​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The members of the European Committee of the Regions met in the 132nd plenary session.

A debate on the role and powers of local and regional governments in the EU with Corina Creţu, member of the European Commission responsible for Regional Policy took place on Wednesday 5 December.

A debate on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU with Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom Exiting the European Union also took place on Thursday 6 December.

21 opinions were on the agenda of the plenary session:

• Common Provisions Regulation, rapporteurs: Catiuscia Marini (IT/PES) and Michael Schneider(DE/EPP)
• Proposal for a European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund Regulation, rapporteur: Michiel Rijsberman (NL/ALDE)
• Proposal for a Regulation on Specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg), rapporteur: Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis (FR/EA)
• Proposal for a Regulation on European Social Fund Plus, rapporteur: Susana Díaz Pacheco (ES/PES)
• A regulation on Cross-border Mechanism, rapporteur: Bouke Arends (NL/PES)
• Reform of the CAP, rapporteur-general: Guillaume Cros (FR/PES)
• European Globalisation Adjustment fund, rapporteur-general : Ximo Puig (ES/PES)

• Models of local energy ownership and the role of local energy communities in energy transition in Europe, rapporteur: Mariana Gâju (RO/PES)

• Proposal for a Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse, rapporteur: Oldřich Vlasák (CZ/ECR)

• The space programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, rapporteur: Andres Jaadla (EE/ALDE)

• Financing Sustainable Growth, rapporteur: Tilo Gundlack (DE/PES)

• The Single Market Programme, rapporteur: Deirdre Forde (IE/EPP)

• Taxation of the digital economy, rapporteur: Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/ALDE)

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  European Solidarity Corps and the new EU youth strategy, rapporteur: Matteo Luigi Bianchi (IT/ECR)

• Digital Europe Programme (2021 to 2027), rapporteur: Markku Markkula (FI/EPP)

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  Enlargement Package, rapporteur: Franco Iacop (IT/PES)

• Neighbourhood and the World, rapporteur-general: Hans Janssen (NL/EPP)

• EU reform and stabilization support, rapporteur: Olga Zrihen (BE/PES)

• The InvestEU Programme, rapporteur: Konstantinos Agorastos (EL/EPP)

The Resolution on Priorities for the 2019 Work Programme of the European Commission was adopted on Thursday 6 December.

 Associated press releases

Associated press releases

Reusing water for agriculture and keeping our urban areas green

Press release | Climate change policy;Agriculture;Energy efficiency, market and technology;

EU cities and regions request to extend water reuse to all EU Members States and to enlarge the scope of the proposed regulation from agriculture irrigation to urban green spaces. A third of EU's land suffers from water stress and water scarcity is a concern in many Member States. While climate change results in unpredictable weather patterns, it is expected that water reuse will have to palliate increasing droughts and shortfalls in the quantity and quality of freshwater resources. 

EU's external policy needs to direct more funding towards cities and regions

Press release | Climate change policy;Ukraine;Migration, asylum and integration of migrants;Eastern Partnership;

The European Union should earmark €500 million for collaboration with cities and regions across the globe after 2021, the European Committee of the Regions said on 6 December in a set of recommendations that argue that the EU's external policy should pay fuller, more explicit attention to local and regional authorities. 

Regions and cities support boost for sustainable financial investments

Press release | Financial instruments for cohesion;

Moving towards a low-carbon economy and achieving a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 is a massive investment opportunity that will generate growth and jobs. Through the adoption of an opinion on Financing Sustainable Growth at the 5-6 December plenary session, EU' assembly of cities and regions has put forward a set of recommendations to create the conditions for financial markets to invest sustainably. The EU's assembly of cities and regions proposes a new European indicator, similar to the existing Regional Social Progress Index, to cover and track a range of development related aspects including sustainability.  

Iskorištavanje potencijala lokalnih energetskih zajednica

Press release | Energy Union and infrastructure;

Lokalne i regionalne vlasti imaju ključnu ulogu u ostvarenju europskih ciljeva u području klime i energije. Proizvodnja energije na lokalnoj razini presudna je za poticanje proizvodnje energije iz obnovljivih izvora, širenje energetske demokracije i smanjenje stope energetskog siromaštva. Grijanje predstavlja goleme poteškoće za otprilike 50 milijuna kućanstava u Europi ( EPOV ). Kako bi EU do 2030. postigao ciljeve dogovorene u Parizu , uključujući i smanjenje emisija stakleničkih plinova za 40 % (u odnosu na razine iz 1990.), potrebno je dodatno uložiti oko 180 milijardi eura godišnje. 

