Considering the current circumstances, the European Committee of the Regions' ENVE Commission would like to launch an online stakeholders' consultation aimed at feeding into the preparation of its upcoming opinion on the new Circular Economy Action Plan. 

​The rapporteur Mrs Francina Armengol I Socias is inviting interested parties to a stakeholder consultation dedicated to sustainable development in the Mediterranean islands and the difficulties created by insularity. Scarcity of water and land, extremely large scale fishing and coastal pollution meet a world of unique biodiversity, culture and tradition, requiring a rather unorthodox approach to governance. The CoR opinion will search to propose measures that are tailor-made for the Mediterranean insular context, and look into possible fine-tuning policies, funding instruments, cross-border cooperation and use of natural resources in order to achieve the desired results. 

European Committee of the Regions is drafting an opinion on "Regional Innovation Scoreboard and its impact in regional place-based policies". The opinion is meant to assess the effect of RIS on the design, implementation and monitoring of regional, place-based policies and strategies related to research and innovation.  

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is preparing an opinion on "The Future of EU Clean Air policy in the framework of the zero-pollution ambition" by rapporteur János Ádám Karácsony (HU/EPP). To gather input and best practices from stakeholder, the rapporteur is organising a stakeholder consultation on 2 March 2020 from 15.00 to 17.00 in Brussels.  

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an Opinion on "Towards a Roadmap for Clean Hydrogen – the contribution of local and regional authorities to a climate-neutral Europe". To discuss the topic of the opinion, the Rapporteur Ms Birgit HONÉ (DE/PES), Minister for Federal and European Affairs and Regional Development of the State of Lower Saxony, and her expert would be happy to meet you. 

The European Committee of the Regions' ENVE Commission is currently working on the "Fitness check of the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive" which was published on the 10th of December 2019 by the European Commission. The Rapporteur Piotr CAŁBECKI (PL/EPP) and his expert Professor Maciej ZALEWSKI wish to discuss these topics with relevant stakeholders on Thursday 20th of February 2020 from 11.00 to 13.00.  

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion on the "Just Transition Fund" (the European Commission's legislative proposals COM(2020) 22 and COM(2020) 23). The rapporteur on the opinion, Mr Vojko Obersnel (HR/Group of the Party of European Socialists), Mayor of the City of Rijeka, would be happy to meet with representatives of local and regional associations and other stakeholders for a consultation and an exchange of views on the relevant topic of this opinion. 

The ​​BICC has been proposed by the Council in 2019 as part of the Reform Support Programme (RSP) for euro area Member States and those willing to join it. The global amount of resources available to the BICC will be decided later this year, as part of the agreement on a new Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. The meeting has been postponed to Friday 31 January, from 10:00 to 12:00, room JDE 53. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion on "Bio-diverse cities and regions beyond 2020 at the UN CBD COP15 and in the next EU strategy". The Rapporteur, Mr Roby Biwer (LU/PES) wishes to invite all relevant stakeholders to the stakeholder consultation on 30/1/2020 from 14.00 to 16.00. 

Since the adoption of the CoR's opinion on the services package in October 2017, the ECJ's 2018 "Visser Vastgoed" ruling has shed new light on the current notification regime under the services package. Also the Commission's legislative proposals on the European services e-card and the notification procedure have not been approved yet, which could raise questions regarding the issues these proposals are aimed to address. In this context, the CoR is preparing a revised opinion on the services package. 

Briefing session on the ambitious political declaration “Join, Boost, Sustain” on ‘Joining forces to boost sustainable digital transformation in Europe’s cities and communities’. The briefing session will be conducted by representatives of the European Commission's Directorate-General CNECT, in cooperation with the CoR SEDEC Secretariat. The CoR has supported the draft declaration in its Opinion on Digital Europe for All adopted in October 2019. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion on "Demographic change: proposals on measuring and tackling its negative effects in the EU regions". This is an own initiative opinion meant to provide feedback for the upcoming action plan for regions affected by demographic change, as it is specified in Commissioner Dubravka Šuica's mission letter by the European Commission President.