To reduce disparities and deliver more opportunities for all European citizens, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) wants cohesion policy to be easier, more flexible and not used as a sanction or incentive to achieve other goals, other than sustainable development. Improvements and legislative amendments to the European Commission proposals for cohesion policy 2021-2027 are included in four different opinions adopted by local and regional leaders during the CoR plenary session on 5 December.

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

One year after the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, a key question remains: how to deliver on the promises made by Heads of State and Government at the Gothenburg Social Summit in November 2017? During an interinstitutional conference organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Monday, representatives of regions and cities stressed to the EU's Commissioner Marianne Thyssen that the EU's cohesion policy must continue to support the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights with the active involvement of local and regional authorities.