbonise transport flows and increase sustainable mobility. The importance of the territorial dimension of the initiative has been underlined by the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, in a letter sent to the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Apostolos Tzitzikostas, which invited all members of the CoR to join the project and visit the train at one of its destinations. 

Under the heading "Together for recovery", this year programme is focused on the capacity of the EU and of national and regional governments to support European citizens and their local communities with practical measures and public policies aimed at investing in a fairer, greener and more digital future for recovery 

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.  

Σε απάντηση στη δέσμη μέτρων προσαρμογής στον στόχο 55 % που παρουσίασε η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, η οποία αποσκοπεί στη μείωση των ανθρακούχων εκπομπών της ΕΕ κατά 55 % έως το 2030, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) ζητεί οι νέοι και επικαιροποιημένοι κανόνες να διασφαλίζουν κεντρικό ρόλο και άμεση χρηματοδότηση των δήμων και των περιφερειών που έχουν νομικές αρμοδιότητες και βρίσκονται εγγύτερα στους κατοίκους κατά τη μετάβαση προς την κλιματική ουδετερότητα. 

​​​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. 

Για την επιτυχή αναμόρφωση του ευρωπαϊκού τομέα μεταφορών και την ενίσχυση της βιωσιμότητάς του, οι πόλεις και οι περιφέρειες της ΕΕ πρέπει να δώσουν μεγαλύτερη έμφαση στην ενθάρρυνση των μετακινήσεων μηδενικών εκπομπών, στην προώθηση ενεργών και κοινών τρόπων μεταφοράς, στον μετασχηματισμό των αστικών μετακινήσεων και στην καλύτερη ζεύξη των αγροτικών περιοχών. Οι προτάσεις αυτές προέρχονται από τη γνωμοδότηση με θέμα «Στρατηγική για έξυπνη και βιώσιμη κινητικότητα», η οποία εγκρίθηκε από την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) και παρουσιάστηκε από τον εισηγητή της Robert van Asten (NL/RE) κατά τη σύνοδο ολομέλειας της ΕτΠ την Τετάρτη 30 Ιουνίου. 

Πρέπει η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να εγκαθιδρύσει μια «νέα δημοκρατική υποδομή» για να διασφαλίζει τη διεξαγωγής ελεύθερων και δίκαιων εκλογών, να βελτιώσει την πολυφωνία των μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης και να ενισχύσει τη συμμετοχή των πολιτών, δήλωσαν οι εκπρόσωποι της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) στις 30 Ιουνίου. Στις προτάσεις που αποσκοπούν στην ενίσχυση της δημοκρατίας, της ισότητας και του σεβασμού των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων, οι τοπικοί και περιφερειακοί ηγέτες τόνισαν ότι οι αρχές της τοπικής αυτοδιοίκησης μπορούν να διαδραματίσουν σημαντικό ρόλο στην προαγωγή της εξοικείωσης με τα μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης, της κριτικής σκέψης και της διαφάνειας στις πολιτικές εκστρατείες, καθώς και στη στήριξη της συμμετοχής των πολιτών στην πολιτική. 

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.  

Οι επικεφαλής των οργανισμών τοπικής αυτοδιοίκησης της ΕΕ ζητούν να επανέλθουν οι στόχοι βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης του ΟΗΕ (ΣΒΑ) στις προτεραιότητες του θεματολογίου της ΕΕ, ζητώντας από τα όργανα της ΕΕ και τα κράτη μέλη να μεριμνήσουν για την επίτευξή τους έως το έτος 2030. Σε γνωμοδότηση που εγκρίθηκε σήμερα στη σύνοδο ολομέλειάς της, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) τονίζει ότι η πανδημία COVID-19 έχει καταδείξει τη σημασία της βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης και ότι οι ΣΒΑ μπορούν να συμβάλουν στην υλοποίηση ενός συνεκτικού και ολιστικού οράματος μέσω του NextGenerationEU . Ωστόσο, σε πρόσφατη μελέτη της ΕτΠ επισημαίνεται η έλλειψη ρητής και ξεκάθαρης αναφοράς στους ΣΒΑ σε πολλά εθνικά σχέδια ανάκαμψης και ανθεκτικότητας. 

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. 

