The 9th Cohesion Forum is a unique opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on the important role that Cohesion Policy plays in improving the well-being of all people living in Europe.
At a time of important climate, technological, demographic and geopolitical developments, the EU cohesion policy needs to evolve to meet the ambitious objective of making Europe's regions more resilient, competitive and inclusive, embracing the green and digital transition and improving opportunities for all European citizens.
On 11 and 12 April 2024, the Cohesion Forum will bring together some 1000 representatives of
On this website, you can access the event programme, information on the speakers, and some practical information.
Participation is upon invitation only. However, the Forum will be livestreamed . Additionally, recordings of all sessions will be available in English on this website.
For information on content: cohesionforum@ec.europa.eu
You can find more information on the 9th Cohesion Report, published on 27 March, and its accompanying Communication, at the following link: Inforegio - Ninth Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion (europa.eu)
Ursula von der Leyen has been the President of the European Commission since 2019. As the head of the European executive, she has defined six headline ambitions for Europe for her mandate: a European Green Deal, a Europe fit for the digital age, an economy that works for people, a stronger Europe in the world, promoting our European way of life, and a new push for European democracy. Before 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was Minister at federal level in Germany for more than 14 years and responsible for family, then labour and social affairs, and later defence.
Roberta Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament in January 2022.
She was first elected to the European Parliament in 2013, becoming one of Malta's first female Members of the European Parliament. Metsola was re-elected in 2014 and then again in 2019. In 2020 she was elected as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament, becoming the first Maltese national to hold the post. She was responsible for the European Parliament's relations with national parliaments and for the Parliament's participation in the interreligious and non-confessional dialogue (Article 17 TFEU).
Within the European Parliament, President Metsola was the EPP Group's Coordinator in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, between January 2017 and 2020. President Metsola was the Parliament's rapporteur on the European Border and Coastguard Regulation in 2019. She also co-authored the Parliament's own-initiative report on the need to protect journalists in the European Union from Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation. Professionally she is a lawyer who has specialised in European law and politics.
Prior to her election as a MEP, President Metsola served within the Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union and later as the legal advisor to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In her student years, she campaigned actively for Malta's EU membership, and was active in various organisations, acting as the Secretary-General for the European Democrat Student organisation between 2002-2003.
She completed an Erasmus exchange in France and graduated from the University of Malta and the College of Europe in Bruges.
Born in 1979, Roberta Metsola is married to Ukko Metsola and is the mother of four boys.
Enrico Letta served as Prime Minister of Italy in 2013-2014 and as leader of the Italian Democratic Party in 2021-2023. He entered politics in 1998, after working as an academic. He was Minister of European affairs in 1998, Minister of Industry in 1999-2001, and Member of the European Parliament from 2004-2009. In 2014, he became dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po Paris. Today, he is the President of the Institut Jacques Delors and member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. In September 2023 he received a mandate from the European institutions to elaborate a High Level Report on the future of the Single Market.
Before that, she was Vice-Governor of the Bank of Portugal (‘Banco de Portugal’). During her tenure, she was Portugal’s representative in the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the European Central Bank.
Between 2004 and 2016 she was a Member of the European Parliament. Throughout her mandate, she was the coordinator for the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the EP’s Economic and Monetary (ECON) Committee, and was rapporteur, co-rapporteur or shadow rapporteur of many key legislative files, including the Six-Pack and Two-Pack, the BRRD and the Regulation creating the Single Resolution Mechanism.
She was a member of the Portuguese National Parliament between 2002 and 2004. Elisa Ferreira was Portugal’s Minister for Planning (responsible for the Portuguese EU Multiannual Financial Framework for regional policy) between 1999 and 2002. She was Portugal’s Minister for the Environment from 1995 to 1999.
Between 1992 and 1994 she was Executive Vice-President of the Porto Industrial Association. Before that, she worked at Portugal’s Northern Region Coordination Commission, a central government regional development institution of which she was the Vice-President from 1988 until 1992; in parallel, she was also a member of the Board of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Statistics Portugal).
Elisa Ferreira has a degree in Economics from the University of Porto, and a Master’s Degree (1981) and a PhD (1985) from the University of Reading, in the UK. She is a professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto (on leave of absence).
