Joint Action Plan signed today enhances cooperation to support regions in the transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable and digital Europe, and promote cohesion as fundamental value and compass for all EU policies
The European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission will intensify their cooperation to ensure that regions across the Union can benefit fully from unprecedented levels of EU investment as they recover from the pandemic. The aim is to support local and regional authorities in effectively using the €500 billion available in EU structural funds and national co-funding and secure their consistency and complementarity with the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The
Joint Action Plan
was signed today by the President of the European Committee of the
Regions (CoR) Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Cohesion and
Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, and the Chair of the CoR
Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER), Nathalie Sarrabezolles.
"The pandemic has proved we are stronger together and that cohesion is
the pillar of our Union. We now share a huge responsibility: turning an
unprecedented amount of EU investment
s into opportunities
for all our citizens. Our capacity to bring together EU, national,
regional and local actors will determine our chances to deliver a more
cohesive, sustainable and connected Europe. This is why the European
Committee of the Regions and the European Commission are intensifying
their cooperation. Together we want to increase support for those who
implement investment on the ground, make sure that structural funds
work in synergy with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other EU
funds, and promote cohesion as a fundamental value and a compass for
all EU policies," stated President
Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Commissioner
Elisa Ferreira, who will attend the
CoR Plenary
on Thursday 27 January, underlined that “both during the crisis and now in the midst of recovery, cohesion
policy proved to be the backbone of the EU development and solidarity
models. Whatever the challenge, from green and just transition to
digital revolution, from demographic changes to the vision for rural
areas, cohesion policy is there to ensure that all regions benefit
fully, and that no region is left behind.”
Nathalie Sarrabezolles
(FR/PES), added: “
Cohesion policy proved itself as an emergency tool during the pandemic
and remains the most important investment tool in the European Union.
The successful implementation of cohesion policy programmes in our
cities and regions is key for a sustainable and socially-fair recovery.
The COTER Commission is looking forward to cooperate with DG REGIO to
promote the new cohesion policy 2021-2027 as a common EU value and to
ensure solidarity across the EU
.”
The Joint Action Plan covers five priority areas of collaboration between
the CoR and the European Commission (DG REGIO), and sets strategic goals
for the current budget period, which runs until 2027. The five priorities
are:
- Support local and regional authorities managing the EU funds
-
Promote synergies and avoid overlaps between structural funds and other
financing sources such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility
- Promote the idea of cohesion as an overall and fundamental value of the
European Union
-
Strengthen the cross-border cooperation
-
Communicate the cohesion's added value on the ground
The full text of the Joint Action Plan can be found
here.
More information:
Commissioner Ferreira will be joined by
Lilyana Pavlova
, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, at the CoR plenary this
week for a debate on the implementation of cohesion policy and of the EU's
pandemic recovery plan. The debate will take place on Thursday 27 January at 9:00 and will be streamed
here
.
More information on the CoR's work on cohesion policy can be found on the
COTER commission webpage
and on the CoR
webpage "Cohesion, our fundamental value"
.
In 2021-2027 EU funds allocated to Cohesion Policy amount to € 392 billion.
With the national co-financing, about half a trillion euro will be
available to finance the programmes in the EU regions and countries. More
information
here.
Contact:
Matteo Miglietta
Tel. +32 (0)470 895 382
matteo.miglietta@cor.europa.eu