Three years after the Paris agreement, time has come to put the accord into motion. That is the core objective of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change – COP24 which will take place in Katowice from 3 to 14 December 2018.  

Under the new MFF 2021-2027, the European Semester and Cohesion Policy will be more strictly linked. The Country Reports will address the needs of the Member States in terms of investments and cohesion, providing the basis for more investment-oriented Country-Specific Recommendations in the years to come. Structural reforms will be prioritized in order to focus on growth and cohesion needs. To prepare for this new scenario, this workshop will address issues such as the need to align short- and medium-term goals and governance processes with the long-term EU goals of sustainable growth, the definition of structural reforms and the role of the local and regional authorities in the European Semester in light of the principles of partnership and multilevel governance. European Semester officers will report on how the Semester is implemented on the ground, while the EPC will present a recent study on the links between structural reforms and the EU cohesion goals.  

The EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa – North of Africa window will be discussed by representatives of the European Commission, EEAS, EU Member States and partner countries in the North of Africa region. * Attendance by invitation only.  

The 21st ECON Commission Meeting will take place on 13 December 2018 from 11:00 to 18:30 in the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, room JDE 52. 

The conference is organised by the UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management, in collaboration with UN-Habitat and is hosted by the European Committee of the Regions. 

The 21th COTER Commission meeting will take place on 14 December from 11:00 to 13.45 at the European Committee of the Regions, Rue Belliard 99-101, Brussels room JDE 52. COTER members will be invited to elect their new Chair and discuss and adopt the following draft opinions: • Road safety and automated mobility, by Rapporteur Jozsef RIBANYI (HU/EPP) • Streamlining TEN-T implementation, by Rapporteur Michiel SCHEFFER (NL/ALDE) Members will also be invited to participate in an exchange views on with Rob JONKMAN (NL/ECR), ECON rapporteur for the opinion "The European Semester and Cohesion Policy: aligning structural reforms with long-term investments".  

​The 22nd ECON Commission Meeting will take place on 14 February 2019 from 11:00 to 18:30 in the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, room JDE 52.  

​The 22nd meeting of the SEDEC commission and conference on the "Digital Agenda: strategies for addressing technological innovation in infrastructure and services" will take place on 18/02/2019 from 10:30 - 14:00 and on 19/02/2019 from 09:00 to 13:00 in Palermo, Italy, Via Notarbartolo 17.  

ARLEM Award - Young local entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean