Trade effects of Brexit likely to become clearer only after 1 October, senior EU official tells EU and UK local and regional politicians at meeting that puts spotlight on Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. Movement across the United Kingdom's borders with Ireland and Spain were central issues discussed at a meeting of British and EU local and regional politicians that focused on connections at risk of being lost by the UK's withdrawal from the EU. 

The results of a survey carried out by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) show a clear demand among local and regional authorities to extend the flexibility measures introduced last year to mobilise EU structural funds and state aid in the fight against COVID-19. Regions and cities need extraordinary rules to be maintained in order to secure the continuity of emergency investment and the deployment of crucial initiatives such as job retention schemes. This request is included in a letter co-signed by the CoR President Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the chair of the CoR's COTER commission Isabelle Boudineau, addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the commissioners responsible for the relevant policies.  

Ca răspuns la pachetul legislativ „Pregătiți pentru 55” al Comisiei Europene, care urmărește reducerea emisiilor de dioxid de carbon din UE cu 55 % până în 2030, Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) solicită ca noile norme actualizate să asigure un rol central în acest sens și finanțare directă pentru orașe și regiuni, care au competența juridică și proximitatea necesară față de cetățeni în tranziția către neutralitatea climatică. 

​​​Countries in the Western Balkans should use significant new financial support from the European Union to make their economies greener and more digital and to advance their case for EU membership, local and regional leaders heard at the Enlargement Day conference held by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 13 July. The conference – which was addressed by the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission's Acting Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations – also identified the post-pandemic recovery as a major milestone in the history of regions' and cities' involvement in the EU accession process.  

Bringing cross-border cooperation back to the forefront of the EU’s policy agenda is one of the European Committee of the Region’s (CoR) top priorities. The Conference on the Future of Cross-Border Cooperation, organized together with the other founding partners of the European Cross-Border Citizens' Alliance, feeds into this objective. During the event, which took place on 5 July, participants reflected on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, identified the ongoing and future challenges for cross-border regions, and held a debate on the vision for cross-border cooperation as part of the future of Europe. The event took place just a few days after CoR's plenary adopted a resolution on cross-border cooperation which will serve as a contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe. 

The EU's regions and cities are looking forward to the Social Economy Action Plan, which the European Commission is expected to publish before the end of the year. The opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Thursday underlines that it is essential to harness the full potential of social economy enterprises and organisations to ensure economic recovery, to promote collective entrepreneurship and to create high-quality jobs after the COVID-19 crisis. 

​Aviation has been one of the sectors worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller regional airports have recorded the greatest decline in direct flight connections, particularly in passenger flights. Treviso (Italy) lost 95% of its connections, Vaasa (Finland) 91%, Quimper (France) 87%, and Burgas (Bulgaria) 82%. 

While the climate emergency is still very much a pressing matter, the path towards carbon neutrality must take into account the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis and the specific features of each region. Against this backdrop, rapporteur and Mayor of Autun Vincent Chauvet presented an opinion in today's plenary session that sets out the European Committee of the Regions' positions and demands regarding climate change in view of COP26, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, which will take place in November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. 

The work of the European Commission's Fit for Future Platform (F4F) has taken on speed and its subgroups and experts are about to carry out consultations on selected EU legislation in order to check whether it is futureproof and fit for purpose. 

Pentru a remodela cu succes sectorul european al transporturilor și a-l face mai sustenabil, orașele și regiunile din UE trebuie să depună eforturi mai mari pentru a încuraja mobilitatea fără emisii, a promova modurile de transport active și partajate, a reconfigura mobilitatea urbană și a îmbunătăți conexiunile în mediul rural. Aceste sugestii provin dintr-un aviz privind Strategia pentru o mobilitate sustenabilă și inteligentă, care a fost adoptat de Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) și prezentat de raportorul Robert van Asten (NL-RE) în sesiunea plenară a CoR de miercuri, 30 iunie. 

Uniunea Europeană trebuie să creeze o „nouă infrastructură democratică” pentru a se asigura că alegerile sunt libere și corecte, pentru a îmbunătăți pluralismul mass-mediei și pentru a stimula implicarea cetățenilor, a declarat Comitetul European al Regiunilor la 30 iunie. În recomandările menite să consolideze democrația, egalitatea și respectarea drepturilor omului, liderii locali și regionali au subliniat faptul că administrațiile subnaționale pot juca un rol important în promovarea alfabetizării mediatice, a gândirii critice și a transparenței în campaniile politice, precum și în sprijinirea participării cetățenilor la viața politică. 

