Brussels, 16/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Alongside Open Days 2015, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) held its 114th plenary session from Monday 12 to Wednesday 14 October. The session was dominated by the refugee crisis and the fight against climate change, with all sights set on the Paris conference (COP 21).
On 13 October, two days before the European Council devoted mainly to the refugee crisis and the management of the external borders, the members of the CoR were able to hold an exchange with the High Representative of the European Union, Federica Mogherini. She stressed the leading role played by the regions and cities in international diplomacy. In this framework, discussions quickly moved to the refugee crisis and, in particular, the draft opinion of the CoR to be adopted in December, calling for a greater involvement of the regional authorities in European migration policies. The regions and cities received Mogherini's full support.
The other debate which provided the theme of the week was given over, on 14 October, to COP 21, and was attended by the Commissioner for Climate and Energy, Miguel Arias Canete. On the same day, the members adopted a report announcing the commitment of the cities and regions of Europe to go beyond the objectives laid down, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% between now and 2030 and increasing the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency by 40%. On top of this, the CoR supports the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Among the other events of significance at this plenary session of the Committee: the launch of an excellence label (see EUROPE 11409) to help regional research projects to secure funding, which was attended by the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, and two opinions adopted on Tuesday 13 October, one on the digital single market to support the roll-out of broadband in rural areas, the other on the 'audiovisual media services' directive, to bring the sector into line with new market conditions. Lastly, the members held a debate with Commissioner Phil Hogan about the simplification of the common agriculture policy, stressing the need to build more territorial cohesion into it, in the light of the crisis the sector is experiencing and the depopulation of rural areas. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)