The #EURegionsWeek 2018 was officially closed on Thursday afternoon with Corina Crețu, Commissioner for regional policy, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions, and guest speaker Anthony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union.
Anthony Gardner, Former US Ambassador to the EU, delivered his keynote speech “Cities and Regions: the Promise of Europe'. He shared his view that Europe’s regions and cities are a key part in addressing some of Europe’s greatest challenges because "all politics is local". He highlighted that "the natural alliance of the EU […] is with the regions and cities of Europe".
President Lambertz emphasised the importance of the EURegionsWeek as the platform for regions and cities to have a real impact, notably for a strong cohesion policy. "The crucial capacity of this event is to mobilise the regions and cities. Let's do bigger and stronger next year, in particular with a view to the new European Parliament". He added that, as much as regions need the European Union, the EU also needs regions if it wants to rebuild itself from the ground.
“The European Week of Regions and Cities is already the most important cohesion policy event in Europe, but this edition has managed to surpass its status. We have witness amazing, engaging debates and an overwhelming statement of support for cohesion policy. The European Parliament and the Council need to take this into account and speed up the negotiations on the Commission’s policy proposal", said Commissioner Crețu.
Watch the closing session video
[bean:11:view-mode:default]{Closing session video as Default}
