Migration: Commission and Committee of the Regions agree a partnership on integration

#EURegionsWeek will once again provide a unique opportunity to better understand how regions and cities are using EU funds to improve citizens’ daily life and how cohesion funds are making Europe greener, more inclusive and smarter. The annual conference co-organised by the CoR and European Commission is the largest event on regional development in Europe. This year’s edition will gather over 9,000 participants including scholars, public administrators, experts and more than 600 local, regional, national and European politicianswill take part in nearly 400 workshops and debates, exhibitions and networking opportunities about the different aspects of cohesion policy.

Highlights

·         7 October, 2.30pm-4.30pm (Watch live) – Opening session: Regions and cities, pillars of the EU’s future

Over 100 young elected politicians will attend the opening session and debate the future of European Union together with Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions, Klara Dobrev, Vice-President of the European Parliament and Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

·         8 October, 9am-10.30am, (Watch live) – REGI/COTER meeting on “The state of play of negotiations on the future Cohesion policy beyond 2020″

Members of the CoR and European Parliament will debate the ongoing negotiations on the EU budget 2021-2027 and the cohesion policy package. In this context, EU regions and cities can play a key role in building a strong cohesion policy for the future, by emphasizing the achievements of the policy over the current programming period.

·         9 October, 2.30pm-5.00pm, (Watch live) – Coal Regions in Transition High-Level Conference

Cutting dependence on fossil fuels and supporting coal-producing reigons make the clean energy transition vital in the fight against climate change. As well as national support, EU cohesion policy with its shared management will contribute to supporting the regions making the energy transition. During this event, EU ministers, MEPS, regional politicians and other high-level representatives from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain will also share their views on how best to support coal regions make the transition to a carbon-free future.

European Committee of the Regions’ Plenary Session
7-9 October, #CoRplenary, (Watch live)

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the EU’s assembly of local and regional leaders representing the interests of cities and regions. The CoRs 350 members will gather in Brussels to debate and adopt a range of opinions on EU legislation and political resolutions.

Highlights:

·         8 October 3.15pm – EU regional development policy beyond 2020: Younous Omarjee (FR/GUE/NGL), Chair of the Committee on Regional Development of the European Parliament (REGI), will join the CoR members to debate the future of regional development in the next financing period beyond 2020.

·         8 October 4.45pm – The future EU budget: By the end of 2019 the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU is expected to present compromise figures for the EU’s long-term budget 2021-27. EU regions and cities will share their increasing concerns with the EU Budget Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, and adopt a resolution

·         8 October 6pm – EU Matters for Local and Regional Authorities: CoR members will debate Brexit, insular regions and missing transport links in cross border connections

·         9 October 9.30am – Towards a digital and ecological EU: All EU regions and citizens must reap the benefit from the digital and ecological transitions that are shaping our societies. Local and regional representatives will exchange views with Finland’s Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen, on how to tackle the digital divide and ensure cohesion and solidarity for all.

You can find the full agenda, documents and draft opinions online.