​As every year, in the beginning of May EU enlargement was high on the European Committee of the Regions’ agenda.

First, on 3 May, CoR members and their counterparts from Turkey and the Western Balkans held separate meetings of Joint Consultative Committees (JCC) and Working Groups (WG) which meet  twice a year. The topics included protection of cultural heritage, digital transformation, waste management, city-to-city partnerships and the fight against corruption.

On 4 May, members of all JCCs and WGs met together for a plenary session, the so-called Enlargement Day, when they discussed the current state and the future of the EU enlargement process with representatives of the European Commission’s DG NEAR, Bulgarian Presidency, think-tanks and networks of local and regional authorities from South-East Europe.

European Committee of the Regions currently has JCCs with representatives of local and regional authorities from Serbia, Montenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, while cooperation with Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo takes place at the level of working groups.

EA Group members who took part in the events are Mr Jan Van Esbroeck (member of JCC Serbia), Mr Hughie McGrath (JCC Montenegro), Mr Declan McDonnell (JCC FYROM), Mr Józef Kotyś (WG  Turkey) and Mr Virginijus Komskis (WG Western Balkans which includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo).