When the plenary session of the Conference on the Future of Europe took place this weekend in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the voice of more than one million local and regional elected politicians was heard more clearly than ever thanks to an expanded delegation. In total, 30 regional and local delegates attended the second plenary meeting of the Conference on the Future of Europe. 

Lokalni i regionalni čelnici i čelnice danas su održali raspravu s Dubravkom Šuicom, potpredsjednicom Europske komisije za demokraciju i demografiju. Članovi i članice Europskog odbora regija (OR) pohvalili su rad Komisije na tome da glas regija, gradova i sela bude na odgovarajući način zastupljen na konferenciji. Pritom su ponovili svoj poziv da se građanima omogući uključivanje u raspravu o budućnosti Europe putem lokalnih i regionalnih vlasti i tako odgovori na njihove zahtjeve. 

In an opinion adopted by the plenary session today, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) welcomes the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy but warns that we are at the same time experiencing regression in respect of EU values, with some authorities continuously using anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric and even adopting discriminatory policies and legislation. The assembly of EU's regions and cities argues that European funds should not be granted to governments promoting structural discrimination mechanisms against LGBTIQ people and suggests providing more financial support to equality and diversity programmes at local level. 

Members of the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) discussed with Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira the new programming period 2021-27 and the territorial aspects of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). They asked the European Commission to ensure the full respect of the partnership principle and the multilevel governance, and to provide recommendations to Member States and relevant managing authorities to improve partnership processes. They also called on Member States to guarantee a broader territorial implementation of the RRF, and on the European Commission to guarantee that the National Recovery Plans will be built in full respect of articles 175 and 174 TFEU and prioritise less developed and transition regions, as well as the Regions most impacted by the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis. 

At the event "Cities fostering democracy in the European Union: Urban perspectives for the Conference on the Future of Europe", co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions, Eurocities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), local and regional leaders set out their expectations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and shared their experiences on strengthening local democracy. Examples of innovative participative exercises, green projects, digital services to citizens or integration of communities were discussed. The event led to the adoption of conclusions which will feed the Conference on the future of Europe. 

Novi sustav za zaštitu oznaka zemljopisnog podrijetla industrijskih i obrtničkih proizvoda na razini EU-a, koji bi se temeljio na uspješnom modelu koji se koristi za poljoprivredne i prehrambene proizvode, bio bi koristan i obrtnicima i lokalnim gospodarstvima. Novim sustavom ojačala bi se pravna zaštita proizvoda izvrsnosti, pridonijelo bi se borbi protiv krivotvorenja te otvaranju i očuvanju radnih mjesta. Prijedlog je uključen u mišljenje koje je sastavila Martine Pinville, članica Regionalnog vijeća Regije Nove Akvitanije, i koje je jednoglasno usvojeno u srijedu, 13. listopada, na plenarnom zasjedanju Europskog odbora regija (OR).