Local and regional politicians from across the political spectrum have voiced preliminary support for a fast-tracked set of recommendations intended to ensure that the regions and cities of the European Union can become deeply and effectively involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The rapporteur, Mayor of Florence Daria Nardella , said that "rebuilding is a re-birth" for Ukraine and that the EU's local and regional authorities "should be proud" to help this re-birth, a process that would include a sharp focus on helping Ukraine's transition to a greener and more sustainable economy. 

Rental and housing markets in European cities and regions have significantly come under pressure since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Members of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget ( COTER ) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) call for increased support for European regions and cities on the frontline of the refugee income to ensure the long-term integration through affordable and accessible housing to all citizens.  

Emil Boc, primarul municipiului Cluj-Napoca și fost prim-ministru al României, a fost ales președintele Comisiei pentru politica de coeziune teritorială și bugetul UE (COTER) a Comitetului European al Regiunilor. Mandatul său va dura doi ani și jumătate. 

Enzo Bianco (IT/PES) was elected chair of the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) at the commission´s meeting on 28 September. Mr Bianco, a member of the Catania Municipal Council, will chair the CIVEX commission work for 2.5 years, the second half of the CoR's current five-year mandate. 

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is inviting European regions to express their interest to contribute to the Pilot Project "REGIONS2030: Monitoring the SDGs in the EU regions – Filling the data gaps", supported by the European Parliament. 

​​The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) awarded the prizes for the best region, city and bio-district as part of the European Organic Day. The awards were organized by the CoR together with the European Commission , the European Economic and Social Committee, COPA-COGECA and IFOAM Organics Europe to reward excellence along the European organic value chain. 

​Access to affordable energy and raw materials, friendly business environment and the development of new skills are the most pressing challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. Local and regional leaders, members of the Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), gathered in Zwolle (the Netherlands) to discuss how to help SMEs face these challenges to overcome the current crisis and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future. 

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) , Vasco Alves Cordeiro, has called for higher climate ambition and a dedicated framework for encoding, monitoring and reporting cities' and regions' climate commitments and achievements in the context of the Paris agreement. This was the main message shared at the General Assembly of the Under2Coalition, ​the world's largest network of subnational governments committed to 2050 net zero emissions, which took place in New York, on 19 September 2022, as part of the Climate Week NYC 

​Czech representative Jaroslava Jermanová was elected chair of the European Committee of the Regions' commission for Economic Policy (ECON) at the meeting on 22 September. Ms Jermanová, Councillor of the Central Bohemian Region, will chair ECON's work over the forthcoming two and half years, until the end of the CoR's current five-year mandate. 

Hilary Benn, a senior figure in parliamentary relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union, has said that some UK and EU ideas on how to resolve differences over the management of trade in Northern Ireland are "quite close" – and that agreement would provide "an opportunity to move on".  

Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) a publicat primul manual privind Pactul verde, cu accent pe adaptarea la schimbările climatice. Manualul este un set de instrumente interactive care oferă informații privind ajutorul financiar și instrumentele tehnice pentru punerea în aplicare a măsurilor de adaptare la schimbările climatice în funcție de zona geografică și caracteristicile regionale. Obiectivul este de a dota autoritățile locale și regionale cu un set de instrumente și recomandări pentru a se adapta mai bine la schimbările climatice, a reduce la minimum vulnerabilitățile și a consolida reziliența, în vederea reducerii riscurilor de dezastre, a pierderilor și daunelor.Pentru fiecare stat membru al UE este disponibil un manual. 

​The registration to EuroPCom 2022 is now open. The 13th edition of the annual European Public Communication Conference takes place fully digitally in the morning on Friday 28 October 2022 under the slogan "Communicating Climate Action". 

Comitetul European al Regiunilor oferă sprijinul său deplin și ferm orașelor și regiunilor ucrainene, a declarat președintele său, Vasco Cordeiro, la 16 septembrie, afirmând că regiunile și orașele din UE vor continua să sprijine autoritățile locale și regionale ucrainene pe termen lung. 

President von der Leyen' speech on the State of the European Union is a good sum up of the challenges Europe is facing and a clear demonstration of political will and ambition to overcome them. On behalf of regions and cities from all the Union, represented by the European Committee of Regions I would like to make it clear that we answer her call to win over these challenges and we stand ready to do our part in the European common effort. 

