On 6 December from 11am Michel Barnier, the European Union's Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the Union, will discuss Brexit and its impact on regions and cities with local leaders from all the EU's member states. His visit to the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels comes on the eve of UK parliaments crucial vote on the agreed Withdrawal Agreement

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) welcomes the European Commission’s initiatives to improve cross-border trade in the services sector. In an opinion adopted during the October plenary session of the CoR, rapporteur Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/ALDE) urges the Commission to clarify its proposals in order to fully realise the potential of the Single Market.

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Karl-Heinz Lambertz, will deliver the first-ever " State of the European Union: the View of Regions and Cities " address during the CoRs' plenary session on 10 October in Brussels. The address will be followed by a debate with the European Council's President Donald Tusk and EU local leaders on the future of Europe. EU Commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, will then set out the EU's priorities for the UN climate talks in Bonn as EU cities and regions revitalise a climate coalition with their US and Canadian counterparts.