The European Union should make improving the health of the Mediterranean Sea one of the priorities of its cooperation with countries in its southern neighbourhood, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has said in recommendations that also praise the EU for making support for youth entrepreneurship central to its new strategy for the region.  

Liderii locali și regionali europeni solicită ca obiectivele de dezvoltare durabilă ale Organizației Națiunilor Unite să fie repuse în prim-planul agendei Uniunii Europene, solicitând instituțiilor UE și statelor membre să asigure punerea lor în aplicare până în 2030. Într-un aviz adoptat astăzi în cadrul sesiunii sale plenare, Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) subliniază că pandemia de COVID-19 a demonstrat importanța dezvoltării durabile și că ODD pot contribui la o viziune coerentă și globală în cadrul instrumentului Next Generation EU . Cu toate acestea, un studiu recent al CoR subliniază că, în multe planuri naționale de redresare și reziliență, nu există o trimitere explicită și transparentă la ODD ale ONU. 

In a bid to put cross-border cooperation back at the top of the EU's policy agenda, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted a resolution today calling on the European Commission to present a proposal for maintaining cross-border cooperation and cross-border life in the event of future crises. The resolution contains multiple proposals to improve cross-border cooperation and calls on the European Commission to follow up on already existing legislation and treaties, whose implementation could often still be improved. The future of cross-border cooperation will be further discussed during an event organised by the CoR, together with other key European partners, on 5 July. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has adopted its proposals on climate adaptation in the opinion Forging a climate-resilient Europe - the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. The CoR calls for demand-based policies, market incentives, carbon footprints and handprints in public procurement criteria and to accelerate cooperation with academia and businesses to boost broad-scale innovation, sustainable products, services and nature-based solutions. Despite net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 estimated to drop 35% below 1990 levels, the economic rebound from the COVID-19 risks bringing emissions back up. Around 40% of EU cities with more than 150 000 inhabitants have adopted climate adaptation plans.  

The European energy infrastructure update and expansion is a key enabler for the green energy transition and must be consistent with the Green Deal objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, last December 2020 the European Commission adopted a proposal to revise the 2013 Trans-European Energy Infrastructure Regulation (TEN-E). In an opinion drafted by the rapporteur Robert Sorin Negoiță (RO/PES) and discussed today, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the European Commission to ensure that the new regulation takes into account the needs and specificities of EU regions and that it stimulates sustainable energy security, market integration, fair competition, diversification of energy supply and affordable energy for all.  

As Europe's population is ageing, the need for care services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. In an opinion drafted by Heinrich Dorner (AT/PES), Member of the State Government of Burgenland, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the European Commission to support cities and regions in addressing care worker shortages and highlights that family members – most often women – carrying out informal care work need adequate social rights and protection. 

The European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) discussed the role of cities and regions in reinforcing the resilience of critical entities during its plenary session on 1 July. To ensure a comprehensive approach, each Member State should have a strategy prepared in cooperation with local and regional authorities, setting out objectives and policy measures based on an assessment of all natural and man-made risks that may affect the provision of essential services. 

Pe fondul străduințelor de redresare ale multor aeroporturi regionale, în urma dificultăților economice cauzate de pandemie, membrii Comitetului European al Regiunilor au adoptat, la 1 iulie, un aviz prin care invită Comisia Europeană să elaboreze norme mai flexibile și mai eficace privind ajutoarele de stat, care să permită statelor membre să ofere asistență financiară aeroporturilor regionale. În avizul său, elaborat de Władysław Ortyl (PL - CRE), CoR a subliniat, de asemenea, că trebuie investit sprijin financiar pentru ca aeroporturile să devină mai sustenabile, pentru a contribui la realizarea obiectivelor stabilite în Pactul verde european. 

