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Regiostars & Cohesion Policy after 2020: preparing the future of EU investments in health

Commissioners Crețu and Andriukaitis have brought together health professionals to kick-start the reflection on future EU investments in health under the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes. In the context of the roundtable held today at the Commission with health associations such as European Health Management Association and EuroHealthNet, the Commissioners launched a pilot project to improve cross-border emergency services in the Pyrenees between the border regions of France, Spain and the Principality of Andorra. They also announced that health will be this year’s new category for the RegioStars Awards. The Regiostars on-line application platform is open from 19 February until 9 May 2019. The winners in the five categories, and the winner of the public choice, will receive their well-deserved price at the festive REGIOSTARS ceremony, to take place in Brussels in October 2019.

 
EU cities invited to take part in international pairing

EU cities who wish to exchange with a city facing similar sustainable urban development challenges in another global region are encouraged to apply to take part in the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) city-to-city cooperation programme. To date, over 60 pairings have been established between local governments in Europe and in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America through the IUC programme. The programme aims to foster international links at the local level, enabling local leaders to gain new perspectives on pressing sustainable development issues. Barcelona (Spain) and New York City (USA), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Surat (India), Rome (Italy) and Yantai (China), and Almada (Portugal) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil) are among the established IUC pairings working together. To join the cooperation programme, local governments must fill in an online form by 04 March 2019.

 
Registration open – Exchange of best practices on revitalising and modernising the small retail sector

On behalf of the European Commission, we invite you to our 2019 Retail Workshops! These events will provide you with an opportunity to better understand how you can help revitalise and modernise the small retail sector in your area. They will be based on the European Commission policy for retail, contained in the Communication on a ‘European retail sector fit for the 21st Century’ and the guide ‘Facing the Future’ a practical guide for fostering the revitalisation and modernisation of the small retail sector. You can read the guide here: Guide for revitalising and modernising the small retail sector’. Workshops: How to revitalise and modernise your small retailers ‘Facing the Future’ contains ideas and practical suggestions on how to assess the needs of your area and tailor initiatives, based on real-life examples, gathered from success stories across the EU, to help small retailers modernise and digitalise. Register now!

 
Partner up for the EURegionsWeek 2019! Regions and Cities, pillars of the EU's future

Preparations for the 17th European Week of Regions and Cities are officially launched today with a kick-off meeting at the European Committee of the Regions. More than 150 partners are expected to participate. Follow our kick-off meeting live at 11:00 TODAY Join us online through web-streaming! After a broad online consultation (2 634 respondents), the emerging 3 top themes for 2019 edition are: The Future of the EU and the roles of Regions and Cities, A Europe Closer to Citizens, A greener Europe In light of these main issues, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy are now looking for event partners. Are you interested? Visit the 'Become an Event Partner' section of the 2019 website, read through the guide for partners and the guide for regional partnerships and apply no later than March 29th.

 
10th Annual Forum for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: Open calls for seminar are now open!

The 10th Annual forum of the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will take place the 12 & 13 June 2019, in Gdansk (Poland). Under the thematic "Circular and sharing economy as an answer to demographic changes and environmental challenges in the Baltic Sea Region", 18 slots for 90-minute seminars will be discussing essential topics among all interested stakeholders! Have your say! Fill the form for participation here and submit your proposals to the Organiser via e-mail: 10thAnnualForum@pomorskie.eu by 15th February 2019.

 
State of play of negotiations - post 2020 period

Negotiations on the future European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) are under way in the European Parliament and in the Council. Here is the state of play in the institutions and the 2019 timeline.

 
E-Government in cross-border regions

"E-government" and "Cross-Border regions" are expressions that we do not often see in the same sentence. Not because they do not go well together, but because of the complexity of mingling these quite specific elements.