CoRAI – Committee of the Regions - Automotive Intergroup
Welcome!
CoRAI is an interregional group of members and alternate members of the European Committee of the Regions providing opportunities to discuss, exchange views and increase expertise on the Future of the Automotive Industry in order to promote cooperation between local and regional authorities.
CoRAI is a platform for informal discussion bringing together members from different parties, committees and member states being interested in future developments of the automotive sector.
The Future of the Automotive Industry interregional group of the European Committee of the Regions was created in April 2009. The president of the group is Thomas Schmidt (DE/EPP). József Berényi (SK/EPP), María Victoria Chivite Navascués (ES/PES) and Barbara Eibinger-Miedl (AT/EPP) form the co-chair. The group currently has members from 12 Member States: Austria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.
Aim: The Committee of the Regions' Future of the Automotive Industry interregional group (CoRAI) connects CoR members from automotive regions with industry, clusters and experts of the EU Institutions. The European automotive ecosystem represents 1.8 million companies, at least 16 million people work in the sector. Regions with automotive industry and its suppliers are a fundamental part of this automotive ecosystem in Europe. They play a central role in the transformation that the automotive industry is experiencing due to the digitalisation and greening of transport.
The objectives are the following ones:
- To facilitate the exchange of views and best practices on a just, fair and successful transformation of regions with automotive industry and its suppliers.
- To exchange experiences among the territories about different issues concerning the automotive sector and the future of mobility (e.g. automated driving, sustainable transport fuels, skills, industrial policy, infrastructure, development of regions with automotive or supply industries);
- To establish contacts and exchange views and best practices with the European Institutions and other stakeholders;
- To foster contacts among automotive and mobility clusters, regions and cities.
Group meetings and activities
Working structure - the CoRAI Focus Group
In order to facilitate direct contacts, manage CoRAI activities and enable members to choose their individual level of involvement for themselves, this intergroup has established a support team, the so-called "CoRAI Focus Group". When joining, intergroup members are requested to nominate a contact person for this support team of mainly Brussels-based experts.
The intergroup president has appointed a secretary-general to organise the intergroup activities in close cooperation with the CoRAI Focus Group.
CoRAI meetings are open to automotive regions and stakeholders. Invitations are published on the CoRAI website in the calendar section.
During Styria's previous presidency, which ended in May 2023, meetings were held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The recorded meetings as well as meeting documents and key messages chosen by the speakers themselves can be found here: www.europa.steiermark.at/automotive
CoRAI and ARA - two sides of the same coin
In June 2022 the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) was founded on the initiative of the European Committee of the Regions. Since then CoRAI became a member of ARA and is working together closely on a just, fair and successful transformation of the automotive sector. In order to strengthen this cooperation, a working agreement was signed in November 2023 between CoRAI, ARA and the Automotive Skills Alliance (ASA) to jointly ensure a just and sustainable transition of the European automotive regions through cooperation between the three parties and a collaborative approach towards the challenges of the automotive-mobility ecosystem: Working Agreement on a Strategic Partnership for a Just and Sustainable Transition of European Automotive Regions (EN)
Mission statement
Declaration for a just, fair and successful transition (EN)
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Calendar
| 30.11.2023 |
CoRAI Meeting "A glance back and ahead: stocktaking of six months chairmanship & setting the course for 2024". |
| 21.11.2023 | CoRAI Focus Group Meeting |
| 09.11.2023 |
Second Political Conference of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) in Pamplona, Spain Minister Thomas Schmidt attended the second “Political Conference of the Automotive Regions Alliance” in Pamplona as Chairman of the CoRAI – which is a member of ARA - in order to hand over the chairmanship of ARA to María Victoria Chivite Navascués, President of the Regional Government of Navarre and Co-Chair of CoRAI. The conference served to sign the Working Agreement between ARA, CoRAI and ASA and to adopt the Navarre Declaration that points out that CoRAI and ARA are working hand in hand to support the regional transformation and that CoRAI explicitly supports this declaration. |
| 10.10.2023 |
Political Breakfast on the subject "Regions in transition - the automotive challenge" During the European Week of Regions and Cities (9-12 October 2023) the Chairman of the CoRAI and the Chairman of the Alliance of Automotive Regions (ARA), Thomas Schmidt, hosted a political breakfast on the premises of the European Parliament (EP).Together with around 40 guests - Members of the EP and representatives of the European automotive regions - Schmidt discussed the current challenges facing Europe's automotive and supplier industry. |
| 25.05.2023 |
CoRAI Meeting: "A Just and Sustainable Transition for Automotive Regions!" Following the resignation from the CoR mandate of the previous CoRAI President, Landeshauptmann Christopher Drexler, Thomas Schmidt (DE) officially took over as the new CoRAI President during the CoRAI meeting. As a keynote speaker CoRAI member Sven Schulze (Minister for Economic Affairs, Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt) talked about the opinion “A Just and Sustainable Transition for Automotive Regions” drafted in the COTER Commission. The keynote by the rapporteur Schulze was followed by an open discussion of the CoRAI members. |
| 15.12.2022 |
Launch of the Route 35 platform Commissioner Thierry Breton held a speech on "our priorities for achieving our electrification goals" at the launch of the Route 35 platform - the Automotive Regions (CoRAI + ARA) took part in the discussion! |
| 28.11.2022 |
Co-Creation workshop with GD Grow The EU commission invites members of the CoRAI Focus Group to participate in a co-creation workshop on the future of the mobility ecosystem. One of the three panels was especially dedicated to Automotive Regions' needs. |
| 17.11.2022 |
Leipzig-Conference: First meeting of the Alliance of Automotive Regions First political meeting of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) - including CoRAI - taking place in Leipzig. EU commissioner Nicolas Schmit listened very carefully to Automotive Regions' needs! |
