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The "Integrity Pact" Stakeholder Event takes place today in Bucharest and marks almost two years since the launch of the project "Integrity Pacts - civil control mechanisms for safeguarding EU funds, Phase II" by DG REGIO and Transparency International (TI). The participants are addressed in the opening session by Ms Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, Director, DG REGIO, Mr Marius Nica, Romanian Minister-delegate for European Funds, Mr David Ondračka Executive Director, Transparency International Czech Republic and Mr Pascal Boijmans, Head of Unit, DG REGIO.

In this winter issue of Panorama we visit the EU's Outermost Regions, reporting on the recent Conference of Presidents attended by President Juncker and Commissioner Creţu. We analyse the renewed strategy for these regions, which aims to help them make the most of their unique position within the EU and the wider world, and feature projects and testimonials. We also dive into the recently published Strategic Report on ESI Funds implementation, and find strong evidence of the scale and impact of these investments on the lives of citizens across the continent. Our regional profile this time takes a look at Generalitat Valenciana in Spain, with project profiles and an interview with President Ximo Puig. We also feature young people and their various efforts to engage with the EU and regional policy, through our Europe In My Region blogging competition, young journalists training scheme and the Interreg Volunteer Youth programme.

The Interreg Newsletter is moving forward and embracing an innovative, more flexible and modern format.

The 1st Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region took place on 23-24 November 2017 in Munich, Germany.

The 6th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was organised on 18-19 October 2017 in Budapest, Hungary.

Partners coming from different macro-regions sharing their experience and ideas on common topics.

Joint secretariats and managing authorities of Interreg transnational programmes and Interreg Europe reflect together on common issues.

Your new gateway to the Interreg world – interreg.eu portal – is going live soon!

The Interreg project ‘Bio Base NWE‘ has won a prestigious RegioStars Award 2017 under the category ‘Smart Specialisation for SME Innovation‘.

The latest update from the #InvestEU campaign is quite positive and worth sharing with all!

DG REGIO is planning to launch a toolkit on how EU funds and ERDF in particular can contribute to the integration of people with a migrant background.

The New Year will bring along the launch of the call for pilot projects also foreseen in the framework of the Commission's Communication on EU border regions.

An EU-wide online professional network devoted to exchanges on border issues will be launched by the Commission in mid-January 2018 as part of the measures proposed by the Commission in its Communication on EU Border Regions.

Presentations and video recording of the Workshop taken place in Mérida on 25 October 2017, as follow up to Commission's Communication on EU Border Regions, are available on the Inforegio website.

As in the previous years, the assurance package includes 5 types of documents and has to be submitted by all programmes by 15 February 2018.

Interreg POCTEFA project "MaReA" has received an Atlantic project award at the 4th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference.

A new report published highlights what the five EU funds have achieved since the beginning of the funding period, as the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes has now reached full speed. By October 2017, almost half of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds' budget for 2014-2020 had been committed to concrete projects. By the end of 2016, almost 793,500 businesses had received support from the funds, creating an estimated 154,000 new jobs. 7.8 million people have already benefitted from assistance in finding a job or developing skills, while the biodiversity of 23.5 million hectares of agricultural land has been improved. Overall, 2 million EU-funded projects had been selected by the end of 2016, which is 1 million more than the year before.

The "EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade" award acknowledges the importance of EU cities as the focal point of fair and ethical trade. This new award aims to recognize and celebrate cities’ achievements and positive impact in the area of social, economic and environmental sustainability in international trade. Applications will open on 7 December and the launch event will take place the same day at the Committee of Regions from 12:30 to 14:30. Registration is possible at this link: http://www.phrenos.eu/eucityaward-launchevent/, and more information is available at our website: http://www.trade-city-award.eu/.

Following the positive feedback received on the series of training seminars held in 2016 and 2017, we are pleased to announce a new training session "State aid in the management of the ESIF during 2014-2020 programming period". This course is designed for participants from ESIF managing authorities/ intermediate bodies/ audit authorities. Participation is free of charge but travel and accommodation costs are not reimbursed. When? 12-13 December 2017 Where? Brussels, DG REGIO Language: English The programme and registration can be found here.

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