President Tüttő to present state of the EU's regions and cities and opens European Week of Regions and Cities

Also on the #CoRplenary agenda: EU's long-term budget post-2027, employment and social policies, disaster risk reduction, and the automotive sector.

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Kata Tüttő, will on 12 October present the CoR's 2026 report on the 'State of Regions and Cities'.

The presentation of the report also marks the opening of the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC), the largest event in the EU for local and regional authorities, which is co-organised by the CoR and the European Commission. The opening session of the EWRC will also be addressed by: António Costa, President of the European Council; Raffaele Fitto, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms; and Jyrki Katainen, former Prime Minister of Finland.

President Tüttő will also chair the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions on 13-14 October. The plenary features debates: on employment and social policies, with Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission; on the Culture Compass for Europe, with Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport; and on this summer's wildfires and droughts, with Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General at the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

The CoR's legislative work will be reflected in a resolution and 19 sets of recommendations – ranging from the defence industry, the 'simplification' agenda, competitiveness and transport to the urban agenda, the EU's Cultural Compass, and racism. Ylva Johansson, the European Commission's Special Envoy for Ukrainians in the European Union, Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, and Tetiana Yehorova-Lutsenko, President of the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils (UAROR), will provide their perspective on the CoR's own-initiative opinion on sustainable solutions for displaced Ukrainians.

• Follow the President's address on the European State of Regions and Cities.
• Follow the plenary session (#CoRplenary) on the CoR's website.
• Visit the website of the European Week of Regions and Cities (#EURegionsWeek) for details of the programme.
• Photos of the Week and of the CoR's plenary session.

KEY MOMENTS

12 October, 2.30 p.m.: Opening of the #EURegionsWeek of Regions. Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions, presents the ‘State of Regions and Cities in the European Union’.There will also be addresses by: António Costa, President of the European Council; Raffaele Fitto, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms; for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union; and Jyrki Katainen, former Finnish Prime Minister and Vice-President of the European Commission. 

13 October, 3.50 p.m.: Debate on employment and social policies, with Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness. The CoR and the European Commission will sign a Joint Action Plan on Renewed Cooperation on Employment and Social Policies. 

13 October, 5.25 p.m.: Debate on wildfires and drought, with Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General at the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

13 October, 6.00 p.m.: Presentation of the European Capitals of Culture 2027 – Liepāja (LV) and Évora (PT) by CoR members Gunārs Ansiņš (LV/RE), mayor of Liepāja, and Carlos Zorrinho (PT/PES), mayor of Évora. 

13 October, 6.10 p.m.: Debate on the Culture Compass for Europe and the 'Voices of the Future' initiative, with Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport. The debate will be followed by the adoption of an opinion on the Culture Compass for Europe. The European Commission launched the 'Voices of the Future' initiative in March 2026 to promote long-term thinking in governance and to ensure that young people have a stronger voice in shaping policies. 

14 October, 10:20 a.m.: Debate on the automotive sector, with Brigitte Torloting, chair of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) and vice-president of the Grand Est region of France. The debate will be followed by the adoption of two opinions on transport, on the 'Automotive package' and on 'Advancing Europe’s sustainable and connected transport system – a territorial perspective'.

14 October, 12:00 a.m.: Presentation of the European Entrepreneurial Region Award, to Duisburg in Germany, Umbria in Italy, and Romania's North-East Region. 

OPINIONS FOR ADOPTION

• 'From Temporary Protection to Sustainable Solutions for Displaced Ukrainians in the EU – the role of cities and regions.' Rapporteur: Antje Grotheer (DE/PES), president of Bremen City Parliament.
• 'European Democracy Shield.' Rapporteur: Stephen De Ron (LU/Greens), councillor of the municipality of Hesperange.
• 'EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap.' Rapporteur: Tadeusz Truskolaski (PL/EA), mayor of Białystok.
• 'ProtectEU: Agenda to prevent and counter terrorism.' Rapporteur: Olgierd Geblewicz (PL/EPP), president of West Pomerania Region.
• 'Culture Compass for Europe'. Rapporteur: Tanya Hristova (BG/EPP), mayor of Gabrovo.
• 'The 2026-2030 EU anti-racism strategy.' Rapporteur: Pär Löfstrand (SE/RE), member of Östersund Municipal Council.
• 'Cybersecurity Review and Digital Networks Act.' Rapporteur: Zdeněk Hřib (CZ/Greens), member of Prague City Council.
• 'New European Bauhaus - from vision to implementation.' Rapporteur: Tsvetelina Simeonova-Zarkin (BG/RE), member of Sofia Municipal Council.
• 'EU Agenda for Cities.' Rapporteur: Kieran McCarthy (IE/EA), member of Cork County Council.
• 'Automotive package.' Rapporteur: María Victoria Chivite Navascués (ES/PES), Member of the Government of Navarre.
• 'An Atlantic Macro-region.' Rapporteur: Ander Caballero Barturen (ES/RE), General Secretary for External Action and a Global Basque Country, Government of the Basque Country.
• 'Skills for the Future.' Rapporteur: Karolien Grosemans (BE/EA), member of the Flemish Parliament.
• 'A European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures.' Rapporteur: Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), member of Espoo City Council.
• 'Advancing Europe’s sustainable and connected transport system – a territorial perspective.' Rapporteur: Marco Marsilio (IT/ECR), president of Abruzzo Region.
• 'The Industrial Accelerator Act.' Rapporteur: Willy Borsus (BE/Renew Europe), member of the Municipal Council of Marche-en-Famenne.
• 'Environmental Implementation review- implementation and simplification of the EU environmental policies.' Rapporteur: Stefania Proietti (IT/PES), President of the Umbria Region.
• 'A Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy.' Rapporteur: Karl Vanlouwe (BE/EA), member of the Flemish Parliament.
• 'An EU cardiovascular health plan: the Safe Hearts Plan.' Rapporteur: Carmine Pacente (IT/Renew Europe), councillor of Milan.
• 'The common market organisation in agricultural products and EU School scheme.' Rapporteur: Alessio Mammi (IT/PES), Regional Minister of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

Practical information – plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions: 

Location: Paul Henri Spaak building – Hemicycle, European Parliament, Brussels

Date: Monday, 12 October – Wednesday, 14 October 2026.

Background material: The plenary agenda and opinions and amendments.

Webstreaming: On the website of the CoR.

Contact:

PresseCdr@cor.europa.eu