Over the last decade, both EU bodies have successfully reduced consumption: -42% electricity, -54% gas, -58% water, -83% waste and -96% paper. In the context of the climate emergency, energy crisis and high inflation, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) have signed a new environmental commitment with concrete actions to reduce energy consumption, waste, pollution and to improve the overall environmental footprint of all their activities.  

​​​On 5th and 6th December, the CoR's Network of Regional Hubs (RegHub) met in Brussels to conduct one of its three annual workshops. This December workshop was particularly important because for the first time, the Network's contact points could attend a Fit for Future Platform (F4F) plenary in person, and see the two CoR-led opinions, to which they contributed, being adopted. Both F4F opinions – on the End-of-life vehicles Directive and the Governments Interoperability Strategy – were adopted by the Platform with unanimity. 

​​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Economic Policy ( ECON ) has adopted draft opinions on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, the review report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility as well as on the Single Market Emergency Instrument. On the same day, 7 December, a group of Czech glass producers also presented to ECON members crystal glasses from Bohemia, as an example of regional craft excellence that could be better protected through a new EU framework for geographical indications of industrial and craft products. The CoR has been calling since 2015 for the creation of the new system, which is built on a successful model used for agriculture and food. 

Local and regional authorities make EU law happen. Therefore their feedback on how EU rules are implemented on the ground to make them simpler, fewer and less bureaucratic is essential: this was the message of the CoR at the Fit for Future (F4F) Platform plenary on 5 December – a tool established by the European Commission for better and less burdensome EU legislation. Two opinions drafted by CoR members Mark Speich (DE/EPP) and Anne Karjalainen (FI/PSE) on topics that are of great relevance for local and regional authorities – interoperability of data systems and clear rules for end-of-life vehicles - were adopted. 

Local leaders are worried that the new own resources proposed by the European Commission will not be enough to finance the EU's challenges and repay the debt generated by the Recovery Plan. 

Local and regional authorities can play a critical role in countering hate crime and hate speech, breaking down barriers to reporting incidents of hate crime, and preventing discrimination and exclusion. This is the key message delivered by the European Committee of the Regions during the 30 November plenary session, by adopting recommendations that support the European Commission's proposals to add hate speech and hate crime to the list of crimes recognised in EU policy.  

I en udtalelse vedtaget på plenarforsamlingen den 30. november støtter Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) Kommissionens forslag om at samle de tre systemer for geografiske betegnelser i ét system med fælles bestemmelser for landbrugsprodukter, fødevarer, vin og spiritus. RU glæder sig især over, at en del af sagsbehandlingen uddelegeres til EU's Kontor for Intellektuel Ejendomsret (EUIPO), som råder over effektive værktøjer, som producenter af produkter med geografiske betegnelser kan benytte til at forenkle registreringsprocedurerne, forbedre overvågningen af de geografiske betegnelser og bekæmpe svig. 

Øer, landdistrikter, grænseoverskridende områder og bjergområder har brug for skræddersyede foranstaltninger, hvis de fortsat skal være attraktive, kunne tackle uligheder og dermed opveje deres geografiske ulemper. Det fastslår Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) i en udtalelse udarbejdet af formanden for regionalforsamlingen på Korsika. 

The European Committee of the Regions underlines in its opinion that the EU's ambitious innovation policy goals set in the New Innovation Agenda for Europe can only be achieved by reducing fragmentation among projects and stepping up cooperation in cities and regions between businesses, academia and regional and local authorities. Cities and regions also emphasise the need to set up ERA Hubs, as outlined by the Council of the EU one year ago, in order to speed up the emergence of competitive R&I ecosystems across the EU. 

Urban areas with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants house around 66% of Europe's urban dwellers and play an essential role in making the digital and green transitions happen. For this reason, in an opinion adopted by the European Committee of the Regions at the plenary session of 1 December, regional and local leaders demand targeted financial support for smaller urban areas to ensure a balanced territorial development. 

As inflation and high energy prices continue to mark the political agenda in the European Union, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) advocates for cities and regions, small businesses and households to have direct access to EU technical and financial support to tackle the energy crisis, help vulnerable households and move climate action forward. 

Mere undervisning i medborgerkundskab, en lavere valgretsalder og støtte til unge, der stiller op til valg, permanente mekanismer for ungdomshøring, afprøvning af ny lovgivning på de unge, styrkede EU-ungdomsprogrammer – det er blot nogle af anbefalingerne i chartret om unge og demokrati. Chartret blev udarbejdet i fællesskab i en bottom-up-proces med repræsentanter for ungdomsorganisationer og unge folkevalgte lokale og regionale repræsentanter fra hele EU og med støtte fra Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) og Det Europæiske Ungdomsforum. Det blev underskrevet på RU's plenarforsamling den 1. december under en debat om unge og Europas fremtid. 

