02/02/2018 (Agence Europe) – After a previous experiment carried out between 2012 and 2013, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion on Wednesday 31 January calling on the European Commission to set up an exchange programme for regional and local elected representatives in the EU for the period from 2018 to 2020. The opinion, drafted by François Decoster (ALDE, France), seeks to facilitate sharing best practice, improve elected representatives’ knowledge of European legislation, launch fresh initiatives at local level and help elected representatives better understand “the spirit of European integration” so that they can convey it to their fellow citizens. Funding of the project would be shared between the EU and participating local authorities. The CoR calls on the European Parliament to support the initiative and hopes an inter-institutional working group can be set up quickly to develop and prepare the programme. (PH)