One of the Czech Republic's top priority during its six months in the chair of the Council of the European Union will be to cope with the influx of displaced Ukrainians forced to flee because of Russia's invasion, Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš told the European Committee of the Regions on 30 June. He also pledged to try to make it easier for regions and cities to secure EU funding for the support of refugees and speed up the transition towards safe and sustainable energy. 

Local and regional leaders adopted a resolution on the outcome and follow-up of the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE) at their Plenary session. They call for the swift follow-up and implementation of the recommendations expressed in the report in order to meet citizens' expectations and they consider that an ambitious reform of the functioning of the EU to meet the challenges ahead requires Treaty revisions. A future Convention should fully involve members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) to represent the voices of the over 1 million regionally and locally elected politicians in Europe, in order also to strengthen the local and regional dimensions of EU policies. 

On Thursday, the European assembly of local and regional representatives adopted a series of recommendations on the new proposal for a European directive on the energy performance of buildings. The rapporteur for the opinion is André Viola, Aude Departmental Council's representative to Europe and president of the French Delegation of the European Committee of the Regions. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is a cornerstone of the Fit for 55 package, which aims to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. 

At the request of the Council of the European Union, the EU's assembly of cities and regions has adopted an opinion on the environmental imperatives and social acceptability of the ecological transition. The European Committee of the Regions has greenlighted the proposals of the rapporteur Hanna Zdanowska (PL/EPP), Mayor of Lodz, which puts forward a series of economic and social measures to ensure that the European Green Deal – the EU's sustainable growth strategy to reach climate neutrality by 2050, is grounded in a strong social acceptability and leaves no citizen, territory nor business behind. 

On Thursday, the European assembly of regional and local representatives adopted a series of recommendations to support the implementation of green budgets at local and regional level. The recommendations were prepared at the request of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union. The rapporteur for the opinion is Vincent Chauvet (FR/Renew Europe), Mayor of Autun and member of the Green Deal working group of the European Committee of the Regions. The Committee calls on the European Commission and the Member States to exempt green investments from the regional public deficit calculation and to establish effective, participatory and transparent green budgeting, with a clear methodology linked to specific environmental performance indicators. 

Dedicated funding to deliver energy efficiency in buildings, green investments to be exempted from public deficit and permanent climate consultations with citizens amongst the proposed measures​ Following up on the Council adoption of its general approaches on key 'Fit for 55' files, the European Committee of the Regions adopted four opinions directly related to the role of cities and regions in delivering the European Green Deal – the EU's growth strategy to reach climate neutrality by 2050. From economic and financial measures to increase local green budgets, to the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the need to develop social measures to protect the most vulnerable and reinforce the role of citizens in the green transition.  

Het Europees Comité van de Regio's (CvdR) heeft de Automotive Regions Alliance gelanceerd – een politiek netwerk van regio's die zich inzetten voor de succesvolle transitie van de Europese auto- en toeleveringsindustrie. De Alliantie wil het regionale perspectief betrekken bij de lopende debatten over het koolstofvrij maken van het vervoer in de EU en tegelijkertijd banen en concurrentievermogen veiligstellen en zorgen voor economische en sociale cohesie op elk Europees grondgebied dat door de overgang wordt getroffen. De auto-industrie behaalde in 2020 een omzet van meer dan 7% van het bbp van de EU en biedt momenteel werk aan meer dan 14 miljoen Europeanen, wat neerkomt op 6,1% van de totale werkgelegenheid in de EU. Het lanceringsevenement vond plaats tijdens de plenaire vergadering van het CvdR op 30 juni en is het startpunt voor verdere acties van de alliantie, die bestaat uit 22 regio's met een sterke automobiel- en toeleveringssector uit zeven lidstaten: Oostenrijk, Frankrijk, Duitsland, Italië, Slowakije, Spanje en Nederland. 

