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New EU Regional Policy’s Panorama is online

Eugene Eteris, BC, Copenhagen, 27.07.2015.Print version
Recent “Panorama” summer edition (nr.53), a publication of the Commissioner and DG for Regional Policy is devoted to two main issues: celebrating 25 years of the Interreg program with an overview of 20 of its most successful projects, and the Cohesion Policy efforts to assist the implementation of the Digital Single Market, one of the Commission’s main priorities.

One of the Commissioner’s priorities is to see that the EU Structural and Investment Funds really assist in establishing the EU Energy Union and complete the digital single market.

 

Commission’s “vision” is that people in all regions and cities of the European Union can realise their full potential. Thus the DG REGIO, the administrative stuff of Commissioner for regional policy, is directed towards constant improvement in the economy and quality of life for all the EU’s citizens.  

http://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/cretu_en 

 

There are about 700 professionals from all EU states working in the DG Region thus implementing diverse challenges facing the member states and their regions. These civil servants use their wide range of expertise to target investments that foster growth and create jobs.

 

The DG works with the member states, regions and other stakeholders to assess needs, finance investments and evaluate the results from a long-term EU perspective.

 

As part of the Commission's commitment to transparency, Directors-General publish information on meetings held with organisations or self-employed individuals.

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/regional_policy/index_en.htm

 

One of such publications is recent “Panorama” summer edition (nr.53), which starts with an editorial by the Commissioner for regional policy Corina Crețu. She underlined that this year the member states celebrated the 25th anniversary of European Territorial Cooperation.

 

The Interreg funding program, she said had been highly appreciated over the years, and supported the cooperation efforts of regions and cities to bring people together and develop common solutions for shared problems, whether in the area of innovation, health, infrastructure, education, training or energy (p. 3).

 

Some examples in Panorama illustrate these initiatives showing that Interreg has become an important cornerstone of European cohesion policy.


Regional policy for the EU digital agenda

More than € 20 billion will be available from the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund during 2014-2020 for investment into the building blocks of the EU Digital Single Market project.

 

Thus this edition of Panorama highlights just how cohesion policy can help achieve this vision.


Enabling the ‘connected society’ is vital for growth and development in Europe. Investment in the digital services and infrastructure will provide Europe’s citizens with access to online services in the areas of e-government, e-inclusion, e-culture, e-health and e-justice, to name a few.

 

These investments are key elements of the Commission’s overarching plans to create a Digital Single Market. But to receive funding, proposals from the member states will have to fit into a well-designed and targeted policy strategy.

See: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2015/05/cohesion-policy-supports-the-digitalsingle-market.


European Territorial Cooperation: 25th anniversary

In an interview with Iskra Mihaylova MEP, Chairperson of the European Parliament’s REGI Committee, the EU 2014-20 multi-annual financial framework’s connections are reviewed with stronger priorities to Interreg, in order to build on the wide experience already acquired all over Europe and to foster new partnerships. She underlined that the EP would make all the necessary efforts to benefit the impact of EU funding, including that of Interreg.

 

She added that “citizens should know how EU funding helped tackle the crisis and its consequences, and build a more competitive Europe with attractive jobs, environmental benefits and a high standard of living” (p.27).

 

In a series of interviews with regional authorities, e.g. chairman of Övre Norrland (Sweden) on pp.8-9 and the president of Galicia (Spain) on pp.10-11tell Panorama about their regions' experiences with Cohesion Policy.

 

There is also an example of EU support in the Baltic States’ development. It was Estonian-Latvian Dictionaries as a cross-border cooperation program (Estonian-Latvian Interreg A). The dictionaries published in April 2015 are a novelty. With more than 40 000 entries, this unprecedented initiative aims at facilitating mutual understanding and exchange between Latvia and Estonia (p.22).

 

In Panorama’s “In Your Own Words” section contributions from six regions across the continent are featured.

 

Elsewhere, Panorama previews the attractions to be found at this year's OPEN DAYS event and the launch of the European Smart Specialisation Platform on Energy. Readers will also find the usual selection of news items and featured projects from across the EU.

 

The magazine is available online in 22 languages at:

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/panorama-magazine/







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