The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is preparing an Opinion on the EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil'. The Zero Pollution Action Plan was published in May by the European Commission that created a dedicated webpage. It is one of the main elements of the Zero Pollution Ambition for a Toxic-free Environment, one of the main environmental priorities of the European Green Deal. 

​In occasion of the weekend dedicated to the project “Three Laender, Three Schools, One Europe” organised by the Euregio Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, a special “Meet the Future session will be organised. Gunther Platter (EPP, AT) will meet the participants of the event and will have a discussion with the youngsters on the Future of the European Union.​​​ For a more detailed agenda, please click here. 

Citizens Dialogue for the Future of Europe it is a unique opportunity for citizens of both countries to be part of an extraordinary Democratic event that will give the opportunity to share their thoughts and their dreams for the common European future. The theme of the event contributes to explore new efficient and innovative ways to create a greener future but also to involve directly citizens on the issue of environmental protection. There is need for a green transition support for a sustainable and green development in both regions that is also coupled with mass unemployment. The event is taking place on 27th of September 2021 17:00-21:00 where with the help of ZOOM and local hotspots participants in both countries (Greece and North Macedonia), as well as people remotely connected will be enable to have a fruitful exchange. If you wish to follow the event in Greek please click here. 

​The geographical location of Saxony in the border triangle between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic offers favourable conditions for cross-border dialogues. Border regions are considered to be the interfaces of Europe: the advantages but also the gaps of the European integration are increasingly noticeable there. This is why the organisers intends to highlight the importance of the ever closer interconnections of the border regions, they aim to emphasies that higher priority in national policy are to be given and cross border regions need to be seem as an opportunity to deepen European integration regionally. A series of three events with the support of the Bertelsmann Foundation was developped and wil be organised in partnership with the Saxon State Ministry of Justice, for Democracy, European Affairs and Gender Equality, the Marshal's Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, EUROREGION ELBE/LABE, EUREGIO EGRENSIS Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sachsen/Thüringen mit Sitz in Plauen/Vogtland/ EUROPE DIRECT Vogtland. During its first event; a trilateral Youth Forum, young people from Saxony (DE), Lower Silesia (PL) Usti and Karlovy Vary (Cz) will be invited to exchange and deliberate on three topics to be discussed at the third closing citizens' conference. This will be followed by an online event scheduled for 27 November 2021 with randomly selected citizens from the same regions to elaborate on the topic of European Citizenship. The closing part of the series at a two-day event, participants will meet to further discuss the subject of European Citizenship, but also the three other topics developed by the trilateral Youth Forum. Besides using the methodology of random selection and deliberation the organisers hope to promote a shift from top down communication to real democratic participation, so the future of Europe is best tailored to citizens' needs.  

What is the difference in the lives of women in Europe, Asia, the United States or Africa? ​What kind of Europe do young Poles want? Do they feel pressure to set up a family or career? What are their open borders, opportunities for education and working abroad? At the conference, young women in Western Pomerania will have the opportunity to share their expectations of the European Union’s actions, as well as to discuss the challenges young women face. To see more in details, please consult the agenda. The meeting will take place in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Conference on the Future of Europe is a series of debates and debates among citizens. It provides a forum for debate with civil society, i.e. citizens and NGOs, on the challenges and priorities facing the European Union. In particular, people who feel themselves women are invited to the event. The meeting is not closed to persons of other sexes. In case of interest, please register here​: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hfZcUntNp4RoMfgjcw5a1W82Fpd-Iz1JNauHf_KoTfk/edit 

Online Stakeholder Consultation on "Towards mainstreaming the Gender Perspective in the European Green Deal and Cohesion policy". Wednesday, 8 September 2021, 10:00-12:00. The meeting will take place via Interactio platform with EN/IT interpretation. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is currently drafting an opinion entitled "Effectively engaging local and regional authorities in the preparation of the Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes for the 2021-2027 period". The rapporteur for this opinion is Mr Juraj Droba (SK/ECR), Chairman of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region. 

On 29 April 2021, the Commission launched a detailed stakeholders consultation EU-wide protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products which will be open till 22 July 2021. The consultation aims at capturing the views of all relevant stakeholders on the problems related to the existing legal protection of authentic geographically-rooted non-agricultural products within the internal market; on the benefits and risk of EU action; on the available policy options including the control and enforcement of a future EU-protection system for such products; on the potential impacts of these policy options. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is currently drafting an opinion entitled " Revised Trans-European Energy Infrastructure Regulation fit for the Green and Digital Transition" .  

On 4 March 2020 the European Commission published the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan , which proposes employment, skills and social protection as the headline targets to be achieved by the end of the decade as part of the EU's strategic agenda to strengthen the social dimension of the Union and to build a cohesive, resilient Europe for the future. These targets should guide policy decisions in the Member States and their regions and should also allow to measure and monitor progress, along with the revised Social Scoreboard. 

The European Committee of the Regions will draft an opinion on the European "Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility" and has appointed Robert van Asten (NL/RE), Deputy Mayor of The Hague as rapporteur for the opinion.  

The European Committee of the Regions is in the process of elaborating its position on its opinion on "Future plan for care workers and care services – local and regional opportunities in the context of a European challenge". 

On 15 December 2020, the European Commission unveiled the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, as "two milestones in making Europe fit for the Digital Age". These two legislative proposals correspond to the declared commitment of the Von der Leyen Commission to the revision of the internal market rules for digital services and will trigger an impact on citizens, providers of digital services, business users of digital services and the society at large. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion on "Experiences and lessons learned by regions and cities during the COVID-19 crisis". It highlights the crucial role of local and regional authorities in the response to the crisis and in the recovery and aims to bring forward recommendations to the EU level based on evidence from the ground.  

The European Committee of the Regions is in the process of elaborating its position on the recently published European Commission Communication "A Union of Equality: EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025". An exchange of views on the basis of a Working Document by the Rapporteur, Ms Yoomi Renström (SE-PES), is scheduled on 25 November 2020, within the framework of the meeting of the CoR Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC).  

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is in the process of elaborating its position on the recently published European Commission's Migration and Asylum Pact. An exchange of views is scheduled on 4 December, within the framework of the meeting of the CoR Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX). 

We live in a time of multiple and multi-dimensional transitions. The green and digital transitions, the demographic change and the COVID-19 pandemic are reshaping our way of life and work. These changes highlight the need for a paradigm-shift on skills. A novel European skills agenda will drive the twin transition and ensure recovery from the social-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.