​Europe is rich in diversity. All territories face the same societal challenges, such as climate change, energy crisis, or the interruption of supply chains, but these impact on regions in different ways. Every region has different priorities, different conditions and different assets in face of such challenges. The uniqueness of each territory requires bespoke actions that are tailored to both the specific territorial needs and the availability of tools at the disposal of each region. For example, some places may have a greater need to support the creation of new industries, while others to help existing industries become more sustainable. 

​​ As part of the delegation of the European Union to COP27, local and regional leaders have discussed with the Czech Presidency, the European Commission, and the European Parliament concrete ways to strengthen climate governance and help citizens face global warming and unprecedented energy prices  

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the Committee of the Regions, met yesterday with a delegation of the National Conference of State Legislatures of the United States (NCSL), led by Speaker Scott Saiki, from Hawaii, and discussed opportunities for cooperation on key common challenges. 

 

The 20th edition of EURegionsWeek under the motto New Challenges for Europe's cohesion is ready to take off. 

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, more and more areas in the country are cut off the electricity supply, including hospitals and other places which urgently require access to power. In order to help civilians, the World Wind Energy Association WWEA and the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform Global100RE (http://www.global100re.org/), supported by Global100RE Ambassador Ruslana (https://ruslana.ua/en/), are calling for donations of equipment which can supply power independently from the national grid, after all small and stand alone solar systems including batteries, power banks etc. 

Comitetul European al Regiunilor (CoR) lansează un nou apel la prezentarea celor mai bune practici, adresat membrilor și supleanților CoR, tinerilor politicieni aleși (YEP) și membrilor rețelei CoR de consilieri locali și regionali, cu scopul de a colecta și a promova proiectele durabile și cu emisii scăzute de dioxid de carbon, precum și angajamentele în materie de climă vizând reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră asumate de către autoritățile locale și regionale din întreaga UE. Regiunea sau orașul dumneavoastră are un proiect specific care vizează obiectivele Pactului verde european? Regiunea sau orașul dumneavoastră a stabilit un obiectiv de reducere a emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră până în 2030 sau 2050? Dacă răspunsul este „da”, acest apel vi se adresează. 

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, met today the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, in an exchange meant to present the priorities of President Cordeiro at the helm of the CoR for 2022-2025. 

The European Commission has just published its 2021 Annual Burden Survey, explaining and taking stock of the EU's better regulation efforts in 2021, their concrete findings and follow-up. 

The presidents of the European Committee of the Regions and the Association of Ukrainian Cities have congratulated cities and regions that are organising summer camps in the European Union for Ukrainian children, saying that this is an act of solidarity that offers a sense of normality to some of the millions of Ukrainian children whose lives have been shaken by the war.  

The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee are launching the call for expression of interest to participate to the 7th meeting of the European Migration Forum, which will take place on 20-21 October 2022 in Brussels. The European Migration Forum is a platform for dialogue between civil society and the European institutions on issues relating to migration, asylum and the integratio n of non-EU country nationals. 

​The ENVE commission meeting on 15 July showed that the prospect of the energy crisis is worsening as the approaching winter is a major concern for EU local and regional authorities. The severe droughts across the EU and the tragic collapse of the Marmolada glacier confirm the urgent need to adapt to global warming. The ENVE commission adopted two draft opinions on the energy package on gas, hydrogen and methane, and the role of cities and regions in global climate governance ahead of the United Nations climate summit to take place in November in Egypt. The priorities of the Czech Presidency were also on the discussion table.  

Moduri de îmbunătățire a finanțării decarbonizării transportului public prin politica de coeziune și alte instrumente ale UE, eliminarea blocajelor administrative și accesul direct al orașelor la fondurile UE: acestea au fost principalele chestiuni discutate în cadrul unei reuniuni de două zile, la Praga, a liderilor locali și regionali din întreaga Uniune Europeană, la începutulPreședinției cehe a Consiliului UE. 

The European Union and any country wishing to join the EU need to do more to address the concerns of young people and secure their participation in politics, local and regional politicians from the EU, the western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia at a two-day conference focused on EU enlargement. 

The growing digital divide between urban and rural areas is one of the major challenges faced by citizens and businesses in Europe. EU, national, regional and local governments must therefore intensify cooperation to ensure a decent access to internet and digital services in key areas such as healthcare, education, public services, social inclusion. This was one of the main messages that emerged from the meeting of the Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 8 July.  

