​EU Enlargement was in focus at the CoR this week as delegations of local and regional authorities (LRAs) from candidate countries arrived to participate in an Enlargement Day plenary session. Ahead of this, Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Working Group meetings brought together CoR members and candidate LRAs to discuss each country's path to accession. Discussions considered the opportunities and challenges of cross-border cooperation and highlighted initiatives by candidate LRAs implementing reforms at the local level. The EA Group was well represented in each meeting, with Mr. Krzysztof Iwaniuk attending WG Kosovo, Mr. Anthony Murphy attending JCC Albania, Ms. Caroline Dwane-Stanley attending WG Turkey, Mr. Tadeusz Truskolaski attending JCC North Macedonia and Mr. Mantas Varaska attending WG Ukraine.

The following day saw convergence of all the JCCs and WGs for a plenary session which featured panel discussions on topics of decentralisation within the enlargement process and energy transition and local climate action in the context of EU accession. EA Group members Tadeusz Truskolaski and Caroline Dwane-Stanley weighed in, offering recommendations for how candidate LRAs can be supported in undertaking accession reforms. 

Tadeusz Truskolaski urged candidate LRAs 'do not give up your efforts, you need to be bold' when speaking on decentralisation reforms for candidate countries. From his positive personal experience of Poland's EU accession process, Mr. Truskolaski acknowledged that initial hardship comes with decentralisation reforms but gave assurance that results make the hassle worthwhile. He stressed that decentralisation is necessary for delivering strong local governance that can more effectively implement EU programmes, thus aiding EU integration in the long run. 'We will continue to help you' he stressed. 

Later, Caroline Dwane-Stanley contributed to a discussion on green energy reforms by highlighting how financial barriers prohibit many people from participating in the green energy transition. Outlining an example from her home county of Laois, Ireland, she described how a local initiative for installing deep retrofitting in private homes has left behind a cohort that cannot afford it. 'There's a huge gap there' she stressed, where many people willing to convert to renewable energy are prevented from doing so due to the associated financial burden. She accordingly called for development of a funding scheme that will ensure no households are excluded from renewable energy roll-out and thereby foster a more equitable and inclusive green energy transition.