On 24-25 October an international conference took place to mark the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. The main objective of the conference, organised by the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Platforma – the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, was to discuss issues surrounding Sustainable Development Goals in local authorities in Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

As various studies have shown, as many as 70% of tasks related to sustainable development fall to local authorities. The main idea of the conference was that local authorities are therefore the place where sustainable development policies are transformed into tangible actions by authorities and where the effects of these actions are also most visible. During the various panels and discussions, participants tried to delve into this issue, particularly as in Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova there is a noticeable skills shortage at the local level when it comes to implementing cohesion policy.

Speakers at the conference included Tadeusz Andrzejewski, member of the Vilnius district municipal council and of the ECR Group within the European Committee of the Regions, which designated him rapporteur-general of the opinion entitled Local and regional authorities shaping the future Eastern Partnership for the tenth anniversary of this project.

Mr Andrzejewski briefed the participants on the main points of his opinion and shared ideas on how the European Committee of the Regions as an institution representing different European regions and local authorities in the EU could help implement and develop the goals of the Eastern Partnership in the future.

The opinion developed by the Lithuanian ECR Group member was also discussed during the meeting of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) of the CoR on 14 November in Brussels.

The final vote on adopting the opinion will take place during the December 4-5 plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions.