The Committee of the Regions' plenary session, to be held on 5 and 7 October, in parallel with the OPEN DAYS - European Week of Regions and Cities, will reflect the main themes in current EU institutional and political affairs. The session's main theme will be the battle against the effects of climate change and preparations at regional and municipal level for the Copenhagen summit.

The Committee of the Regions' upcoming plenary session, which will coincide with the Open Days 2009, promises to be a particularly crucial meeting, particularly in view of the forthcoming Copenhagen summit. Having committed itself alongside the European Commission, in the Covenant of Mayors signed last spring by some 700 European cities, the CoR will underscore its commitment to these goals at its plenary session on 7 October by dedicating one of its OPEN DAYS to the environment.

The October Plenary Session of the Committee of the Regions will take place during the annual OPEN DAYS European Week of Regions and Cities, the biggest event on the EU's regional policy calendar. Organised jointly by the CoR and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional Policy, this 7th edition of the OPEN DAYS will take the form of more than 200 workshops and events focusing on four major themes: innovation, territorial cohesion, the future of cohesion policy and the role of local and regional authorities in tackling climate change.

This last theme will also be dealt with extensively during the CoR plenary session on Wednesday 7 October, with the adoption of two opinions focusing on key areas where local and regional authorities have an important role to play in tackling climate change. The first highlights in particular the need to ensure that any pan-EU strategy to tackle climate change involves the local and regional level not only in efforts to mitigate climate change but also to adapt to its effects, and the other one offers an an EU-wide approach to disaster prevention.

Regions and cities push for more eco-friendly and efficient European transport policy

Combating climate change also requires the development of innovative transport solutions, from urban mobility schemes to the major European transport corridors. Europe's cross-border routes are of fundamental importance for its regions and cities, and a vital instrument for promoting territorial cohesion. Within this framework, two CoR opinions to be adopted at the October plenary session will put forward proposals to develop a more efficient, eco-friendly and safe EU transport policy.

The flagship projects of the European Union's transport policy are the so-called "trans-European transport networks" ("TEN-T"), which coordinate and finance large-scale transnational transport links. In his draft opinion on the European Commission's proposals for a TEN-T policy review, Jean-Michel Daclin (FR/PES), deputy mayor of Lyon, demands that these EU-funded projects give greater priority to environmental concerns and support more eco-friendly modes of transport, such as rail, sea and inland waterways.

The importance of rail freight as an eco-friendly and safe alternative to other modes of transport is also emphasised in a draft opinion on competitive rail freight transport,

Asylum and immigration : local and regional authorities on the front line

During this plenary session the members of the CoR will also vote on two opinions that address the issue of local and regional level management of flows of migrants and asylum seekers – an area where local and regional authorities are on the front line.

An opinion will highlight the European perspective of the Danube area, stressing that the development of waterway and terrestrial infrastructures will enable the region to take full advantage of its position as a link between East and West and North and South and therefore make it more competitive.

A key objective of this draft opinion on an EU strategy for the Danube area will be to point out that transport and environmental protection should not be mutually exclusive, but on the contrary must go hand in hand. Sustainable development of the Danube area should be the overriding goal of the strategy.

CoR members will also present draft opinions on a number of other subjects, bringing a local and regional perspective to the debate on the competitiveness of European transport as well as to the issue of how to increase the effectiveness of a number of Community programmes and policies.

During the plenary session the CoR's position on the communication from the European Commission on a simplified CAP for Europe - a success for all will be set up.

Regions in the front line when it comes to health and social affairs

Another key moment at this October's plenary session will be the presentation of the draft opinion on Priorities for regional and local authorities to prevent violence against women and improve support for victims The president of the regional government of Castile and Leon, Juan Vicente Herrera Campo (ES/EPP), will recommend that, where they do not yet exist, "dedicated units be set up within law enforcement agencies, health organisations, and legal and social services to offer specialised support services in cases of violence against women". Going further, he will recommend that a European observatory on violence against women should be set up to promote and co-ordinate measures adopted on the issue through active networking.

Lastly the CoR will turn to health, with the draft opinion on the Pharmaceutical Package. CoR members will be called upon to ask the Commission to "monitor price developments with a view to ensuring that the proposed authorisation procedure does not lead to higher medicine prices".