On Monday 17 June, the ‘Network of Capital Cities and Regions’ sent a declaration from 13 EU capital cities and regions (Berlin, Budapest, Brandenburg, Bratislava region, Brussels-Capital Region, Helsinki-Uusimaa region, Île-de-France, Madrid region, Mazovia, Prague, Riga, Stockholm city and region) calling for the specific characteristics of capital cities and regions to be taken into account in the debates on the future of cohesion policy.
These cities and regions are “concerned that the Commission’s Communication seems to take very little account of sub-regional disparities”, even though the authors of the 9th Cohesion Report (see EUROPE 13380/7) point out that “GDP and household income per head are key indicators for assessing economic convergence and disparities across regions, but do not shed light on the extent to which the benefits of growth are shared among people within regions”.
Finally, cohesion policy should continue to “strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion for all regions and cities in the post-2027 programming period”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)