February 6, 2025

The following is a press release:

Intervening at the conference on the impact and future challenges of Cohesion Policy, organised in Krakow by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the president of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) Vasco Alves Cordeiro underlined that a much-needed simplification of rules cannot be translated into a centralisation of the policy.

We cannot confuse cohesion and competitiveness. Competitiveness can help reinforce cohesion, but it cannot make us forget the goal to reach cohesion. What worries me is not stressing competitiveness. It’s the absence of cohesion in the speeches on competitiveness. The Recovery and Resilience Facility shows us where we could go in some cases, and also where we should not go. One example is the idea of a single programme. This would be a huge mistake if applied to Cohesion Policy. It would be damaging for the European Union," underlined CoR President Vasco Alves Cordeiro.

The two-day conference 'The European way of growth: A growth policy for a secure, resilient and globally competitive European Union' is one of the most important events on Cohesion Policy organised by the Polish presidency of the EU. The Polish Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Executive Vice-Presidents of the European Commission Raffaele Fitto and Roxana Mînzatu, as well as the Mayor of Krakow Aleksander Miszalski and representatives of the Polish government, EU institutions and European stakeholders attended the event.

Participants underlined that Cohesion Policy is the main tool for reducing socio-economic disparities in the EU and proved to be effective because of its place-based nature.The governance of the post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which sidelined regions, was conceived to provide quick solutions during a world crisis and complement the decentralised approach Cohesion Policy. There was a general consensus on the fact that while there were lessons to be learnt from the implementation of the RRF, its centralised governance model cannot be replicated for Cohesion Policy after 2027.

The Polish Presidency emphasised that Cohesion Policy is an effective tool for strengthening Europe's security and recalled the key role of local and regional authorities for its effective governance, as shown by the Polish experience.

President Cordeiro had an exchange with the Polish Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, to stress the important cooperation between the European Committee of the Regions and the Polish Presidency, and the need for an ambitious EU budget to address all priorities and guarantee a strong Cohesion Policy for all regions.

Background

Video and photos of the event. Additional video material can be requested to audiovisualCoR@cor.europa.eu.

The result of the conference will contribute to the drafting of the Council conclusions on post-2027 Cohesion Policy, which are expected to be adopted in March at a General Affairs Council.

The European Commission is expected to present its proposal on the long-term budget of the European Union beyond 2027, the so-called MFF, by the end of the Polish Presidency.

The CoR recently adopted a package of opinions defining the building blocks of Cohesion Policy after 2027. Local and regional leaders called for a strong, flexible and reformed Cohesion Policy available to all territories, with regions and cities at its heart, to boost the EU’s competitiveness while reducing regional inequalities.

The CoR and other founding partners of the EU-wide #CohesionAlliance launched a joint call to the European institutions and national governments to keep Cohesion Policy as the main pillar of the EU's development model over the next decade. Sign the joint call.

On 19 and 20 February, the CoR will hold the constitutive plenary of the new 2025-2030 mandate. The assembly will elect its new President, First Vice-President and members of the Bureau. More information.

Contacts

Wioletta Wojewodzka

Tel: +32 473 843986

Wioletta.Wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu

Matteo Miglietta

Tel. +32 470895382

Matteo.Miglietta@cor.europa.eu

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The European Committee of the Regions

The European Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives from all 27 Member States. Created in 1994 following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, its mission is to involve regional and local authorities in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. To sit on the European Committee of the Regions, all of its 329 members and 329 alternates must either hold an electoral mandate or be politically accountable to an elected assembly in their home regions and cities. Click here for more details on your national delegation.