Regional Policy

Three Seas Initiative inches forward as US ramps up support

The Three Seas Initiative virtual summit held in Estonia on Monday (20 October) saw further consolidation between its 12 members. At the same time, the US has started seeing the project as a vehicle to win the geopolitical battle for 'hearts and minds' in the region, in a bid to reduce Chinese and Russian influence there.

Social and economic differences across EU less important for citizens – survey

An increasing number of Europeans living in border regions of the EU say social and economic differences are not problems affecting cooperation between their home and neighbouring country, a new survey shows.

Divisions over economic criteria in cohesion policy negotiations

Negotiations on cohesion policy between the European Parliament, Commission and Council will take place on Thursday (15 October), focusing on how strictly the flow of money is regulated and whether it should be distributed according to economic criteria. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Committee of the Regions warns against centralising cohesion policy

This week, European regional policy leaders met to formulate their demands of the EU. They warned against a reduction of cohesion funds and requested a say in their distribution. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Mayor: Cities are the atoms in the organism of the EU

Mario Rajn, the mayor of Križevci, a medieval city of 20,000 people northeast of Croatia's capital is pushing for his city to become energy independent by 2030. He explains what actions have been taken so far.

Cities see lobbying efforts bear fruit in drive for direct access to EU funds

The coronavirus pandemic has opened new opportunities for European urban centres to have greater access and be involved more in the spending of EU funds. While personal meetings play a crucial role lobbying efforts, the pandemic has pushed the Commission...

Europe’s military mobility, a game-changer for regional infrastructure projects?

Since the 1990s, European infrastructure has been developed purely for civilian purposes, but in recent years military aspects have gained in importance as they could fill funding gaps for dual-use infrastructure projects. Rail Baltica, a 870-kilometer-long high-speed rail line from...

Intelligent electricity through EU structural funds

Researchers in Bielefeld are working on an artificial intelligence that distributes electricity differently depending on weather conditions. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Beyond potholes: Tailor-made solutions, structural support needed to transition

With an increasingly long to-do list and decreasing amount of time to complete the energy transition and hit the EU's climate targets, communities will need help and involvement from Brussels to meet their benchmarks, experts say.

The road ahead: challenges and opportunities for Europe’s regions

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This Special Report looks at challenges that lie ahead for the EU's cohesion policy, as the already vast to-do list for Europe's regional and local authorities keeps expanding with ambitious climate and digital transformation goals.  

MEP Omarjee: Cohesion, not ‘renationalisation’, should guide Europe’s policies

Social and territorial cohesion among the EU's region's, as well as their convergence, must remain at the centre of Europe's recovery plans lest efforts to support investment and growth should lead to more regional divides, MEP Younous Omarjee told EURACTIV.

Von der Leyen: European values are not for sale

In her first State of the Union speech, delivered on Wednesday (16 September), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen positioned herself as a bulwark against the unravelling of EU values that is already underway in many of the member states.

Economic weaknesses become strengths in East Germany during COVID-19

The "new" East German states are economically weaker than their western counterparts, lacking large industrial hubs of international corporations. However, this proved to be an advantage during the pandemic. EURACTIV Germany reports.

EP faces roadblocks as lawmakers push for quicker deployment of COVID-19 funds

Lawmakers on the European Parliament's regional development committee are keen to see a quicker deployment of funds for the mitigation of the immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis but they face an uphill battle with the member states who propose less money and potentially longer procedures.

Quiz – Cohesion Policy

How much do you know about EU cohesion funds? Whether you are an expert in the field or not, EURACTIV brings you the ultimate quiz to test your knowledge on EU Cohesion Policy. Take the quiz

Germany begins allocating €40 billion to coal regions to start phase-out

By 2038, Germany's last coal-fired power plants are expected to be shut down. To reorient the regions economically, however, they are to be replaced by research institutions and companies. A coordination committee will now begin allocating the funding, EURACTIV Germany reports.

Regional leader: Without cohesion, Europe cannot stand

As the EU faces the deepest recession in its history, the bloc's long-contested Cohesion Policy – its regional development instrument – has now become central to the recovery plan. EURACTIV spoke about it with the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

Commissioner Ferreira: ‘A crisis of this dimension cannot be addressed with a 1% GNI budget’

The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the worst recession in the history of the EU, which the European Commission aims to tackle with an unprecedented stimulus package. The Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, explained the ambitious plan in an exclusive interview.

Cohesion becomes central to EU recovery package

Through the new REACT-EU emergency instrument, cohesion policy will be one of the key elements in the European Commission's proposal for a recovery package, which takes into account that the impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been uneven across the EU. 

Montenegro woos tourists to Europe’s ‘corona-free’ corner

Less than two months after detecting its first infection, Montenegro is the first country in Europe to declare itself coronavirus-free, a success story the tiny country hopes will lure tourists to its dazzling Adriatic coast this summer.

Cities for a social and solidarity way out of the crisis caused by COVID-19

Europe needs to learn from the 2008 crisis and its austerity-based response: the actions taken after the coronavirus crisis must be based on solidarity and socially-oriented principles that will help people, public services and companies recover and strengthen, write Femke Halsema, Ada Colau, Giuseppe Sala, and Anne Hidalgo.

COVID-19: Commission paves way to draw €37 billion from structural funds

The European Commission proposed numerous changes to its cohesion policy rulebook on Thursday (2 April) in order to draw €37 billion of unused funds to finance various measures during the coronavirus pandemic. But these measures can only help to a limited extent. EURACTIV Germany reports.

COVID-19 emergency makes EU budget deal more urgent than ever

The seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak makes hefty cuts to cohesion policy in the EU's next long-term budget all the more unjustified, writes Enrico Rossi, the governor of Italy's Tuscany Region.

Revamping the Baltic Sea Region strategy

Is the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region still a role-model in the macro-regional cooperation framework? Marta Czarnecka-Gallas gives some answers.