The European Committee of the Regions has listened to citizens' expectations and is actively following up on the proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which cannot be fully implemented without the active involvement of the local and regional level. This is the core message of EU local and regional leaders ahead of the event where the three EU institutions leading the Conference will present to the citizens how they have been following up on their proposals. The European Committee of the Regions also highlights its achievements at local and regional levels and across policy fields in its latest report. In a declaration, the delegation of the European Committee of the Regions and of European associations of local and regional authorities stress the need for the further involvement of regions and cities in this new chapter for European democracy.  

Europæiske byer, regioner og kommuner, der ønsker at præsentere, dele og berige deres strategi og erfaring med at fremme bæredygtig vækst, kan nu ansøge om den europæiske iværksætterregionspris 2024, som støttes af Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU). Under det overordnede tema "Byer og regioner på vej mod bæredygtig, modstandsdygtig og digital vækst" vil den europæiske iværksætterregionspris 2024 fokusere på lokale og regionale foranstaltninger, der i de kommende to år støtter SMV'ernes grønne og digitale omstilling og styrker deres lokale økonomiers konkurrenceevne og langsigtede modstandsdygtighed. De lokale og regionale myndigheder kan fremlægge deres strategier indtil den 29. marts 2023. 

Loïg Chesnais-Girard, President of the Brittany region and rapporteur of the European Committee of the Regions on the opinion "Regional adaptation strategies for low carbon agriculture", commented the European Commission's announcement of an EU framework for the certification of carbon removal. 

The textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industry has an annual turnover of €195 billion, employs more than 2 million workers and encompasses more than 220 600 businesses in EU 

EU's bestræbelser på at tiltrække faglærte arbejdstagere fra lande uden for EU bør fremgå tydeligt i alle faser af migrationsprocessen, siger Det Europæiske Regionsudvalg (RU) i en udtalelse, hvor det fremhæver, at byerne kan hjælpe EU og dets medlemsstater med at forbedre deres forvaltning af lovlig migration. I anbefalingerne fremhæves det ligeledes, at krigen i Ukraine har understreget behovet for at fremskynde anerkendelsen af de færdigheder, som flygtninge bringer med sig, da dette er altafgørende for deres integration og for de lokale økonomier. 

Ruslands krig mod Ukraine truer den globale fødevareforsyning. Den har bragt markederne for landbrugsvarer yderligere ud af balance og ført til stigninger i de allerede høje priser på fødevarer, foder, energi og gødning. Dette har igen forværret de eksisterende forstyrrelser i fødevareforsyningskæderne som følge af pandemier og klimakrisen. På den baggrund drøftede RU's medlemmer, EU-kommissær for landbrug Janusz Wojciechowski og europaparlamentsmedlem Marlene Mortler på plenarforsamlingen den 30. november, hvordan det europæiske fødevaresystem kan gøres mere bæredygtigt og bedre rustet til fremtidige kriser. 

Following the first political meeting of the Alliance on 29 November, members from both European and Ukrainian cities and regions adopted the following joint view on the urgent need to stand by Ukraine, by providing emergency support. 

The Presidents of the European Committee of the Regions and of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe have warned that local and regional governments are struggling to cope with the series of crises that have rocked the continent since 2020. 

Today, the European Committee of the Regions hosted the launch of the pilot project “Monitoring the SDGs in the EU regions - Filling the data gaps - REGIONS2030", aiming at providing a framework for regions to monitor the SDGs in their territory. The project was initiated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with EC’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy and Eurostat, with the support of the European Parliament and the CoR, proposed by MEP Petros Kokkalis in 2021, and approved by the European Commission in 2022. 

The European Committee of the Regions joins Orange The World to show European cities and regions' commitment to stop this violation of women's rights. By designing safer public spaces for women, opening women's shelters, or mainstreaming gender equality across all policies, we make concrete efforts to put an end to the violence that still affects so many women and girls in the EU. 

At the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions on 30 November and 1 December, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Marian Jurečka, will address the consequences for European households of the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Janusz Wojciechowski, European Commissioner for Agriculture, will discuss the war's impact on European food security. 

On 24 November 2022, ARLEM vice-president Mark Speich, State Secretary for Federal, European and International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), addressed the co-presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean and ministers of foreign affairs at the UfM Seventh Regional Forum held as part of the celebrations for the Day of the Mediterranean of 28 November. 

On the occasion of NAT's 15th Commission meeting on 22 November, representatives from the European Commission's DG AGRI, Silvia Michelini, DG RTD, Peter Wehrheim and Roman Brenne, JRC, Marios Avraamides, and of the European Forest Institute, Inazio Martinez de Arano, were invited to participate in a debate with NAT's members on the Bioeconomy. 

