Press Release: CoR scrutinises progress of EU enlargement countries, stresses role of local and regional authorities in accession process

Europe's elected regional and local representatives warned against closing the EU's doors to aspiring countries, while firmly requesting further reforms on the ground. By adopting two opinions on the bloc's enlargement strategy, the members of the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR), meeting in their bimonthly plenary session on 17-18 June, 2009, also sent a strong decentralisation message to EU candidate countries and hopefuls: as the bulk of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities, they are of crucial importance for making a country 'EU-ready'. The essential role of sub-national actors in the accession process has to be recognised, and their capacities strengthened accordingly.