Καθώς πολλοί περιφερειακοί αερολιμένες αγωνίζονται να ανακάμψουν από τις οικονομικές δυσχέρειες της πανδημίας, τα μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών (ΕτΠ) ενέκριναν γνωμοδότηση την 1η Ιουλίου, με την οποία η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή καλείται να αναπτύξει πιο ελαστικούς και αποτελεσματικούς κανόνες για τις κρατικές ενισχύσεις που θα επιτρέπουν στα κράτη μέλη να παρέχουν χρηματοδοτική συνδρομή στους περιφερειακούς αερολιμένες. Στην εν λόγω γνωμοδότηση , την οποία κατάρτισε ο κ. Władysław Ortyl (PL/ECR), η ΕτΠ επισημαίνει επίσης ότι πρέπει να χρηματοδοτηθεί η ενίσχυση της βιωσιμότητας των αερολιμένων για την επίτευξη των στόχων που ορίζονται στην Ευρωπαϊκή Πράσινη Συμφωνία. 

Η κρίση COVID-19 προβάλλει την ανάγκη σύνδεσης της διαδικασίας χάραξης πολιτικής της ΕΕ με τις ανάγκες των τοπικών κοινοτήτων μέσω του καθοριστικού ρόλου των τοπικά αιρετών πολιτικών: αυτό είναι το μήνυμα που διαβιβάζουν σήμερα τα μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών στον Αντιπρόεδρο της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Maroš Šefčovič. Κατά τη διάρκεια συζήτησης στη σύνοδο ολομέλειας, οι τοπικοί και οι περιφερειακοί ηγέτες επανέλαβαν τη δέσμευσή τους για τη βελτίωση της νομοθεσίας μέσω της συμβολής τους στην πλατφόρμα « Fit for Future (F4F) platform ». Σε ψήφισμα σχετικά με τις προτάσεις της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής των Περιφερειών ενόψει του προγράμματος εργασίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για το 2022 , τα μέλη της ΕτΠ καλούν την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή να διασφαλίσει τη συμμετοχή των τοπικών και των περιφερειακών αρχών στην εφαρμογή των Εθνικών Σχεδίων Ανθεκτικότητας και Ανάκαμψης (ΕΣΑΑ), με στόχο την αποτελεσματική επιτόπια αντιμετώπιση των επιπτώσεων της πανδημίας. Ζητούν επίσης την παράταση των ζωτικών μέτρων ευελιξίας που θεσπίστηκαν για την κινητοποίηση των ευρωπαϊκών διαρθρωτικών και επενδυτικών ταμείων κατά τη διάρκεια της κρίσης COVID-19. 

Regional and local elected politicians - represented in the EU by the CoR - and Members of the European Parliament – the only EU institution whose members are directly elected by citizens - should team up in the framework of the Conference of the future of Europe. Their common goal should be to make emerge the citizens' call for a Union which must be closer to them, respectful of the principle of subsidiarity and forward-looking in reacting to new challenges at global and local level. This is the message shared by CoR Members during the 145th CoR plenary session with Guy Verhofstadt, Manfred Weber and Iratxe Garcia Perez - three representatives of the European Parliament within the Conference's Executive Board. The three MEPs stressed that CoR members are strong allies for a broad, genuinely inclusive, transparent, geographically and politically balanced debate on the Future of Europe. 

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. 

Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή των Περιφερειών ενισχύει την προσήλωσή της στο ευρύ νομοθετικό εγχείρημα της ΕΕ για την ενδυνάμωση του δημοκρατικού ελέγχου των δεσποζουσών διαδικτυακών πλατφορμών και την αποκατάσταση ισότιμων όρων ανταγωνισμού στη διαδικτυακή οικονομία προς όφελος τόσο των ΜΜΕ όσο και των μεμονωμένων καταναλωτών. Κατά τη σύνοδο ολομέλειας του Ιουνίου, τα μέλη της ΕτΠ ενέκριναν γνωμοδότηση που στηρίζει την πρόθεση της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για αυστηρότερη ρύθμιση των ψηφιακών αγορών και υπηρεσιών, ενώ ταυτόχρονα αναδεικνύει τις καινοτομίες και τις ικανότητες που μπορούν να προσφέρουν οι δήμοι και οι περιφέρειες για μια αξιόπιστη και αποτελεσματική ρύθμιση. Η γνωμοδότηση της ΕτΠ με θέμα τη δέσμη μέτρων της πράξης για τις ψηφιακές υπηρεσίες εντάσσεται σε μια ευρύτερη σειρά πρωτοβουλιών που αποσκοπούν στην ανάδειξη της ΕτΠ ως μίας εκ των κινητηρίων δυνάμεων της ΕΕ για έναν ψηφιακό μετασχηματισμό χωρίς αποκλεισμούς.