[p]I had the opportunity to stress this a few days ago in the Committee of the Regions at the occasion of the Lisbon Learning Platform meeting. Let me repeat it today: The regional and local dimension of our reform project should not only be recognised, it must be understood as a major asset on which the success of this project will to a large extent depend. I therefore very much welcome the commitment with which Danuta Hübner steers the regional policy towards the realization of the objectives of the growth and jobs strategy. And I fully support the idea which underpins this conference: the idea that the growth and jobs strategy must be seen as two-way process where the role of the regions and local level actors is as important as that of policy makers at EU or national level.[/p] [p][i]Download the full speech below (EN, FR, DE)[/i][/p]