​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget ( COTER ) debated on local and regional experiences in facing the current energy crisis during the meeting on 23 November. Members also adopted the opinion on "Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU's outermost regions", drafted by Pedro de Faria e Castro (PT/EPP). 

Partnerne i #CohesionAlliance – en koalition med12.000 underskriverefra hele EU, der ønsker en stærkere samhørighedspolitik – udtaler sig om de konklusioner om samhørighedspolitikken, som Rådet (almindelige anliggender) vedtog i dag. 

​The implementation of Just Transition Plans must be fast-tracked in all Member States 

​The European Committee of the Regions' commission for Natural Resources (NAT) met on 22 November to discuss and adopt opinions on "Regional adaptation strategies for low carbon agriculture" drafted by Loïg Chesnais/Girard (FR/PES) – President of the Brittany Region and on "the European Health Data Space" led by Daniela Cimpean (RO/EPP) – President of Sibiu County Council. They also exchanged views on "Sustainable use of pesticides" – rapporteur Heinz-Joachim Höfer (DE/PES). 

​​COP27 climate talks reached its conclusions on Sunday 20 November after two weeks of negotiations. During the closing plenary, Vincent Chauvet (FR/Renew Europe), Mayor of Autun and member of the European Committee of the Regions, took the floor as the representative of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency to the United Nations. You can watch his address here (4:44:16 to 4:47:10). Read here a COP27 negotiations wrap up from the LGMA constituency. 

The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) between the European Committee of the Regions and North Macedonia will hold its twentieth meeting on 24 November 2022 in Skopje. This jubilar meeting is the first fully in person in this EU candidate country after the break caused by COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first JCC meeting after the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia. In addition to the discussion of the country's EU accession process, the meeting will discuss the ongoing energy crisis, caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine, that is hitting Macedonian municipalities hard. 

The twelfth day of COP27 marked another important step for the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) delegation to Sharm el-Sheikh, where delegates participated to the first-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change, convened by the COP27 Egyptian Presidency. Delegates continued to contribute to events organised by global and European partners, highlighting the importance of local and regional action in the encouraging climate commitments, enabling public-private cooperation, managing air quality, promoting a fair green skills agenda and leading by example on the road towards climate neutrality. 

​​The future of Europe's democratic development, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and threats to media freedoms dominated the agenda when members of the CIVEX commission of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) met on 17 November.  

The EWWR is a leading international campaign promoting waste prevention during a single week in November. It brings together participants from various backgrounds and sectors – schools, public administrations, companies, NGOs but also citizens – to organise awareness-raising actions at different levels: local, regional, national, and even international. The objective of these actions is to change the behaviour surrounding consumption and production patterns and waste generation habits with the aim of contributing to reaching waste reduction and climate neutrality targets. 

The European Commission published on 18 November the first progress report on the European Education Area, as well as the 2022 Education and Training monitor which tracks progress towards achieving the EU-level targets with data from Member States. With the objective to complete the European Education Area (EEA) by 2025, representatives of EU's regions and cities have welcomed the roadmap that the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) had been calling for. However, they regret that the report lacks references to the role of local and regional authorities as well as data on regional disparities. 

Til en vellykket udfasning af forbrændingsmotorer og samtidig digitalisering af sektoren efterlyser Europas bilproducerende regioner en ny EU-støttemekanisme med særlige midler, en passende territorial konsekvensanalyse af de nye forordninger og tiltag til omskoling og opkvalificering af arbejdsstyrken. På det første politiske møde i alliancen af bilproducerende regioner den 17. november i Leipzig vedtog medlemmerne en kort- og mellemlangsigtet strategi og drøftede den nødvendige støtte til regioner med en stærk bilindustri med EU-kommissær for beskæftigelse og sociale rettigheder, Nicolas Schmit. 

Cities and regions worldwide are taking over political leadership at COP27 climate talks as national governments are failing to reach any meaningful agreement. As echoed in the latest IPCC report, local and regional governments have a growing role in delivering climate action. However, subnational governments – unified under the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency to the United Nations – still lack a formal role in global climate negotiations and in the implementation of the Paris agreement. Reinforcing multi-level cooperation, direct funds and technical assistance for subnational governments and a global system to collect and monitor cities’ and regions’ carbon emission reductions are amongst the key claims subnational governments are fighting for at COP27. ​​ 

Wednesday 16 November marked the tenth day at COP27 climate talks, another busy day for the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) delegation to Sharm el-Sheikh. The CoR hosted an event in the EU pavilion gathering global networks of subnational governments to launch the Declaration 'EU Green Deal: from local to global'. Delegates engaged in discussions with High-Level Champions, the Czech Presidency, the European Parliament and other key institutional partners to address the current state of the negotiations and the road to the upcoming COP28 to be held in Dubai. A press conference with CoR members was held in the COP27 Cairo press room, jointly conveying the need for a stronger role of subnational governments in international climate talks and in the implementation of the Paris agreement. In a series of Blue Zone events, CoR members highlighted the importance of local and regional action in biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, the deployment of green hydrogen and the New European Bauhaus , 'the soul of the Green Deal', among others. 

