The opening ceremony of 22nd European Week of Regions and Cities presented the two schools of thought on Cohesion Policy

The 22nd European Week of Regions and Cities officially kicked off today with an opening session at the European Parliament’s Hemicycle Hall that traced the current state of European regions, and the progress achieved in bringing them closer together in terms of social, environmental and economic development.

The multi-faceted, week-long event is organized jointly by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission’s Directorate General of Regional and Urban Policy (DG Regio). The leaders of the two institutions were the main participants in the opening ceremony, with each of them taking a slightly different view on the way Cohesion Policy should be implemented, even if everyone agreed that overall, it works.

The path to cohesion starts from European regions and cities

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, the President of CoR, first took the stage to present the annual State of the Regions and Cities speech. The moment is crucial as new political cycle comes to the EU institutions, following this year’s elections.

The strength of our union starts with the strength of local and regional communities,” said Alves Cordeiro.

As succinctly put by the President, the path to understanding the EU needs to go through understanding its local and regional challenges and opportunities first.

EU can’t bring Europe closer to its citizens if they keep approaching it from the top,” he added.

This sentiment is a common thesis and argument on part of the CoR, as it has acted as the main advocate for stronger representation of local voices and interests in the EU institutions for 30 years.

Given the geopolitical context of our times and the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, President Cordeiro took some time to express regret about the human suffering caused by illegal wars and terrorism and to call for peace.

Likewise, the climate change impact, seen in the recent European floods which caused the loss of lives in the heart of the Old Continent, showed the urgency and the need to act for adaptation to natural volatility.

According to Vasco Alves Cordeiro the transition is already happening silently in regions and cities across Europe. But he underscored the fact that there was a need to invest 200 billion euros a year for climate adaptation. That, however, would not be an act of charity as the estimates show that the investment could reap 440 billion euro a year in economic benefits.

The CoR President then directed attention to another controversial and complex issue that Europeans need to get more vigilant about. The fact that industries are disappearing means we need a comprehensive European industrial strategy, and we need to make the best of cross-border cooperation, by always bearing the realities on the ground in mind. This could not happen without involving all stakeholders to share the benefits of transition.

Keep in mind that the realities are not easy to digest. 100 million European in risk of poverty and social inclusion, housing prices are skyrocketing. Rural residents earn 22% less than the EU average and medical deserts are a dire reality in Europe.

This is where the CoR President drove hard his message. Cohesion Policy must become more flexible and simplified to help local authorities.

This is a well-timed message ahead of EU budgetary considerations that will take place later this year at the European Parliament. Vasco Alves Cordeiro rejected a recent proposal of having one single programme in the new multiannual financial framework (MFF) which if becomes a reality would abolish effective participation of regions and cities and make them its passive objects. Vasco Alves Cordeiro called upon European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to be faithful and true to her promise that Cohesion Policy will keep cities and regions at its heart.

Emil Boc, mayor of Cluj Napoca, was also very vocal about supporting the CoR call to renew Cohesion Policy in terms more favourable to local authorities. According to him, Cohesion Policy is the embodiment of what it means to be European. He expressed anxiety about its proposed centralization, as it can erode the very fabric that has made its successful in the first place - it may seem more efficient, but it will undermine the principle of partnership between the different levels of governance.

Mr Boc concluded by comparing centralization to the planned economies of the Communist regimes and asked for their spirit not to be revived.

Cohesion policy is not charity, it’s progress

Elisa Ferreira, EU Commission of Cohesion Policy, also addressed the audience in order to present the view of the European Commission as the more powerful side in the implementation of that policy.

In the years 2022 and 2024, there were two large Cohesion Reports, which confirmed that cohesion policy works. For example, the percentage of people living in European underdeveloped regions went from 25% in 2000 to 5% in 2024. The average income per capita was half the EU average for new members upon accession in 2004, today this number is 80%.

It’s also about practical things such as:

• supporting 2.7 million businesses;
• expanding education infrastructure and equipment benefitting around 18 million children and young people;
• supporting the creation of 260,000 jobs in new enterprises;
• safeguarding 13.5 million people thanks to flood protection measures;
• enhancing the energy performance of 380,000 households;
• improving the broadband connection for 3.1 million households; and
• supporting at least 12.8 million people to participate in education and training.

It has been a mandate also marked by emblematic initiatives, which are still in full swing. Commissioner Ferreira here talked about the carbon-dependent regions, such as those where coalmining and steel industry were the main economic powerhouses and were now faced with extreme difficulties in adapting to a fast-changing world.

The European Commission responded with the Just Transition Fund (JTF), which is a good illustration of the famously touted principle of “leaving no region, community or citizen behind”. The Fund directs 19.7 billion euros to help the economic and social diversification of the 96 regions across all EU Member States. Elisa Ferreira was delighted to note that JTF is financing hundreds of projects, 70% of which initiated by the people themselves.

The Commissioner is also proud of the emergency support provided in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to help low-income households to adapt and meet their energy needs. Another achievement were the specific lines of support for outermost European regions, as these have been facing special challenges in terms of socio-economic isolation.

Work continues through Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform programme to encourage productive performance, employment and innovation in more disadvantaged and less developed regions of Europe.

Elisa Ferreira also spoke of lessons learned during her mandate. One such was that if regions want to reap the benefits of competitive globalization, they need to prepare themselves, so they need to be able to access funds. Challenges have become more sophisticated, not just because of wars and climate, but also because there are development traps leading to regional stagnation. The latter phenomenon is associated with disenchantment of citizens with democracy in the context of the modern challenges.

Investment alone, however, is not enough, according to Commissioner Ferreira. The European regions and cities also need adequate strategies, the right administrative capacities, budgetary means and skilled workforce. Her position was that the European Commission is doing a lot of work to boost those capacities.

The session’s participants agreed that Cohesion Policy must evolve and progress with the changing times. This means renewed Cohesion Policy in terms of commitment to every region and renewing the partnership between different levels of governments. Members States, however, should also make cohesion a priority in their development plans.

Future of Cohesion Policy should be based on genuine relationship between local and regional authorities according to the audience who could vote directly from their phones through Slido.

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