27/01/2020 (Agence Europe) – The venue for the 'Friends of Cohesion' summit on 1 February (see EUROPE 12408/29) is now known: it will be at the Pousada de Beja, at midday, according to information we obtained on Monday 27 January. Objective: to send a strong message to the other Member States to protect the cohesion policy budget in the next multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12383/1). The summit will bring together 13 Member States and two European Commissioners, we are told. Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, will be present. The other prospective Commissioner would be the Budget Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, who is responsible for monitoring the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework, but his name has not been confirmed. (PH, LC)