Overview   News

In addition to the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, discussions continue all over Europe between September and December as regional partners of the week will organise local events under the title "Europe in my region/city". A total of 22 local events in at least 13 countries will be held in the format of a citizens' dialogue or political debate. These local debates feed into the 'Reflecting on Europe' initiative, launched by the European Committee of the Regions to listen to citizens and their ideas on what the European Union should be. You can already participate in the debate by filling in the online survey.

Stay updated on the latest news on the #EURegionsWeek through our social media channels. Follow the event on Twitter, use the unique hashtag #EURegionsWeek in your posts to be part of the conversation, and join the event on Facebook and our LinkedIn group. Tag us @EU_Regional and @EU_CoR in your photos so we can share! Back to the Futurium This year the #EURegions Week goes even more social with the Futurium platform. With one of your social media accounts you will be able to interact, network, discuss and browse your calendar! Stay tuned for more info on the event website.

Under the main headline of 'For a strong EU Cohesion Policy beyond 2020', the European Week of Regions and Cities will be the main platform to share the views of the regions and cities on both the EU's multi-annual budget and the subsequent legislative proposals, namely with regard to Cohesion Policy and rural development, and the future of Europe in a regional and local perspective. The #EURegionsWeek will be the occasion to both celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cohesion Policy, and to discuss the need for a strong Cohesion Policy beyond 2020 to overcome structural barriers, boost human capital and improve the quality of life.

Discover the many novelties of the #EURegionsWeek 2018. While regional partners organise their sessions in their venues in Brussels, the main central venue of this year's event is the Square conference centre - Mont des Arts/Kunstberg, Brussels. Working sessions, official receptions, networking and exhibition opportunities will be organised there. The Agora is a central location at the Square, where participants can meet informally, network and relax. Also this year, you can register for more interactive and lively working sessions through new innovative formats, such as participatory sessions (eg. world cafés) and EURegions talks. Finally, don't miss our new event website and stay tuned for more information about the new social media platform Futurium, where the #EURegionsWeek community will be able to engage and exchange practices throughout the year!

Come to Brussels from 8 to 11 October to change your perspective and get inspired! Over 170 working sessions, networking events and project visits will be organised in Brussels as part the 16th European Week of Regions and Cities. Under the headline 'For a strong EU Cohesion Policy beyond 2020', the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission's Directorate-General of Regional and Urban Policy, join forces with 13 other Directorates-General and 3 executive agencies of the European Commission, around 140 regions and cities grouped in 22 regional partnerships, and a number of other stakeholders to offer an exciting and innovative programme for the European Week of Regions and Cities 2018. See the trailer, browse through the programme and register online!

The Summer issue of Panorama magazine, now available to download, looks to the future and considers the European Commission’s proposed budget for the 2021-2027 funding period. As well as an introductory article outlining the proposals and how they hope to reform Cohesion Policy, we have an exclusive interview with Commissioner Creţu outlining the main developments and their reasoning, and we feature initial reactions from a variety of stakeholders across Europe. Our focus this time is on Ireland, which is currently celebrating 45 years of EU membership. In an interview with Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe and through a selection of projects we show how ERDF funding has helped Ireland become more innovative and competitive.

SAVE THE DATE! Cross-border cooperation stakeholders are kindly invited to participate to the 4th edition of the workshops organised to follow up on the communication “Boosting Growth and Cohesion in EU border regions”.

SAVE THE DATE ! On 4th December 2018, the Commission is organizing a big event in Brussels to address healthcare cooperation in border regions.

‘Sail of Papenburg’ 2018 Award honours achievements in the area of cross- border cooperation especially in the cultural, economic, institutional, environmental and social fields.

Some "potentially most beneficial projects for additional passenger services on cross-border rail connections", identified in a recently published study.

Find out about the experience of a Polish volunteer discovering French-Spanish-Andorran cooperation in the Joint Secretariat of POCTEFA.

The Interreg Volunteers Youth programme will be provided with 1 more million euros, allowing the initiative to continue in 2019!

"Quite informative and inspiring meeting but not enough time to exchange in depth among participants…" could be the sum-up of the Interreg Annual event on 18 and 19 June, where around 350 participants (Managing Authorities, Joint Secretariats, other Institutions, some Permanent Representations) discussed with the Commission about the state of play of programme implementation and about post 2020 proposals.

There are still some free places available for the training module on Public Procurement on 28-29 June in Brussels! This training was very highly rated by the participants of the 1st training module which took place last December. We would like to invite the representatives from the regional offices in Brussels and relevant experts from the Permanent Representations to sign up and attend the PP training in Brussels. We will only offer a few sessions in total and it is provided free of charge, so grab the chance while you can… The training covers "Key changes in public procurement directives & strategic procurement (innovative, green & socially responsible procurement)", and is designed for participants from ESIF managing authorities/ intermediate bodies/ audit authorities and other key bodies involved in ESIF implementation. Participants have to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

European Commission's proposal on Interreg post 2020 introduces a number of novelties with a view to modernising cohesion policy and making it more efficient

The 16th edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities will focus on the future of cohesion policy and features more than 160 sessions!

Interreg Alpine Space project PEACE_Alps receives the EU Sustainable Energy Week 2018 Award in a public-sector category making us all proud of the work done by the Interreg community!

The 2nd Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region will place a specific emphasis on youth

The online info point and search tool for EU funding EuroAccess Macro-Regions was launched on 25 June 2018!

The most important annual event of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region will focus on tourism development as a precondition to economic growth and territorial cohesion