November 15, 2024

The following is a press release:

Cohesion policy reform and the role of regions and cities in the EU and in global climate action in focus at plenary of European Committee of the Regions; meeting of European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine follows.

The president of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, together with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will address the plenary session on 20 November, discussing the role of local and regional authorities in shaping the future of Europe. The debate marks the 30th anniversary of the European Committee of the Regions.

Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, will speak in person. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, President of the European Council and a former CoR member, will also contribute, with video messages. Former presidents of the CoR will share their reflections.

The plenary will start with a minute of silence for the victims of flooding in Spain, and with statements by the presidents of the regions of Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia and Catalonia. The following day, the CoR will adopt a resolution on measures to support Member States affected by natural disasters.

The EU's economy and finances will be in focus for much of the plenary session. The CoR will present its recommendations to reform cohesion policy after 2027, adopting an opinion drafted jointly by CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro and by Emil Boc (RO/EPP), Chair of the COTER Commission. The Committee will also make proposals for a new design and delivery mechanisms for place-based policies in the EU's post-2027 long-term budget, and provide its response to the reports by Mario Draghi on competitiveness and Enrico Letta on the single market.

The plenary will also turn a spotlight onto the role of cities and regions in the UN climate talks, following the participation of a CoR delegation to COP29, and – in a debate with Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships – on how the EU's local and regional administrations can support the EU's strategy towards Africa.

Immediately after the CoR plenary, on 21 November, the Committee will host a meeting of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, attended by EU and Ukrainian territorial associations and other partners. The meeting will be held on the 1,001th day since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Follow the plenary on the CoR website

KEY MOMENTS

20 November, 2.50 p.m.: Statements by presidents of regions affected by recent floods in Spain. CoR members will on Thursday (10 a.m.) adopt a resolution on Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE) and EAFRD measures to provide assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters.

20 November, 3.00 p.m.: Debate on 30 years of the European Committee of the Regions and the role of local and regional authorities in shaping the future of Europe, with Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, and a video message from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, President of the European Council. Contributions to the debate will come from several former presidents of the CoR: Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EL/EPP); Karl-Heinz Lambertz (BE/PES); Markku Markkula (FI/EPP); Mercedes Bresso (IT/PES); Albert Bore (UK/PES); Jacques Blanc (FR/EPP). After the debate, CoR members will adopt a resolution that considers the need for an enlarged role for regions and cities in reform of functioning of the EU.

20 November, 5.05 p.m.: Debate on COP29 and the role of local and regional leaders for future global climate action, with the participation – via videolink from Baku, Azerbaijan – of the CoR's delegation to the COP. After the debate, CoR members will adopt an opinion on 'The future of EU climate policy: aligning mitigation targets and adaptation challenges', drafted by Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), President of the Helsinki Region.

20 November, 7.10 p.m.: Debate on local matters raised by CoR members: directly supporting municipalities in Ukraine; and migration to the Canary Islands.

21 November, 9.00 a.m.: Debate on 'a renewed cohesion policy post-2027 that leaves no one behind', with: MEP Marcos Ros Sempere (ES/S&D); Johanna Mikl-Leitner (AT/EPP), CoR member and Governor of Lower Austria, representing the Power Regions initiative; and Jorge Azcón Navarro (ES/EPP), CoR member and President of the Aragon Region, representing the EUregions4cohesion initiative. After the debate, CoR members will adopt an opinion drafted by Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), President of the European Committee of the Regions, and Emil Boc (RO/EPP), Mayor of Cluj-Napoca. After the debate, CoR members will adopt an opinion drafted by Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), President of the European Committee of the Regions, and Emil Boc (RO/EPP), Mayor of Cluj-Napoca.

21 November, 11.15 a.m.: Debate on 'regions and municipalities implementing the EU strategy with Africa' with Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. The debate is coupled with an own-initiative opinion by the CoR, drafted by Guido Milana (IT/RE), member of Olevano Romano Municipal Council.

21 November, 2.30 p.m.: Meeting of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, hosted by the European Committee of the Regions. The Alliance will issue a declaration on localising reconstruction and recovery efforts in Ukraine.

OPINIONS FOR ADOPTION

· 'A renewed Cohesion policy post 2027 that leaves no one behind - CoR responses to the 9th Cohesion Report, the Report of the High-Level group on the future of cohesion policy and the Council conclusions on the future of Cohesion Policy (June 2024)'. Rapporteurs: Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), president of the European Committee of the Regions, and Emil Boc (RO/EPP), mayor of Cluj-Napoca.

· 'EU budget and place-based policies: proposals for new design and delivery mechanisms in the MFF post-2027'. Rapporteur: Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis (FR/EA), member of the Corsican regional authority.

· 'The future of the single market and the EU's competitiveness'. Rapporteur: Martijn Van Gruijthuijsen (NL/RE), representing the province of Noord-Brabant.

· 'The future of EU climate policy: aligning mitigation targets and adaptation challenges'. Rapporteur-general: Markku Markkula (FI/EPP), president of the Helsinki Region.

· 'Regions and Municipalities implementing the EU Strategy with Africa'. Rapporteur: Guido Milana (IT/RE), member of Olevano Romano Municipal Council.

· 'How to exploit the full potential of cohesion policy to tackle demographic change'. Rapporteur: Raquel García González (ES/PES), director-general for European affairs, government of the Principality of Asturias.

· 'The future of European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) post 2027'. Rapporteur: Karsten Uno Petersen (DK/PES), member of the regional assembly of Southern Denmark.

· 'Solving obstacles to the cooperation of emergency services in the EU’s border regions'. Rapporteur: Pavel Branda (CZ/ECR), deputy mayor of Rádlo.

· 'Addressing territorial inequalities by improving access to social services'. Rapporteur: Declan McDonnell (IE/EA), member of Galway City Council.

· 'Challenges and Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector: defining the role of Regional and Local Authorities'. Rapporteur: Alberto Cirio (IT/EPP), president of the Piedmont region.

· 'Fair working conditions in agriculture: the local and regional perspective'. Rapporteur: Karine Gloanec-Maurin (FR/PES), first deputy mayor of Couëtron au Perche.

· 'Proposal for a regulation on the screening of foreign investments in the EU'. Rapporteur: Pehr Granfalk (SE/EPP), member of Solna Municipal Council.

Practical information:

Location: Hemicycle, European Parliament, 60 rue Wiertz, 1047 Brussels

Date: Wednesday, 20 November – Thursday, 21 November 2024.

Background material: The plenary agenda and opinions.

Webstreaming: On the website of the CoR.