Henriette Reker, the Mayor of Cologne, was today named as the first winner of an award created in honour of Mayor Paweł Adamowicz of Gdańsk, who was murdered in January 2019 while fulfilling his public duties. 

A permanent process of consultation with citizens, through their local and regional representatives, would be a major improvement to European democracy, according to the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). As the latest round of debates under the Conference on the Future of Europe takes place in Strasbourg this weekend, the CoR has published an interim report based on the input given by citizens during local dialogues on the nine main themes of the Conference. The input from nearly 130 dialogues with citizens across the EU clearly shows that local and regional leaders are seen as key actors in this consultation process. The ideas collected during these dialogues were submitted to the digital platform of the Conference and will reflect the voice of citizens alongside the European citizens' panels organised as part of the Conference. 

President Maia Sandu of Moldova has emphasised the empowerment of local authorities will be central to the success of reforms in her country, pledging to increase funding available to them. Speaking on the eve of a summit of the Eastern Partnership, she also urged local public administrations "to build partnerships, support each other and share good practices". 

​​Members of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) adopted a draft opinion on the zero emission road transport policy and the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure for all cities and regions in the EU. During their meeting on 10 December, local and regional leaders also debated on the conclusion of the European Year of Rail 2021 and the relations with the United Kingdom.  

The Emissions Trading Scheme system should not damage territorial cohesion or put the most vulnerable citizens and territories at risk. This was one of the key messages of the 4th Multilevel Climate and Energy Dialogue, an initiative of the European Committee of the Regions to boost exchanges between EU, national and local and regional governments as to improve the EU's energy governance. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) stressed within the opinion adopted by unanimity at the Plenary Meeting on the 2nd of December, that the European Commission's report on competition policy 2020 must be followed by bold acts. The EU should take the needs of SMEs into account to create a fair and level playing field for the benefit of all EU citizens, considering the implications of the pandemic and the consequences of substantially increased amounts of state aid. Therefore, any COVID-19-related aid should be granted only to businesses that are experiencing the immediate financial impact of the pandemic.