30th Anniversary Celebration of the Committee of the Regions 

The European Committee of the Regions is the European Union’s assembly of local and regional elected leaders. It provides representation for all the European Union’s territorial areas, regions, cities and municipalities. 9-10 March 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the first plenary session, addressed by the President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. Our headquarters building bears his name.

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Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions 
The European Committee of the Regions turns 30 years old. These celebrations are an opportunity to celebrate our achievements, but also to look to the future. It is time that the assembly that represents local and regional authorities gets a reinforced place in the institutional architecture of the European Union. As the voice of over one million locally and regionally elected representatives, the Committee is key to increasing the democratic life of the European Union and bringing it closer to its people and regions.

The voice of elected local and regional representatives in the EU

From the start, the Committee has been a political assembly for shaping EU policies. Over the years, it has become a champion of multi-level governance and been given a formal role in ensuring decisions are taken and applied as close to the citizens as possible and at the most appropriate level. It is now the voice of over one million politicians elected at local and regional level in Europe, part of the democratic fabric of the EU.

Mons marks the milestones and looks to the future

The 30th anniversary of the European Committee of the Regions was celebrated formally in Mons at the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities on 18-19 March 2024.

With its global outlook and top-level discussion of current challenges, from supporting Ukrainian regions and cities to tackling climate change, the Summit showed how far the Committee has come over the last three decades. Co-organised with the Region of Wallonia and hosted in Mons, both transformed by EU cohesion policy, the Summit also showed how the political work of the Committee remains rooted in the local level. The Summit Declaration sets out the vision of regions and cities for the future of Europe, just ahead of EU leaders setting the strategic agenda for the Union over the next five years.

The sessions of the Summit are available to watch online on our webstreaming service.

After eight months of events and activities, the recommendations for the next mandate of the Committee will be adopted in November 2024.

Audio-visual material from 30 years of shaping EU policies and laws

The European Commission hosts the inter-institutional audio-visual archive, where more than 2 000 photos and 600 videos of the Committee at work over the years are available.

Multimedia

Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, addressing the constitutive Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions on 9 March 1994

 

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  • Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, addressing the constitutive Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions on 9 March 1994
    Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, addressing the constitutive Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions on 9 March 1994
  • 30th anniversary video
    30th anniversary video
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