The 20th European Week of Regions and Cities kicked off on Monday 10 October. Organised by the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the event brings together 18,000 people and 300 conferences. On the agenda this year: the new challenges of European cohesion.
On this occasion, the Commission unveiled its working document on the impact of cohesion policy in the period 2014-2020. At a press conference, accompanied by CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro, the European Commissioner for Cohesion Policy, Elisa Ferreira, said the report showed that “Cohesion Policy is the glue that holds Europe together”.
For example, the GDP per capita gap of the countries that joined the European Union after 2004 has halved (from 59% of the EU average to 77%).
The European Committee of the Regions will present its annual report on regions and cities on Tuesday 11 October. “Almost 90% of the respondents (...) stress the importance of cohesion as one of the main European values. More than 80% say that cohesion policy funding brings more added value to their city or region in comparison with other funding streams”, underlined Vasco Alves Cordeiro.
A new emergency measure on the table
Elisa Ferreira also confirmed that the “Commission is working with the Council and the Parliament on targeted, exceptional and temporary measures under the 2014-2020 cohesion framework to mitigate the energy crisis shock on SMEs and vulnerable households” (see EUROPE 13037/31, 13038/10). However, she clarified that a percentage limit would be defined to protect both the long-term objectives of cohesion policy and the amounts for the 2021-2027 programming period.
A cautious Vasco Alves Cordeiro said his main concern “is to transform the extraordinary into the new normal. [...] What I would prefer is to make cohesion funds more easy to use in the energy transition”. Although they do not allow for the same rapid response, they “prepare, more solidly, regions and cities” to address future shocks, he stressed. “We can have, as we had in recent times, cohesion policy addressing emergencies, […] but we must never lose sights (of) its fundamental role”.
Towards the future of cohesion
In response to fears that cohesion policy is becoming diluted, the Commissioner announced the establishment of a high-level reflection group throughout 2023. It will be tasked with reflecting on the future of cohesion policy and how it can become “more accessible and effective, while fulfilling its main objective of reducing disparities”.
The conclusions of reflection group will be presented in early 2024.
Programme of the European Week of Regions and Cities: https://aeur.eu/f/3i6
Working document on cohesion policy 2014-2020: https://aeur.eu/f/3i5 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)