Brussels, 17/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - At their meeting in Brussels on 21 November, the EU's regional policy ministers will discuss innovation in the cohesion policy and how the cohesion policy meshes with the EU's growth and employment strategy.
In a letter to his counterparts at the end of June 2006, deputy Finnish regional and local affairs minister, Hannes Manninen, said the Finnish Presidency's 'main event' on regional policy would be the 21 November meeting in Brussels, which would focus, he explained, on 'how the objectives of Lisbon Strategy on Growth and Jobs can best be supported by the EU Structural and Cohesion Fund programmes. At this meeting, questions relating to reinforcing innovation in cohesion policy and regional development programmes as well as achieving synergy and consistency between cohesion policy and the Growth and Jobs Strategy will be elaborated. The latter topic is closely linked to strategic monitoring and emphasises the importance of creating conditions for a substantial, in-depth and transparent political debate on the best policy-mix of the EU cohesion policy programmes towards the goals of the Growth and Jobs Strategy'. (ol)