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.  

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. 

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 ".  

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. 

Medlemmerne af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) har valgt Vasco Alves Cordeiro som deres nye formand for de næste to et halvt år. Han er medlem af Azorernes regionalparlament og vil stå i spidsen for EU's forsamling af lokale og regionale repræsentanter med fokus på at styrke demokratiet, forsvare samhørighedspolitikken, nå målene i EU's grønne pagt og øge den regionale støtte til Ukraine. RU's medlemmer valgte desuden Apostolos Tzitzikostas, som er guvernør i Centralmakedonien i Grækenland, til ny første næstformand. 

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. 

​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. 

Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg glæder sig over resultatet af konferencen om Europas fremtid, navnlig opfordringerne til at skabe et system af lokale EU-formidlere med henblik på at bringe Europa tættere på borgerne i dets regioner, byer og landsbyer og forbedre det europæiske demokrati. 

​​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 this interview, Andries Gryffroy (BE/EA), Member of the Flemish Parliament, and the European Committee of the Regions rapporteur of the opinion ' Amending the Renewable Energy Directive to meet the new 2030 climate target ', adopted during the 27-29 April plenary session, answers four questions on the role of local and regional authorities in the revision of the Directive and their contribution to the EU's energy independence. The opinion called on the European Commission to assess the feasibility of further raising the Directive's targets, based on a detailed impact assessment that takes into account its asymmetric impact on regions across the 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. 

Kommissionen bekendtgjorde i dag de 63 regioner, syv byer og fire medlemsstater, der er udvalgt i pilotprojektet for partnerskaber for regional innovation, som er et initiativ, der er udviklet i samarbejde med Regionsudvalget. Deltagerne i pilotprojektet er åbne over for at udveksle god praksis og for i fællesskab at udvikle og afprøve værktøjer til mobilisering af mange forskellige finansieringskilder og politikker og forbinde regionale og nationale programmer med EU-initiativer for den grønne og den digitale omstilling. Partnerskaberne vil indgå i Europas nye innovationsdagsorden, hvor innovation fremmer omstillingen til bæredygtighed og sammenkobler lokale strategier med initiativer på EU-plan. 

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. 

Den brutale invasion af Ukraine er en påmindelse om, at EU's 27 medlemsstater på trods af deres forskelle er tæt forbundet i kraft af deres engagement for fred, fælles grundlæggende værdier, demokrati og solidaritet. Borgernes tillid til EU er dog fortsat lav: resultaterne af det nylige præsidentvalg i Frankrig er mere et lettelsens øjeblik end en anledning til fejring med 41 % af de afgivne stemmer til det yderste højre. I dag – på Europadagen – efter et år med drøftelser på konferencen om Europas fremtid er tiden inde til ærlige overvejelser om, hvordan vi kan reformere den måde, hvorpå Unionen fungerer, så den bliver mere effektiv og lydhør og kommer tættere på de mennesker, den tjener. 

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.  

On 9 May, we mark the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration, which laid the foundation for what is now the European Union. Given Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, Europe Day 2022 is an even more important moment to reaffirm our attachment to peace, showcase our unity and solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and stand up for universal values, like freedom and democracy in a rules-based global order.