The European Committee of the Regions and associations representing European cities and regions on 30 June launched the European Alliance for Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine to help Ukraine's local and regional authorities rebuild homes, schools, infrastructure and services destroyed by Russia since its invasion on 24 February. The Alliance, whose launch came just seven days after the EU's member states agreed to accept Ukraine as a candidate member, was greeted by Ukraine's Minister for Communities and Territories Development as a potential " basis for the European integration of our country ".  

The Arctic can provide Europe with knowledge, products, resources and energy which are crucial for achieving the EU's climate goals. At its plenary session on 29 June, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion drafted by Mirja Vehkaperä (FI/Renew Europe), Chair of Oulu City Board, underlining that EU funding must support the Arctic's potential as a driver of green growth and the digital transition in the EU, while striking a balance with protecting the Arctic nature and fighting climate change. 

De leden van het Europees Comité van de Regio’s (CvdR) hebben Vasco Alves Cordeiro gekozen als hun nieuwe voorzitter voor de komende tweeënhalf jaar. Cordeiro, lid van het regionale parlement van de Azoren, zal zich als leider van de EU-assemblee van regionale en lokale afgevaardigden richten op het versterken van de democratie, de instandhouding van het cohesiebeleid, het verwezenlijken van de doelstellingen van de Green Deal en de intensivering van de regionale steun voor Oekraïne. Verder kozen de leden van het CvdR Apostolos Tzitzikostas, gouverneur van Centraal-Macedonië in Griekenland, als hun nieuwe eerste vicevoorzitter. 

Today, in a ceremony at the European Committee of the Regions premises in the presence of Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, outgoing President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), donated an olive tree to praise democracy and peace as European fundamental values and as a symbol of commitment to a greener future.  

EU-steden en -regio’s verzoeken de Europese Commissie om strengere criteria om de status van werknemers van digitale platforms goed te definiëren en hun arbeidsomstandigheden te verbeteren. In een advies van Yonnec Polet (BE/PSE), eerste schepen van Sint-Agatha-Berchem, maakt het Comité zich ook zorgen over het gebruik van algoritmen en wijst het erop dat werknemers altijd recht moeten hebben op een beslissing van een menselijke manager of supervisor. Het advies is tijdens de zitting van 29 juni goedgekeurd. 

​​​Members of the European Committee of the Regions, members of the European Parliament, citizens' consultations experts and citizens draft a checklist to be used for future citizens' consultations. 

​​The European Union's response to the refugee crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine shows that it "can learn lessons", the president of the European Committee of the Regions said at a conference on 24 June, going on to call for the EU to reform the its asylum and migration system "to have more justice in the distribution of responsibilities". Such reforms would, he said, also respond to the opinion of EU citizens, articulated in recommendations that recently emerged from the Conference on the Future of Europe. 

​The European Committee of the Regions will at its plenary on 29-30 June elect a new president for the second half of the Committee's 2020-25 mandate, to replace Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The current First Vice-President Vasco Alves Cordeiro is standing for the presidency. The newly-elected president will over the following two days launch a European alliance of cities and regions for the reconstruction of Ukraine, welcome a bottom-up alliance to support regions with a strong automotive industry as they move away from the combustion engine, and honour the three winners of this year's European Entrepreneurial Regions Awards. 

The Knowledge Exchange Platform, a joint initiative of the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission, held its first meeting of 2022 on 22 June with the topic of Building Synergies for Successful Green and Digital Transitions. 

The European Committee of the Regions expresses its full and unequivocal support to the decision taken today by the EU Heads of State and Government to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova. This important signal of political support will encourage our Ukrainian and Moldovan partners to advance on the way of democracy, the rule of law, and ability to provide a safe future for their citizens. 

​As the European Year of Youth 2022 is soon reaching the halfway mark, debates at the CoR's SEDEC Commission meeting on 21 June focused around youth policy. Mainstreaming the youth dimension across EU policies, improving the young people's participation in democratic life and promoting the social inclusion of vulnerable young people into the educational system are among the key elements of an upcoming opinion which will be prepared by Tine Radinja (SI/The Greens), Mayor of Škofja Loka. 

