The Opening session of the 20th European Week of Regions and Cities will be designed as an interactive debate between speakers, CoR members, local and regional authorities, partners, young local elected politicians and participants on the challenges and future perspective of cohesion policy, its programmes and financial tools for recovery. The Opening session will focus on the role of cohesion policy as the most effective tool for solidarity in response to emergencies and the aftermath of crises, as shown with regard to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
- When
- Mon 10, October 2022
14:30 - 16:00 CET - Moderator
- Annelies Beck, Moderator, Journalist and writer.
- Speakers
- Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President, European Committee of the Regions.
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, European Commission.
Roberta Metsola, President, European Parliament. - Code
- 10EU22517
- Format
- EU session
- Theme
- Territorial Cohesion
- Partners
- European Commission - DG REGIO, European Committee of the Regions
- Languages
- čeština (CS), Deutsch (DE), English (EN), Español (ES), Français (FR), Italiano (IT), Polski (PL), Português (PT)
- Replay – English
- https://vimeo.com/759255903
- Replay – Français
- https://vimeo.com/759268427
- Replay – Deutsch
- https://vimeo.com/759240782
Session summary
The opening session of the EURegionsWeek 2022 was the most successful session of the week in terms of on-site and online participation. The CoR President, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, opened the debate on the state of cohesion in Europe, highlighting the disparities and challenges that Europe is facing today, the importance of cohesion policy for the functioning of the European Union, and the key role of regions and cities in its implementation. This was followed by a lively and interactive discussion featuring the first Vice-President of the CoR, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development, Younous Omarjee, CoR members, and participants in the CoR's Young Elected Politicians (YEPs) programme, who looked towards the future of cohesion policy while highlighting its key role in safeguarding European solidarity.
Take away message
Cohesion policy is the most explicit expression of EU solidarity. It is uniquely placed to be part of both our short-term and long-term answers to the current European crises and challenges. However, emergency management should not become the new normal. Cohesion policy works bottom-up; it requires partnership and vision. Therefore, regions and cities have to be engaged in order to ensure a well-functioning EU and to reinforce the quality of European democracy.
Quotes
Commissioner Ferreira: "(...) By levelling up lagging Member States and regions, cohesion policy creates the conditions for a proper functioning of the internal market. By being close to citizens, cohesion fosters a stronger sense of belonging to our common project. By engaging local and regional stakeholders in its implementation, cohesion reinforces the quality of our democracies."
First CoR Vice-President Apostolos Tzitzikostas: "Europe needs to act now and it needs to act on the ground. Any further delay or even a failure to address these challenges puts Europe at risk of being cut off from its citizens, and the citizens would or could eventually turn to deceptive voices from the populists and extremists."
CoR President Cordeiro: "The way to achieve the dream of a Europe united in diversity lies in cohesion policy. Thinking of how much cohesion policy has done and how much more it can achieve considering the current challenges, we should guarantee that all European policies include a territorial approach, without harming cohesion."
Roberta Metsola, President of the EP: "(...) To defend themselves, Ukrainians need further military, humanitarian & political support. Europe will support in the spirit of true solidarity." "The EU is made of what is decided and carried out at local level. I rely on the leaders of the different regions in order to take decisions as close to the citizens as possible".
Younous Omarjee, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development: "Despite the dichotomy between emergency responses and long term policies, it's not possible to maintain ambitious objectives of a long-term policy if we do not deal with emergencies and if we do not face up the crises which emerge."