Criza provocată de pandemia de COVID-19 scoate în evidență necesitatea de a conecta procesul de elaborare a politicilor UE la nevoile comunităților locale prin rolul esențial al politicienilor aleși la nivel local: acesta este mesajul transmis astăzi de membrii Comitetului European al Regiunilor vicepreședintelui Comisiei Europene, Maroš Šefčovič. În cursul unei dezbateri în plen, liderii locali și regionali și-au reiterat angajamentul de a îmbunătăți legislația UE, contribuind la platforma „Pregătiți pentru viitor” (F4F) . Într-o rezoluție conținând propuneri privind programul de lucru al Comisiei Europene pentru 2022 , membrii CoR solicită Comisiei Europene să se asigure că autoritățile locale și regionale sunt implicate în punerea în aplicare a planurilor naționale de redresare și reziliență (PNRR) pentru a aborda în mod eficace consecințele pandemiei pe teren. De asemenea, ei solicită extinderea măsurilor esențiale de flexibilitate care au fost introduse pentru a mobiliza fondurile structurale și de investiții europene în timpul crizei provocate de pandemia de COVID-19. 

Politicienii aleși de la nivel local și regional, reprezentați în UE de CoR, și membrii Parlamentului European, singura instituție a UE ai cărei membri sunt aleși direct de către cetățeni, ar trebui să colaboreze în cadrul Conferinței privind viitorul Europei. Obiectivul lor comun ar trebui să fie acela de a răspunde apelului cetățenilor privind o Uniune care trebuie să fie mai apropiată de ei, să respecte principiul subsidiarității și să răspundă la noile provocări de la nivel global și local printr-o abordare orientată spre viitor. Acesta este mesajul împărtășit de membrii CoR în cursul celei de-a 145-a sesiuni plenare a CoR , la care au participat Guy Verhofstadt, Manfred Weber și Iratxe Garcia Perez, trei reprezentanți ai Parlamentului European în cadrul Comitetului executiv al Conferinței. Cei trei deputați în Parlamentul European au subliniat că membrii CoR sunt aliați puternici cu care să poarte o dezbatere amplă, cu adevărat incluzivă, transparentă, echilibrată din punct de vedere geografic și politic privind viitorul Europei. 

The publication of the long-term vision for rural areas by the European Commission is a major success for the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), which has been asking for a rural agenda since 2016. Local leaders welcome the proposal of a Rural Pact and Action Plan setting objectives and reinforcing the political ownership for investment on sustainable rural developments. The CoR appreciates the long-term vision of rural areas in all their diversity and the effort to revitalise them in a way that goes beyond agriculture and considers every policy area through the rural lens. As foreseen in the Commission's proposal, the Committee is ready to promote the mobilisation of local communities in the implementation of the rural action plan and vision. At the same time, the CoR demands that EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is coordinated not only with cohesion policy but also with the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 

Comitetul European al Regiunilor își reafirmă angajamentul față de vastul proiect legislativ al UE de consolidare a controlului democratic asupra platformelor de internet dominante și de restabilire a unei economii online echitabile, care să fie în serviciul IMM-urilor, dar și al consumatorilor individuali. În cursul sesiunii plenare din iunie, membrii Comitetului au adoptat un aviz care sprijină intenția Comisiei Europene de a înăspri reglementarea piețelor și serviciilor digitale, subliniind, în același timp, inovațiile și competențele pe care orașele și regiunile le pot aduce în folosul unei reglementări solide și eficiente. Avizul CoR referitor la pachetul legislativ privind serviciile digitale face parte dintr-o rețea mai largă de inițiative menite să consolideze profilul CoR ca unul dintre motoarele UE pentru o transformare digitală favorabilă incluziunii. 

Comitetul European al Regiunilor și Comisia Europeană vor elabora proiecte comune pentru a sprijini predarea valorilor UE în sălile de clasă, cu ajutorul autorităților locale și regionale și pe bază de voluntariat. Într-o dezbatere desfășurată în cadrul sesiunii plenare cu Margaritis Schinas, vicepreședinte al Comisiei Europene responsabil cu promovarea modului nostru de viață european, liderii regionali și locali au subliniat, de asemenea, că sistemele de învățământ ar trebui să respecte și să promoveze pe deplin libertatea, egalitatea, toleranța și nediscriminarea. Ei au subliniat, de asemenea, că posibilitatea de a învăța despre Uniunea Europeană, valorile sale, patrimoniul cultural și diversitatea sa este vitală și trebuie oferită în toate comunitățile, pentru toate vârstele și fiecărui cetățean al UE. 