Wij zijn ingenomen met de resultaten van de Conferentie over de toekomst van Europa (COFE) en met name met het pleidooi voor een netwerk van lokale EU-raadsleden als een manier om Europa dichter bij de burgers in zijn regio’s, steden en dorpen te brengen en de Europese democratie te verbeteren. 

​​On the 21st and 22nd of June 2022,EU40 - the Network of Young MEPs &, MEPs Kympouropoulos (EL-EPP), Peter-Hansen (DK-G/EFA), Vedrenne (FR-RE), and Moretti (IT-S&D), will host a two-day in-person conference of young elected politicians from right across the European Union. The initiative, which falls under the high patronage of the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), is also actively supported by the CoRYoung Elected Politicians Programme (YEPs) and the European Local Leaders Group (ELL). European Commission Vice-President, Mr. Margaritis Schinas, will open the conference. 

On 15-16 June, over 450 participants representing EU, national, and regional policy makers along with local authorities, social and economic stakeholders gathered for the first Rural Pact conference . They agreed on the governance of the Rural Pact and committed to achieving the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas . Over these two days, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) together with other participants and members of the Rural Pact community started making commitments to make the EU’s rural areas stronger, more connected, resilient and prosperous by 2040. As the institution that represents the million or more local and regional politicians across the EU, the CoR is a key player in ensuring that the long-term vision becomes a reality, demonstrating that cohesion is a fundamental value of the European Union. 

On 14 June, the European Committee of the Regions rapporteur on a Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood - A new Agenda for the Mediterranean, Vincenzo BIANCO (IT/PES), exchanged views with members of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on the role of regions in the EU strategy on Southern Neighbourhood. 

​The Mayor of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, announced the opening of nominations for the 2022 Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award for local champions of freedom and solidarity and the fight against intolerance, oppression and xenophobia. She was speaking today, at the general assembly of International Cities of Refuge Network. 

The European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions encourage other applicants from all Member States to become new signatories for the broadest uptake of adaptation measures in Europe and lead the way towards a climate-resilient future  

Tourism has been one of the sectors worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic: hotels, restaurants, airlines and travel agencies had to stop their activity almost completely during a long period and only now touristic activity is slowly recovering back to pre-2020 levels. However, the pandemic has also accelerated the transition to a more sustainable models of tourism. This was the topic of a conference organised by the CoR's NAT Commission in Santiago de Compostela on 3 June. The host city is known for the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James), which provides a perfect example of sustainable, low-impact tourism combining cultural heritage and bringing together people from across Europe. 

​​As Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine is putting global food supply at risk and European consumers are already experiencing a rise of food prices, many believe that Europe's food system could be made more resilient against crisis by investing on sustainable local quality production and shortening supply chains. The European Committee of the Regions is currently preparing an opinion on Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of the EU food system. Members of the NAT Commission discussed this highly relevant topic in the external meeting held in Santiago de Compostela on 2 June. 

​The energy crisis remains a major concern for local and regional leaders across the EU. Therefore, it is crucial to empower regions and cities to strengthen their capacity to build resilient communities in order to limit the EU's dependency on fossil fuels. Decentralised energy production, energy efficiency and saving plans on a local and regional level will ensure the achievement of the REPowerEU plan . Current threats to Europe’s energy security and supply are not an alternative to the climate-neutral transition, local leaders recalled. 

In dit interview beantwoordt Andries Gryffroy (BE/EA), lid van het Vlaams Parlement en rapporteur van het Europees Comité van de Regio’s voor het advies “Wijziging van de Richtlijn betreffende hernieuwbare energie om de nieuwe klimaatdoelstellingen voor 2030 te halen”, dat is aangenomen tijdens de zitting van 27-29 april, vier vragen over de rol van lokale en regionale overheden bij de herziening van deze richtlijn en hun bijdrage aan de energieonafhankelijkheid van de EU. In dit advies wordt de Europese Commissie verzocht na te gaan of het haalbaar is de doelstellingen van de richtlijn nog verder aan te scherpen, op basis van een grondige effectbeoordeling waarin rekening wordt gehouden met de asymmetrische gevolgen hiervan voor regio’s in de hele EU. 

