From 30 June to 2 July, a delegation of members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) visited the West Bank and Israel and held meetings with representatives of local authorities from the region. The main topic of the meetings was the role of local and regional authorities, and especially cooperation among them, in reaching sustainable development goals. The EA Group was represented by Mr Uno Silberg, member of the Kose Municipality Council, Estonia.

Mr Silberg said that Baltic and Mediterranean regions have fundamental similarities and face some similar challenges, in that they are both EU's window to neighbouring countries and to the wider world. He also stressed the importance of coordination and cooperation among all levels of government: European (in the case of EU countries), national, regional and local.

The visit took place in the framework of Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM), a platform established by the CoR to foster cooperation between local and regional authorities in the EU and the Mediterranean basin.