​With the New European Innovation Agenda , the European Commission wants to position Europe as a leading player on the global innovation scene, capable to develop new technologies to address the most pressing societal challenges. The European Committee of the Regions welcomes that the communication published on 5 July puts an important focus on closing the innovation divide between EU regions and reinforcing the links between regional smart specialization strategies, Horizon Europe and other funding mechanisms. 

​With antisemitism worryingly on the rise in Europe and beyond, the European Union is beginning to implement the first ever EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. EU regions and cities have a crucial role in protecting and promoting Jewish cultural heritage as a vital part of Europe's culture and way of life. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 29 June welcomed the increasing attention paid to local and regional government in the European Union's enlargement process, but added that the European Commission should now go further by focusing on encouraging national governments to cooperate more with regional and local governments. The recommendations are contained in the Committee's response to the European Commission's 2021 reports on reforms made by countries wishing to join the European Union.  

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, representative of Aude Departmental Council. 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. 

În urmaadoptării de către Consiliu a abordărilor sale generale cu privire la principalele propuneri legislative din dosarele pachetului „Pregătiți pentru 55”, Comitetul European al Regiunilor a adoptat patru avize direct legate de rolul orașelor și regiunilor în punerea în aplicare a Pactului verde european – strategia de creștere a UE, pentru a atinge neutralitatea climatică până în 2050. Aceste avize abordează de la măsuri economice și financiare pentru creșterea bugetelor ecologice locale până la punerea în aplicare a Directivei privind performanța energetică a clădirilor (EPBD) și necesitatea de a elabora măsuri sociale pentru a proteja persoanele cele mai vulnerabile și a consolida rolul cetățenilor în tranziția verde. 

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has launched the Automotive Regions Alliance – a political network of regions engaged for the successful transition of the European automotive and supply industry. The Alliance aims to bring in the regional perspective into the ongoing debates on decarbonisation of EU transport while securing jobs, competitiveness and ensuring economic and social cohesion in every European territory impacted by the transition. The automotive industry reached a turnover of over 7% of the EU GDP and currently employs over 14 million Europeans, representing 6.1% of total EU employment. The launch event took place during the CoR's plenary session on 30 June and is the starting point for further actions of the Alliance, which is so far composed of 20 regions with a strong automotive and supply sector from seven Member States: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and The Netherlands. The Alliance is open to any new region to join the network. 

La 30 iunie, Comitetul European al Regiunilor și asociațiile care reprezintă orașele și regiunile europene au lansat Alianța europeană a orașelor și regiunilor pentru reconstrucția Ucrainei, pentru a ajuta autoritățile locale și regionale din Ucraina să reconstruiască locuințele, școlile, infrastructura și serviciile distruse de Rusia de la invazia sa, la 24 februarie. Alianța, a cărei lansare a avut loc la doar șapte zile după ce statele membre ale UE au convenit să accepte Ucraina ca țară candidată, a fost salutată de ministrul ucrainean al dezvoltării comunităților și teritoriilor ca potențială „bază pentru integrarea europeană a țării noastre”. 

Barcelona (Spain), Penela Municipality (Portugal) and West Pomerania Region (Poland) have been named European Entrepreneurial Regions (EER) for 2023. The three European territories have been awarded this excellence label by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) for their outstanding entrepreneurial and intelligent growth strategies while taking into account societal challenges. The 2023 edition of the EER revolves around the lead theme "Entrepreneurship and resilient communities".  

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. 

Membrii Comitetului European al Regiunilor (CoR) l-au ales pe Vasco Alves Cordeiro ca nou președinte al Comitetului pentru următorii doi ani și jumătate. Dl Alves Cordeiro, membru al Parlamentului regional al Insulelor Azore, va conduce Adunarea UE a reprezentanților locali și regionali, concentrându-se pe consolidarea democrației, apărarea politicii de coeziune, atingerea obiectivelor Pactului verde european și consolidarea sprijinului regional pentru Ucraina. De asemenea, membrii CoR l-au ales pe Apostolos Tzitzikostas, guvernatorul regiunii Macedonia Centrală din Grecia, ca nou prim-vicepreședinte. 

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 cities and regions call on the European Commission to strengthen the criteria for defining the employment status of digital platform workers in order to improve their working conditions. In an opinion drafted by Yonnec Polet (BE/PES), First Deputy Mayor of Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, the European Committee of the Regions also voices its concern about the use of algorithms and stresses that workers must always have the right to a decision taken by a human manager or supervisor. The opinion was adopted by the plenary session on 29 June. 

​​​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.