The CoR held its last plenary session before the Summer holidays on 30th June and 1st July. A number of important debates were held on topics including the Conference on the Future of Europe, Better Regulation and promoting European Values.

Most notably, a debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe took place with high-level representatives from the Executive Board of CoFoE Guy Verhofstadt, Manfred Weber and Iratxe Garcia Perez, MEPs. It was highlighted that the Conference must listen to all voices, and that the CoR has an important role to play in the Conference through its members and local and regional leaders from all over the EU.   

During a debate on Better Regulation, Foresight and the European Commissions’ Work Programme for 2022 with Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, the regions, cities and villages asked for a strong role in running EU investment for recovery to ensure that funds reach those most affected by the pandemic. The CoR reiterated its commitment to improve EU legislation by contributing to the Fit for Future (F4F) platform. In a resolution with proposals for the 2022 European Commission Work Programme , CoR members requested that the European Commission ensures that local and regional authorities are involved in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) in order to effectively address the pandemic’s consequences on the ground. 

Furthermore, the CoR adopted its resolution on a Vision for Europe – Future of Cross Border Cooperation. During adoption, Cllr Kieran McCarthy highlighted that in current times cross-border cooperation defines the essence of the European project and that the EU must invest more in connecting people and territories along land and maritime borders. In the resolution, the CoR commits its support for cross-border cooperation in enhancing territorial cohesion, links, exchanges and collaboration between territories and cities across the EU and presents its vision for cross-border cooperation which is split into a number of priority areas.  

Further to the above, lively and animated debates on the following topics took place:

• Debate on Promoting the European Values through Culture and Education with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission for Promoting our European Way of Life 
• Debate on the European Democracy Action Plan with  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency 

With this plenary session the CoR wrapped up business for the Summer months and Members will reconvene for the next plenary in October 2021, which will take place during the European Week of Regions and Cities.