REGIOFLASH: latest news on Regional and Urban Policy

Coal-dependent and other industrial regions face huge challenges in making the shift to a green economy. In many such territories – some of them among the poorest in the EU – more than 20 % of jobs are in highly polluting industries. The EU’s Just Transition Fund (JTF) enables carbon-intensive regions to make the switch.

On 27 and 28 February, President Ursula von der Leyen will visit New Delhi accompanied by the College of Commissioners to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Government. The unprecedented visit, one of the first by the College of Commissioners early in the new mandate, highlights the strong momentum in EU-India relations.

Hungarian Kata Tüttő has been elected President of the Committee of the Regions. President Tüttő will be the leading voice of regions and cities in the European Union for the next two and a half years. Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, (EPP/ES) president of the Spanish region of Andalusia, will join the new CoR Presidency as 1st Vice-President. As part of a political agreement, PES will cede the presidency to the EPP mid-way through the CoR's mandate

JTP Groundwork, a technical assistance tool under the Just Transition Platform (JTP) helps Just Transition Fund (JTF) regions implement their Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs). As part of the second edition of this technical assistance programme, it delivers 12 projects across 16 JTF territories, including the Savinjsko-Šaleška (SAŠA) region in Slovenia.

Last week Minister of Economic Affairs of the German State of Brandenburg, Daniel Keller awarded a €18.4 million funding decision for the development of the Transformation and Service Center (TRAFO) in Schwedt (Oder). The building is the first building block of the Innovation Campus that will be created in Schwedt (Oder).

For the third anniversary of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the entire College of Commissioner attended the Summit on the Support of Ikraine in Kyiv on the 24th of February. Read President von der Leyen's speech.

On the 19th of February, EVP Fitto and Commissioner Hansen presented the Commission's Vision for Agriculture and Food, an ambitious roadmap on the future of farming and food in Europe. This roadmap sets the stage for an attractive, competitive, resilient, future-oriented and fair agri-food system for current and future generations of farmers and agri-food operators.

New call for C4T Working Groups! C4T is looking for Managing Authorities, intermediate bodies, and public authorities to reinforce its Working Groups on Climate, Energy and the Environment! New members will create toolkits, guidelines and support investment implementation.

The Cities Forum 2025, co-organised by the European Commission (DG REGIO) and the European Urban Initiative (EUI), is set to bring together urban leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from across Europe on 17-19 June in Kraków.