The members of the European Commitee of the Regions gathered in the 127th plenary session on 31 Januray to 1 February.
Eleven opinions and two resolutions were on the agenda of this plenary session.
On the first day Mr Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, gave a speech on the EC's 2018 working programme. Mr António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal, exchanged views with CoR members on the Future of Europe.
On the second day, Mr Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, presented the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
List of opinions which were adopted during the plenary session:
- The Future of the COSME programme beyond 2020: regional and local perspective, rapporteur Mr Robert Sorin Negoiţă (RO/PES)
- Initiative for the sustainable development of the blue economy in the western Mediterranean, rapporteur Mr Samuel Azzopardi (MT/EPP)
- Erasmus for Local and Regional Representatives, rapporteur Mr François Decoster (FR/ALDE)
- Promoting coexistence with conflict species within the framework of the EU Nature Directives, rapporteur Mr Csaba Borboly (RO/EPP)
- Digital Single Market: Mid-term review, rapporteur Mr Alin-Adrian Nica (RO/EPP)
- Reflection paper on the Future of EU Finances, rapporteur Mr Marek Woźniak (PL/EPP)
- Towards full implementation of the renewed EU strategy for the outermost regions, rapporteur Mr Fernando Clavijo Batlle (ES/ALDE)
- Integrated territorial investments – a challenge for EU cohesion policy after 2020, rapporteur Mr Petr Osvald (CZ/PES)
Final conclusions and recommendations of the High Level Group on Simplification for post 2020, rapporteur Mr Oldřich Vlasák (CZ/ECR)
- Europe on the Move: promoting seamless mobility solutions, rapporteur Mr Ivan Žagar (SI/EPP)
- Europe on the Move: labour aspects of road transport, rapporteur Mr Spyros Spyridon (GR/EPP)
A Resolution on the Annual Growth Survey 2018 and a Resolution on changing the ESI funds Common Provisions Regulation to support structural reforms were also discussed.