​Presidents of regional parliaments with or without legislative powers, Presidents of Regions and other regional entities endorsed today a Declaration which is the starting point of an Alliance of Regions for European Democracy that aims at enhancing the regions' political impact on the European decision making process on matters with direct relevance to the work of local and regional authorities. The endorsement took place during the political event "The place of regions in the European Union architecture in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe" organised by the European Committee of the Regions , the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), and the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. The Declaration also calls for the Conference on the Future of Europe to discuss the role of regions in the EU institutional architecture and to improve it to better address citizens' needs. 

When migrants move, it is overwhelmingly to cities that they come. Migrant integration happens in cities, and it is overseen by local governments. EUROCITIES recently published its fourth Integrating Cities Report which gives a direct insight into how cities are integrating migrants today. It is now available to read in full here. 

Comitetul European al Regiunilor, împreună cu Rețeaua Internațională a orașelor-adăpost ( International Cities of Refuge Network – ICORN) și orașul Gdańsk, deschid nominalizările pentru ediția din 2021 a premiului „Primarul Paweł Adamowicz” pentru curaj și excelență în promovarea libertății, solidarității și egalității. 

A large number of citizens and experts took part on 23 June in "Towards a multimodal Adriatic-Ionian major line with multiple connections to the Tyrrhenian coast", an event staged by the Abruzzo Region in collaboration with the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) as part of the European Year of Rail 2021. Connecting from L'Aquila and Brussels, speakers included president of the Abruzzo Region and CoR member Marco Marsilio; Portugal's secretary of state for infrastructure, Jorge Delgado on the outlook for the Portuguese Council presidency; the director for Investment, Innovative & Sustainable Transport at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), Herald Ruijters; and Italy's deputy minister for infrastructure and sustainable transport, Alessandro Morelli. 

Three vice-presidents of the European Commission will address the European Committee of the Regions on 30 June, discussing efforts to strengthen and deepen democracy, build inclusive societies, and improve EU legislation. Vice-President Věra Jourová will present the European Democracy Action Plan to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies, Vice-President Margaritis Schinas will highlight the role of education and culture in protecting the European way of life, while Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič will set out the European Commission's work programme as well as the Commission's efforts to embed strategic foresight into its work. Members of the CoR will also discuss the Conference on the Future of Europe with the three MEPs leading the work of the European Parliament in the EU-wide consultation. 

​​​​​​​The webinar looked at the state of digital transformation in European regions, taking stock of the latest research showing an increasing digital divide across European regions and urban-rural communities. Invited speakers shared their views on how public authorities at all levels can facilitate the digital transition of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), showcasing some best practices and collaboration initiatives from the European Entrepreneurial Regions. 

On 13 July 2021, the CoR, in cooperation with the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will hold the Enlargement Day.  

​​​Local communities' needs will weigh more in the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) investment decisions and regions will be among leading actors in shaping, implementing and assessing the national CAP strategic plans. This crucial result was achieved thanks to the work of the CoR, its intense cooperation with the European Parliament and – more recently - with the EU Commission. Regional and local leaders are ready to use the new CAP to deliver the Green Deal on the ground but urge Member States to set adequate rules to make this happen.  

În acest moment important, când șefii de stat și de guvern din UE se reunesc la Bruxelles pentru a analiza situația actuală a redresării economice, rezultatele unui nou studiu comandat de Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) dezvăluie lipsa implicării autorităților locale și regionale în pregătirea și punerea în aplicare a planurilor naționale de redresare și reziliență (PNRR). Studiul a fost prezentat în cadrul ședinței Comisiei pentru politica economică (ECON) a CoR . La rândul lor, membrii Comisiei ECON și-au exprimat profunda îngrijorare legată de faptul că atenția insuficientă acordată disparităților teritoriale în cadrul planurilor și coordonarea insuficientă cu obiectivele politicii de coeziune creează riscul suprapunerii fondurilor. 

The President of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, has received the International Medal of the Community of Madrid in recognition of his "unconditional support" to the region, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

​​Jari Andersson, member of Sastamala City Council (FI/EPP) has drafted an opinion for the European Committee of the Regions on the EU strategy on the rights of the child and the European Child Guarantee. Mr Andersson's opinion was adopted on Wednesday at the meeting of the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) of the CoR. 