The CoR delegation was present in full force in Sharm el-Sheikh on the ninth day of COP27, where delegates met with EVP Frans Timmermans and key EU institutions, issuing a clear call for a stronger recognition of local and regional authorities in the COP27 conclusion documents. Delegates participated in events organised by global and European partners to highlight the importance of local and regional action in the just transition, tackling energy poverty and enabling multilevel cooperation , among others.  

During the first day of the second week of COP27, the CoR delegation has engaged in discussions with the High-Level Climate Champions, the Swedish national delegation and the European Parliament delegation on the outstanding issues on the negotiation process. The CoR delegation pushed for the formal recognition of subnational governments in accelerating a just climate transition. Delegates have underlined the importance of direct funding for local and regional authorities and have put forward the call for the inclusion of Regionally and Locally Determined Contributions (RLDCs) to complement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). ​ 

EU local and regional representatives pave the way for a new chapter of European democracy, where decisions are taken the closest to citizens, building on the momentum of the Conference on the Future of Europe 

For the second time since the RegHub network was launched, the hubs were present at the CoR's Subsidiarity Conference. This time, the Conference was held in Valencia (ES) and the Spanish hubs gathered during a side event to the Conference. 

The world's leaders should use the opportunity of the COP27 global climate talks in Egypt to bring cities and regions into decision-making on climate action, unlock climate funding for subnational governments, and encourage locally sensitive responses to mitigation and adaptation. The local and regional leaders , meeting at the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Izmir (Türkiye) on 7-8 November, specifically called for the creation at the UN talks in Sharm el-Sheikh of an Alliance for Cities with Circular Culture to encourage a shift towards more sustainable urbanism and clean energy transition. 

Declarations of the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, and the CoR rapporteur on the European economic governance review, Elio Di Rupo, on the proposal for a reformed EU economic governance framework put forward today by the European Commission.  

"We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator". This was the COP27 opening message from UN secretary general António Guterres on Monday 7 November with 120 world leaders present in the Nefertiti plenary room. As carbon emissions and global temperature keep rising, national governments are failing to step up climate commitments and provide concrete financial and technical solutions to adapt to the impact of global warming and its irreversible losses and damage. With this background, subnational governments are taking over political leadership by demonstrating they are the ones delivering climate action on the ground. As part of the delegation of the European Union and unified under the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) constituency to the United Nations, the members of the European Committee of the Regions present in Sharm-El-Sheikh will spare no efforts in defending a stronger role for cities and regions in global climate negotiations and the implementation of the Paris agreement. This is a summary of their activities at COP27. ​​ ​ 

Manar Ramadan of Banlastic Egypt, an environmental conservation company based in the city of Alexandria, has won the ARLEM Award for young entrepreneurs, beating contenders from over 50 other new small businesses from around the Mediterranean.​  

War in Ukraine adds urgency to local leaders' focus on green issues and need for greater local powers. Local leaders have highlighted the need effort to raise awareness of the 'green transition' in countries on the EU's eastern borders and for more political pressure to support the process of decentralisation in the EU's Eastern Partnership. The two recommendations on energy and local democracy – topics given added urgency by the war in Ukraine – also raise concerns that the drive for a greater ​sharing of powers with local governments has been weakened by the COVID pandemic.  

​During an event in Lednice, the Czech Republic presented its Rural Pact, a strategy that puts together citizens, local governments and stakeholders to boost the development of rural areas in the country. Members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), representatives of the Czech EU Council Presidency and of the European Parliament also committed to work for a real rural revival signing the joint declaration "Together for a smart rural Europe". 

​Local communities are instrumental in creating conditions for the development of good democratic habits, by fostering inclusive citizens dialogues, supporting youth engagement or leading by example with zero tolerance to discrimination and hate speech 

The European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine has issued a declaration calling for the European Union and G7 countries to harness the will and expertise of local and regional governments in the interests of a "sustainable" reconstruction of Ukraine. The message will be reinforced on 25 October by Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions, when he joins an EU and G7 conference to urge the EU and the international community to ensure that support is based on a sustainable, green, smart and inclusive approach and on good local and regional governance.​