As EU leaders gather in Brussels for an extraordinary summit and the European Parliament prepares to present its assessment on the implementation of post-COVID 19 recovery plans, a new CoR-CEMR joint consultation sounds the alarm about the worrying lack of involvement of EU territories in the governance, execution and monitoring of National Recovery and Resilience Plans. 

​On 19 May, the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors – Europe and the European Committee of the Regions launched The Cities Energy Saving Sprint , a joint initiative for cities to immediately reduce energy consumption and be better prepared for next winter by using a simple energy saving toolkit. The “Sprint” will last for 4 months, until the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), to be held from 26 to 30 September 2022. 

Ukrainian local leaders have voiced strong support for the involvement of European cities and regions in the reconstruction of Ukraine. They have also urged them to help with rebuilding key infrastructure even while the war continues, highlighting that the war has also brought destruction to parts of the country far from the current lines of contact between Ukrainian and Russian troops. 

The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, exchanged views today with young people in Cluj-Napoca on Europe's future and on the role youth can play in the democratic process at EU, national and regional/local level. The local dialogue " Europe unfolds in Transylvania: Building on democracy, education and youth – What's next after the CoFE " took place as a follow up to the Conference on the Future of Europe and is the 4th EU-local dialogue hosted in Cluj-Napoca. 

​​​​​The European Committee of the Regions welcomes the European Union’s pledge today to help Ukraine rebuild its cities, villages and infrastructure. As the voice of regions and municipalities within the EU and given our long-standing cooperation with our Ukrainian partners, our Committee is ready to firmly engage in the reconstruction process. We consider that the direct involvement of EU and Ukrainian local authorities must be the building block of the reconstruction. We stand ready to launch an Alliance to provide Ukraine’s regional and local authorities with the practical support that they will need over the coming years to rebuild Ukraine in Europe. 

Vandaag heeft de Commissie de 63 regio's, zeven steden en vier lidstaten aangekondigd die zijn geselecteerd voor een proefproject voor Partnerschappen voor regionale innovatie, een initiatief dat samen met het Comité van de Regio's is ontwikkeld. De deelnemers aan het proefproject kunnen goede werkwijzen delen en gezamenlijk instrumenten voor het mobiliseren van verschillende bronnen van financiering en beleidsmaatregelen ontwikkelen en testen, en regionale en nationale programma's koppelen aan EU-initiatieven voor de groene en de digitale transitie. Deze partnerschappen zullen input leveren voor de nieuwe innovatieagenda voor Europa, waarin innovatie als drijvende kracht achter de transitie naar duurzaamheid fungeert en lokale strategieën aan initiatieven op EU-niveau worden gekoppeld. 

On 3-4 May a delegation of the European Committee of the Regions visited the scientific site of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission based in Ispra, Italy. It was the first official visit of a delegation from a European institution to JRC Ispra after the Covid break. 

Upon the invitation of the Regional Hub of Alentejo, the European Committee of the Regions' Network of Regional Hubs (RegHub) organised its first external workshop, in the World Heritage City of Évora (Alentejo, Portugal) in the framework of the EU Smart Communities Summit. 

​Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), member of Espoo City Council and President of the Helsinki Region, has drafted the European Committee of the Regions' opinion on European missions. The opinion was adopted at the CoR plenary session on 27-28 April. In this interview, Markkula explains how the missions can contribute to the EU's efforts to accelerate the green and digital transitions and move towards climate neutralit 

At the occasion of the 5th United Nations' International Day of Living Together in Peace on 16 May 2022, the European Committee of the Regions would like to encourage you to watch the documentary film “All of Us” (Nous Tous by Pierre Pirard, 2021) and to sign the Universal Declaration of Living Together in Peace. 

