Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner said: "This Open Days is testimony to the ongoing rich dialogue between Europe's institutions, regional and local authorities, town and city councils, associations, universities, banks and investors. We share the same goals: we want to create the best conditions for investment, jobs and growth, to deliver a better quality of life and greater prosperity for the EU's 500 million citizens. Our regions and cities are key to implementing the policies to achieve these objectives."

Committee of the Regions' (CoR) President Luc Van den Brande added: “Regions and cities are more important than ever in political terms. In troubled times they can provide leadership and solutions. They deliver more than 66% of public investment in the EU; they are key actors in innovation, research and education. The European Week of Regions and Cities and the CoR plenary, taking place in parallel, are a great opportunity to share best practice on regional and urban development."

Open Days 2008 highlights the challenges faced by regions and cities. The seminars are organised around the following themes:

216 regions and cities have signed up as partners and will work in " conglomerates" on themes which most closely match their priorities. For instance, the "Celtic Connections" conglomerate will address how to tackle damage resulting from climate-change. International experts will be on-hand to offer their personal experience and insights. For example, architect David Fisher, designer of the world's first wind and solar-powered rotating skyscraper, to be built in Dubai, will address the workshop on EcoMagination in the Cities of the Future.

Regions and cities also attend Open Days to meet new partners, especially from the private sector, to assist their economic development. The implementation of the 455 cohesion-policy programmes in 2007-2013 necessitates co-operation between public authorities and the business community to make best use of EU funds. The Investors' Café, at the Committee of the Regions’ headquarters, provides a meeting-point for local and regional politicians, companies, bankers and researchers. Siemens, Nokia, Philips and Ferrari are among the leading companies taking part.

The 230 local events, organised by partner regions and cities, will take place in 31 countries as part of the "Europe in my Region/Europe in my City" initiative. The events include festivals, debates and sporting competitions, aimed at celebrating Europe's achievements and raising awareness of EU investment (€ 347 billion between 2007 and 2013) in projects ranging from technology parks to innovative urban regeneration schemes and high-speed transport links. The countries hosting the greatest number of events are the UK , Italy and France. Non-EU countries taking part include Turkey (with a seminar on "What Does the EU Mean for Women?") and Iceland (with a debate on Icelandic regions in 2020).

On 6 October, the launch ceremony for Open Days 2008 will be hosted by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Michel Barnier, representing the EU Presidency, Commissioner Danuta Hübner and President Luc Van Den Brande. The debate will focus on the European Commission's new Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, which will be adopted the same day.

The European Parliament in Brussels will host the final Open Days session. The President of the Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, and Vice-President of the European Commission, Günter Verheugen, together with President Van den Brande and Commissioner Hübner, will be among the speakers.

A press conference will take place on 8 October at 12:30 in the Commission's Berlaymont building in Brussels (Schuman room).