Regije u središtu zajedničke poljoprivredne politike u cilju suočavanja s predstojećim izazovima Europe

Press release | Agriculture;

Čelnici lokalnih i regionalnih vlasti usvojili su mišljenje o zajedničkoj poljoprivrednoj politici (ZPP) za koju traže da bude pravedna, održiva i solidarna te da služi poljoprivrednicima, regijama, potrošačima i građanima. Zakonodavni prijedlog o budućem ZPP-u u svom postojećem obliku ugrožava autonomiju europskih regija na području upravljanja ZPP-om. Povrh toga, prijedlog da se sredstva za potrebe ruralnog razvoja smanje za 28 % u suprotnosti je s ciljem teritorijalne kohezije EU-a. Novim ZPP-om mora se odgovoriti na izazove u području okoliša i klime te poljoprivrednicima omogućiti ostvarivanje pravednog dohotka, a to neće biti lako imajući u vidu proračunske rezove i instrumente koje je predložila Europska komisija. 

EU mora podržati gradove i regije kako bi ublažio učinke Brexita

Press release | Territorial cohesion;EU annual budget;

Regionalni i lokalni čelnici pozvali su 6. prosinca Europsku uniju da poduzme mjere za ublažavanje posljedica povlačenja UK-a i donese proračun koji stimulira regionalna gospodarstva. Poziv su uputili tijekom rasprave s Michelom Barnierom u Bruxellesu na kojoj su glavnom pregovaraču EU-a s Ujedinjenom Kraljevinom iskazane pohvale zbog toga što je osigurao sporazum kojim se ograničavaju rizici kojima je izložen EU, a posebice Republika Irska, te zbog toga što se tijekom pregovora obraćao gradovima i regijama. 

Flexibility and small businesses must be at heart of EU's single-market plans

Press release | Internal market;

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has called on the European Union to ensure that its plans to create a new single-market programme in 2021 have "the flexibility to respond quickly and proactively to any disturbance in the functioning of the internal market or disruption in trade for SMEs that could, for example, result from the possible adverse impacts of Brexit".  

Digital Europe programme must recognise the role of pioneering regions and cities

Press release | Digital agenda;

​In its opinion on the Digital Europe programme, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) underlines that the effective delivery of the smart, sustainable digital solutions of the future will require European partnerships between pioneering regions and cities and high quality digital infrastructure. The opinion adopted at the CoR plenary session on 5 December was drawn up by the chair of Espoo city board Markku Markkula. 

Cities and regions welcome InvestEU programme but urge that regional cohesion must be a priority

Press release | Long-term strategy for investment, growth and jobs (renewed Europe 2020);Entrepreneurship;Climate change policy;

​Local and regional politicians welcome the new InvestEU programme simplifying the support through the multitude of EU financial instruments. In the opinion adopted at the European Committee Regions' December plenary session rapporteur Konstantinos Agorastos (EL/EPP), Governor of the Region of Thessaly, urges the programme to address regional disparities, which can be more effectively achieved through close coordination with the local and regional level. 

A broader scope for the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund

Press release | Long-term strategy for investment, growth and jobs (renewed Europe 2020);

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted an opinion on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Local leaders ask to reinforce the role of regional authorities in the management of the Fund, to increase its budget from €200 million to €500 million annually and to set its intervention threshold to 150 employees. The CoR is reacting to the European Commission's legislative proposal on a new Regulation on the EGF, presented in May 2018. Between 2007 and 2014, the Fund has provided €561.1 million to support 122 121 redundant workers (EC).  

Enlargement must remain a "priority" for EU

Press release | Enlargement;

The European Committee of the Regions on 6 December welcomed the European Commission's "renewed commitment" to expansion of the European Union in the Western Balkans and called for central governments in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*1, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to step up their collaboration with local and regional governments. 

Regije iznose prijedloge o većem prilagođavanju kohezijske politike EU-a za razdoblje 2021. – 2027. potrebama građana

Press release | Cohesion policy reform;EU annual budget;Territorial cohesion;

Kako bi se smanjile nejednakosti i otvorilo više mogućnosti za sve europske građane, Europski odbor regija (OR) želi da kohezijska politika bude jednostavnija i fleksibilnija te da se ne koristi kao kazna ili poticaj za ostvarivanje ciljeva nepovezanih s uključivim održivim razvojem. Zahtjevi za poboljšanje i zakonodavni amandmani na prijedloge Europske komisije o kohezijskoj politici za razdoblje 2021. – 2027. dio su četiri različita mišljenja koja su lokalni i regionalni čelnici usvojili na plenarnoj sjednici OR-a 5. prosinca. 

EU mora podržati gradove i regije kako bi ublažio učinke Brexita

Press release | Citizenship;

Regionalni i lokalni čelnici pozvali su 6. prosinca Europsku uniju da poduzme mjere za ublažavanje posljedica povlačenja UK-a i donese proračun koji stimulira regionalna gospodarstva. Poziv su uputili tijekom rasprave s Michelom Barnierom u Bruxellesu na kojoj su glavnom pregovaraču EU-a s Ujedinjenom Kraljevinom iskazane pohvale zbog toga što je osigurao sporazum kojim se ograničavaju rizici kojima je izložen EU, a posebice Republika Irska, te zbog toga što se tijekom pregovora obraćao gradovima i regijama.