Would you like to organise a side event of the #EURegionsWeek 2022? The side events are related to the thematic priorities of the #EURegionsWeek 2022 and they must be organised between 10 October and 10 November 2022 in a hybrid or digital format. 

Facilitating cities and regions’ access to finance and boost investment opportunities in sustainable energy and climate action is part of the joint Action Plan of the European Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank.  

​​Economic support and long-term financial programmes are needed to overcome ongoing raising energy prices and inflation across Europe caused by the war in Ukraine. Members of the Commission for Economic Policy of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) underlined the urgency of further collaboration between local and regional authorities to become independent from Russian trade and energy supplies.  

​Local and regional authorities spearheading the implementation of Local Green Deals and civil society organisations advancing the sustainable urban transformation in Europe can now apply and win 10,000 EUR. 

​The European Committee of the Regions, Régions de France and the Grand Est region discussed on 9 May with 200 young people their expectations of the Conference on the future of Europe and how to encourage the participation of young people in public debate 

The European Committee of the Regions and European Commission held the 4th meeting of the Broadband Platform on 6 May, focusing on ways to improve the digital infrastructure in the European Union by adding the concept of digital cohesion to the ones of social, economic and territorial cohesion recognised by the Treaties. 

De brute invasie van Rusland in Oekraïne herinnert eraan dat de 27 lidstaten van de EU, ondanks hun verschillen, nauw verbonden zijn door hun inzet voor vrede, gemeenschappelijke kernwaarden, democratie en solidariteit. Toch blijft het vertrouwen van het publiek in de EU laag. De recente uitslag van de Franse presidentsverkiezingen leidde tot opluchting, maar was geen reden tot feest, want 41 % van de kiezers stemde voor extreem-rechts. Vandaag, op de Dag van Europa, na een jaar van besprekingen in het kader van de Conferentie over de toekomst van Europa, is het tijd om in alle eerlijkheid na te denken over de manier waarop de EU kan worden hervormd, zodat zij doeltreffender wordt, beter op de behoeften inspeelt en dichter bij de mensen komt te staan. 

The Publications Office of the EU has created a visual booklet in all EU languages to help Ukrainian and English speakers overcome the first communication barriers. It is proving very popular in classrooms around Europe. 

The European Parliament has established a new award scheme, the European Democracy Sites, run by the House of European History. For 2022, the goal is to nominate one site per member state of the European Union. The scheme will support the visibility of a historical site and its efforts to connect with other historical sites and educational institutions.  

On 29 and 30 April, the Conference on the Future of Europe Plenary session met for the last time and agreed to a set of 49 proposals which include more than 300 measures on how to achieve them, across 9 topics - from European democracy to climate change via economic growth and jobs,- based on 178 recommendations from the European Citizens' Panels, input from the National Panels and events, and 43 734 contributions on 16 274 ideas recorded on the multilingual digital platform.  

Op 9 mei herdenken we de historische Schumanverklaring, die de basis heeft gelegd voor wat nu de Europese Unie is. In het licht van de niet-uitgelokte en ongerechtvaardigde militaire agressie van Rusland tegen Oekraïne wint de Dag van Europa 2022 nog aan belang als een uitgelezen moment om opnieuw te bevestigen dat wij vrede hoog in het vaandel dragen, ons eensgezind en solidair achter Oekraïne en het Oekraïense volk scharen en opkomen voor universele waarden als vrijheid en democratie in een op regels gebaseerde internationale orde. 

While the EU is focusing on reducing its energy dependence from Russian fossil fuels through REPowerEU,cities and regions remain crucial to speed up the deployment of renewable energies and improve energy efficiency while ensuring citizens' engagement and support through open participatory processes. In an event organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission (EC), local and regional leaders have shared their experiences in delivering the European Green Deal locally – including through EU flagship initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors and the European Climate Pact . The meeting also included a presentation of Green Deal Going Local , the CoR campaign to place cities and regions at the heart of the EU's transition towards climate-neutrality.