Brussels, 15/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - In his address to an audience of business leaders at the European Business Summit in Brussels on 14 May, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn underlined the role of the European regions as catalysts for European competitiveness.
Hahn was quick to point out that the regions held the keys in their hands to Europe's future prosperity. “After all, they are the most appropriate level to assess the needs and strengths of an area. With their local knowledge, regions are able to build a proper, tailor-made strategy for growth and competitiveness”, Hahn stated. He pointed out that recent cohesion policy reform, adopted at the end of 2013, aimed to encourage the regions to put forward these kinds of “smart specialisation strategies”. As the reform now sets out, these strategies maximise innovation and the entrepreneurial process in which all key players in the economy should take part, Hahn said. “They know where the business needs are and how to boost the regions' competitive advantages”, he also stated. (MD)