There are early signs that changes aimed at making the process of accession to the European Union more dynamic and predictable are yielding results, with local and regional leaders, Serbia's EU ambassador and the European Commission detecting a "new momentum" in the past year.  

Regional leaders from Turkey and the European Union have expressed some optimism that the strains in the relationship between Turkey and the European Union may ease and that a more productive period of contacts and collaboration is possible, with economic sustainability a central theme. 

Albanian municipalities are increasingly focused on improving their capacity to absorb European Union money and implement EU-related reforms, political leaders and government officials said as a meeting with the European Committee of the Regions on 17 June. There were, however, warnings about a continuing imbalance between the level of responsibility they have been given by central government and the funding available to them. 

Montenegro must overcome a period of political tension and administrative disruption and "do its homework" on issues related to the rule of law if it is to maintain the pace of its bid to join the European Union, local and regional leaders from Montenegro were told at a meeting and the European Committee of the Regions on 10 June. 

Over 80 young local and regional young elected politicians (YEPs) from 21 European countries participated in an info session organized by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the implementation of the Renovation Wave at the local level . They engaged in a debate with the CoR member Rafal Trzaskowski, representatives of the Commission for the Environment, Climate Change and Energy (ENVE) from the CoR, the Covenant of Mayors Initiative, the European Investment Bank, the European Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the European City Facility Initiative, who provided them with the key information, tools and financial support opportunities to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.  

A joint survey of the European Committee of the Regions and the OECD  

The EU’s pilot initiative “Smart Specialisation Strategies for Sustainability" (S4) was launched in Seville today by the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Director for Growth and Innovation of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Mikel Landabaso. The initiative represents a voluntary update to the Smart Specialisation Strategies, with a stronger focus on sustainability. The JRC and CoR will cooperate on the piloting of S4 methodology in more than ten regions in Europe. 

The full respect of the "partnership principle" and its implementation under the new instruments financed by Next Generation EU, such as the Just Transition Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, are among the main requests included in the opinion adopted today by the members of the European Committee of the Region’s (CoR) Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER). Members were also briefed on the progress of the European Year of Rail and exchanged views on an opinion about the gender dimension of structural and cohesion funds 2021-2027. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) endorsed today the official launch of the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness and signed the Lisbon Declaration, which sets the target of eradicating homelessness in Europe by 2030. The SEDEC Commission Chair Anne Karjalainen, who represented the CoR in the high-level conference and official signing, highlighted the importance of successful regional and local approaches to tackle the phenomenon which currently affects an estimated 700 000 people in Europe.  

The Green Deal Going Local working group of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) held its sixth meeting today with the green recovery as its top priority. Members discussed the importance of involving local and regional authorities in the implementation phase of the national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs) which will support the European green transition in the next years. The meeting took place while the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen continues her tour through the EU capitals to hand over the endorsement of NRRPs to European leaders, and "make" the recovery "real".  

 

Baseline survey on how cities, towns and rural areas across Europe approach digital innovation launched today 

As bolstering sustainable economic development remains one of the three priorities of ARLEM, the Assembly continues to be invested in supporting young entrepreneurs. After what is now the third successful edition of the ARLEM Award – Young local entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean, the 2022 edition just opened for applications. Once more, we encourage young entrepreneurs (up to 35 years old) from the Mediterranean region to showcase their successful cooperation with their local and regional authorities. 

Delegația Comitetului European al Regiunilor (CoR) la Conferința privind viitorul Europei s-a reunit astăzi pentru a-și pregăti contribuția la ședința inaugurală a sesiunii plenare a Conferinței privind viitorul Europei , care va avea loc la 19 iunie, la Strasbourg. Delegații doresc să profite de ocazia oferită de conferință pentru a consolida dimensiunea democratică a Uniunii Europene și pentru a restabili încrederea cetățenilor în proiectul european. CoR, organismul reprezentativ al UE care funcționează la nivelul de guvernare cel mai apropiat de cetățeni, se angajează să facă auzită, în cadrul conferinței, vocea autorităților locale și regionale. 

​​On 14 June 2021, ARLEM member and CoR rapporteur Vincenzo Bianco (IT/PES) participated at the third UfM Ministerial Conference on Energy.