On 23 September 2020, the European Commission adopted the third biennial report [COM(2020)578], covering the period from mid-2018 to mid-2020, on the implementation of the four EU macro-regional strategies (MRS): the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) and the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP).

The Commission has published a study that aims to enhance the understanding of the planned and implemented use of Technical Assistance (TA) at the initiative of Member States during the 2014-2020 period. The report assesses the capacity of the administrations of Member States and regions to prepare, manage and implement Cohesion policy projects as well as to remove important barriers to investment.

CoNVat is an EU project that is about direct, fast and specific identification of coronavirus to improve its early diagnosis and the clinical management of patients. The approach employs an already developed technology based on nanophotonic bimodal waveguide (BiMW) interferometers capable of providing real time, highly sensitive detections assays in short sample turnaround times. Final prototype validation will demonstrate the potential of this approach for the management of future infectious outbreaks. Watch this Smart Regions episode on Monday 28 September at 21h50 (CET+1) to find out more about this project.

Do not miss the 11th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR, the agenda of the day is now available. One more time this year, the actors of the Baltic Sea Region will e-meet, in order to discuss Innovation and Sustainability, the two topics of the year. It will also be the occasion for the EUSBSR community to look at the 10 years of achievement.

12 finalists have been shortlisted for the final competition; join us and discover them! On 15 October 2020, 12 shortlisted teams will compete in the online final of the EU Datathon – the open data competition. The preselection jury had to make this selection from among 121 submitted proposals, the highest number of entries since the first EU Datathon took place in 2017. These 12 finalists are expected to present up-and-running apps that use open data made available by the EU institutions, agencies and bodies. Each app should address one of four key challenges set by the European Commission.

The interactive sessions will be spread over four half-days and will be delivered via a videoconferencing platform. The training sessions are designed for participants from ESIF managing authorities/ intermediate bodies/ audit authorities and are provided free of charge.

The International Urban Cooperation Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (IUC-LAC), funded by the European Union, presents IUC-LAC Open Dialogues, the first publication on lessons learned and recommendations to help cities face the 'new normality', the post-COVID 19 deconfinement period.

The latest episode of the “Smart Regions” series in partnership with Euronews was about tackling plastic dilemma in Central Europe.

Let’s build the future together The first week out of three of this year's #EURegionsWeek is dedicated to the thematic cluster Empowering Citizens. Check out the online programme and discover interesting working sessions on topics ranging from e-democracy, co-creation in public services, entrepreneurship and many more.

Cohesion policy plays a key role in Europe’s future. It is a first responder in the COVID crisis and a linchpin of the recovery package. In the longer term, it will be a cornerstone of the Green Deal for all regions, with no one left behind. Over the years, regional policy has constantly offered expertise in transition, structural transformation and policy implementation. In this respect, our budget helps to turn the Union’s priorities into results that make a difference to people’s lives.

Despite the difficulties generated by the COVID 19 pandemic, the #EURegionsWeek 2020 will offer to participants more than 500 digital working sessions to discover over three consecutive weeks in October, from 5-22 October, covering various topics along the thematic priorities Empowering Citizens; Cohesion and Cooperation; and Green Europe.

The Commission has released financial data on cohesion policy implementation in the first half of 2020 on the ESIF Open Data Platform (https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/overview ). More than EUR 23 billion was invested across the Union under the 4 cohesion policy funds. This represents a 5% point increase in investment spending since the end of 2019 – with a total of EUR 204 billion (43%) of the planned EUR 480 billion for 2014-2020 now invested. The modest increase in spending compares to the first half of 2019 when an overall 5% increase was also reported. This suggests that the rate of investment implementation did not slow down particularly in the exceptional climate during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 15 July, the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) successfully launched the first pilot action aimed at promoting genuine and meaningful citizen engagement in implementing cohesion projects on the ground. As part of this collaboration, institutions involved in managing five programmes from Italy, Poland, Spain and two Interreg programmes – Romania-Bulgaria and Flanders-The Netherlands - will receive top class expertise and tailored assistance in setting up new initiatives to involve citizens and promote transparency and accountability. The OECD has proven in several projects its expertise in the matter and is looking forward to working with the selected authorities.

The Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) launched a new online “Public consultation on overcoming obstacles in border regions”. We would like to invite you, as citizen and/or border stakeholder to participate and share your opinion and feedback with us!

A new year, a new record for DG REGIO’s programme for aspiring journalists: 542 applicants sent us their thoughts on an EU-funded project. This represents a 21% increase when compared with the previous edition. The high number confirms an increasing interest for the programme among the target audience and for EU action in the regions.

Before the economic crisis which started in 2008, the EU was nicknamed a "convergence machine" as disparities among EU regions were significantly decreasing. The crisis had a deep impact on economic and social cohesion in the EU and the surge in disparities is now frequently cited as one of the main causes for the current lack of popular support for the project of constructing the European Union.

The ever popular “EU delivers in the regions” communication campaign, highlighting emblematic places in the regions that are co-funded by the EU, is back! 15 regions within 5 Member States (FR, EL, IE, IT, NL) will be subject to a one-month ultra-local campaign, as of 1st July until the end of the year.

Stories from the Regions goes to Bucharest, Romania, where a brand new section of Metro Line 5, co-financed by the EU, will be gradually opened to the public starting from 2020. Even despite the fact that the construction has faced several difficulties and lengthy delays over the past years, the impressively designed ten new stations are set to benefit 20 million passengers on an annual basis, approximately 65 thousand per day.

The Commission and the French Regional Council of Hauts-de-France, as entrusted entity managing the Urban Innovative Actions (UIA), have finalised the evaluation of the 5th and last call for proposals. The winning projects coming from Brussels, Ghent and Leiedal (Belgium), Sofia (Bulgaria), Halandri (Greece), Budapest (Hungary), Ferrara and Verona (Italy), Tilburg (the Netherlands), Košice (Slovakia), and Almería (Spain) will channel more than €45 million from the European Regional and Development Fund. They will experiment new ideas to foster culture and cultural heritage, improve air quality, develop the circular economy and tackle demographic change across Europe.

The European Commission has announced the 25 finalists of the 2020 RegioStars competition for the best EU Cohesion policy projects. They competed in 5 categories: “Industrial transition for a smart Europe” “Circular economy for a green Europe” “Skills & education for a digital Europe” “Citizen engagement for cohesive European cities” and the specific for 2020 “Youth empowerment for cooperation across border - 30 years of Interreg”.