RegHub in brief
The CoR launched a new generation of its Regional Hubs Network (RegHub). Its members monitor the implementation of EU policies on the ground and make sure that the voices of hundreds of regional and local stakeholders are taken into account when these policies are evaluated at European level.
Our Goals
Local and regional authorities implement more than 70% of EU legislation and are therefore in a good position to judge its accuracy and effectiveness. Only if EU legislators take into account the regional and local perspective can European laws and policies be better implemented on the ground and achieve their objectives.
The goals of RegHub are to:
- Contribute to the EU’s better regulation efforts by bringing a local and regional perspective to the evaluation of EU legislation.
- Increase the involvement of local and regional authorities in the design of EU legislation and in the improvement of its implementation.
- Strengthen the links between local and regional authorities and EU institutions by promoting the sub-national perspective and creating opportunities for dialogue.
- Present and disseminate good practice examples for the implementation of EU law in regions, cities, and municipalities.
One of the ways in which RegHub pursues these objectives is through its role as a sub-group of the European Commission’s Fit for Future Platform, which involves conducting targeted consultations and working with the platform's rapporteurs, as well as sharing reports with the platform. Furthermore, RegHub works closely with institutional partners and research institutes and organises workshops and seminars in the framework of the European Week of Regions and Cities.
Our Method
RegHub's unique working method, namely targeted stakeholder consultations, has proven to be an effective tool to gather unique and granular information on the implementation of EU law.
The process involves, as a first step, the dissemination of questionnaires among the hubs (contact points in local and regional administrations), who, as a second step, reach out to targeted stakeholders, who implement the EU policy that is the subject of the consultation.
After collecting all the feedback, the hubs aggregate the stakeholder information and send their reply back to the CoR's RegHub Secretariat. The CoR then formulates recommendations based on this input.
RegHub and Fit for Future 2021 - 2024
Between 2021 and 2024, RegHub was a dedicated subgroup of the European Commission's Fit for Future Platform (F4F). Within this time, RegHub consultations contributed to the following Platform Opinions:
- Evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund and the Just Transition Fund, rapporteur Mark Speich (DE/EPP)
- Evaluation of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), rapporteur Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES)
- Public procurement, rapporteur Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES)
- Digital Europe Programme, rapporteur Michiel Rijsberman (NL/Renew)
- End-of-life vehicles (ELV), rapporteur Mark Speich (DE/EPP)
- Governments Interoperability Strategy, rapporteur Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES)
- eProcurement, rapporteur Mark Speich (DE/EPP)
- INSPIRE - Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community, rapporteur Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES)
- Directive on the application on patient rights in cross-border healthcare, rapporteur Ulrika Landergren (SE/Renew)
- Ambient air quality legislation
In 2021, RegHub also conducted its two-step consultation on 21st century rules for 21st century infrastructure. The results provided data for a special RegHub report that was presented to the then Fit for Future chair, Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.
