Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
European section of United Cities and Local Governments


Home / News / In-depth news / Local and regional dialogues
next > < previous

Local and Regional Dialogues on Cohesion Policy

Local and regional dialogues - 02.05.2018

Cohesion policy remains critical for the future, it helps the local level to develop
Among its greatest qualities, Europe counts diversity. And diversity is to be the key word for the regional and local dialogues on cohesion policy currently organised in 8 EU countries, with the support of the EU Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy. As proof, the different format of the following four dialogues that have collected opinions from technical experts as well as from citizens: a world café with panel discussion in the city of Norrköping (27 March, Sweden); a meeting in Courrière with different stakeholders (28 March in Belgium); a bike tour for citizens in the city of Turnhout (7 April in Belgium) and a meeting hosted in a high-school - Technical institute T. Acerbo - in Pescara - (10 April in Italy).
 
Among the key messages and recommendations we have collected:
 
  • Cohesion policy should stay as a forward-looking strategy for creating innovation, competitiveness and sustainable growth in Europe. For the future, the cohesion fund remains very important for all regions. ( Norrköping 13th dialogue, Courrière 14th dialogue, Turnhout 15th dialogue, Pescara 16th dialogue)
  • Cohesion policy has supported the development of Östra Mellansverige Region, beyond resources made available at national level. A strategic long- term investment plan is the real added value of cohesion policy. Smart specialisation as well as cross-border cooperation are concrete examples showing the on-the-ground benefits of cohesion policy. (Norrköping 13th dialogue, Courrière 14th dialogue)
  • There is a lack of citizens’ awareness about different funded activities in their region (e.g. development of new urban areas (improvement of the harbour area, railway station area, market place) and interactive projects (city farm, skate rink…). There is a need to better communicate on EU funding and its impact on urban development projects. (Turnhout 15th dialogue, Pescara 16th dialogue)
  • EU projects should always be aligned to the local city’s strategies and offer an added value to the city’s strategic planning. (Turnhout, 15th dialogue)
  • The EU should invest in the social areas and not focus on the economy and employment: innovative social models for economic models such as cooperatives, co-working models are very interesting for local stakeholders notably under the ESF funding. (Courrière 14th dialogue)
 
To stay tuned, please visit CEMR dedicated webpage to the project
The reports of past events are available here.
Follow and contribute to the Twitter debate with the #EUinmyregion hashtag, and discover the dialogues as if you were there thanks to our video playlist and Flickr account.
Développez vos ventes : conseil marketing Organisation - Audit, conseil, coaching, formation référencement sur Google de site Internet - Audit, conseil, coaching, formation Référencement naturel sur Google, SEO