Nicolas Schmit took up office as European Commissioner responsible for Jobs and Social Rights in December 2019. Prior to this, and following a long career of public service in his native Luxembourg, he took up duty as Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the EU in 1998 for a six-year term. In 2004, he was appointed Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
From 2009 to 2018, he held the position of Minister for Labour and Employment in the Luxembourgish government. He served as a Member of the European Parliament for the social-democratic Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei following his election in May 2019. Nicolas Schmit holds a Doctorate in International Economic Relations and a Masters in French Literature from the University of Aix-Marseille.
Elio Di Rupo est né à Morlanwelz en 1951. Docteur en chimie, il a renoncé à une carrière scientifique pour se lancer dans la politique.
En 1987, il fait son entrée au Parlement fédéral, avant de devenir député européen en 1989. Par la suite, il assume diverses responsabilités : ministre de l’éducation, vice-Premier ministre à trois reprises (chargé de la mobilité, de l’économie et des télécommunications), président du Parti Socialiste pendant vingt ans et Premier ministre de la Belgique entre 2011 et 2014. Pendant dix-huit ans, il est également bourgmestre de Mons.
Depuis septembre 2019, il exerce la charge de Ministre-Président de la Wallonie. Dans le cadre de la présidence belge, il préside, durant ce premier semestre 2024, la filière Cohésion du Conseil de l’Union européenne.
Parmi ses titres, on notera ceux de docteur honoris causa, octroyés à plusieurs reprises, et celui de Ministre d’État, conféré par le Roi Albert II.
Younous Omarjee is Chairman of the Committee on Regional Development (REGI) in the European Parliament since 2019 and MEP (The Left, France) since 2012. He is also Member of the Committee on Budgetary Control and alternate Member of the Committee on Budgets of the European Parliament.
He is from the island of La Réunion. He is defending the contribution of cohesion policy for European regions and the reduction of economic, social and territorial disparities that is at its core.
His two previous mandates were marked by commitments in favour of the Outermost Regions, the islands, the oceans, the preservation of the environment. His mandates have also been marked by his fight for the rule of law, the fight against corruption, and the defence of a European Public Prosecutor's Office that lives up to citizens' expectations.
Since the beginning of this legislature, as President of the REGI Committee, Younous Omarjee has chaired all the inter-institutional negotiations on the new cohesion policy regulations for the period 2021-2027 (CPR, ERDF, Interreg, CRII, React EU, BAR) and the Just Transition Fund. These instruments will be central to the implementation of the Green Pact for Europe and represent one of its main budgets, financing in particular the energy renovation of public infrastructure and the existing building stock. He is a member of the Alliance for Cohesion and defends an ambitious cohesion policy for the European Union, which he considers a fundamental pillar for the future.
From December 2021: State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
2009 to 2021: Member of the European Parliament, including as a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and spokesperson for ALLIANCE 90/THE GREENS in the European Parliament, deputy membership of the Employment Committee, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
2007 to date: Involvement in the German Protestant Kirchentag congress, as a member of the Presidential Assembly (since 2007) and member of the Presidium (since 2015)
1998: Co-founder and Managing Director of AllerWohnen e.G. ecological housing cooperative
1996 to 1999: Establishment of Verden Ecological Centre providing 50 jobs in ecological enterprises and social initiatives
1991 to 1999: Degree in Economics, Politics and Adult Education in Lüneburg, Bremen and Birmingham (UK)
1986 to date: Involvement in numerous civil society organisations
Loïg Chesnais-Girard was born in Lannion in 1977. He spent his early years in Trébeurden, a coastal town in the Côtes d'Armor, before following his family to Liffré where he still lives with his partner and their two children.
His civic commitment began in 1993 with the creation of the association “Pourquoi Pas”, a body with a vocation is to promote youth’s role in the life of the city. It was this undertaking that led him to win election in 1995 as a municipal councillor in Liffré, a town located to the north-east of Rennes, at the age of 18.
Professionally, after studying in Rennes and doing an internship in New York, he joined a banking group. He stayed there for 10 years, holding several positions, including that of corporate account manager. He is now available to devote himself to his mandate as President of the Region. At the age of 30, he was elected Mayor of Liffré. To promote the economy and jobs in his town, he accompanied Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tokyo to meet the directors of the Japanese group Canon, whose production unit is located in his town.
In 2010, he joined Jean-Yves Le Drian’s regional team. Appointed Vice-President for the economy and innovation of the Regional Council of Brittany in 2012, he became First Vice- President following the 2015 regional elections.
In 2017, he was elected President of the Regional Council of Brittany following the resignation of Jean-Yves Le Drian. He won the regional elections in June 2021 with his list “La Bretagne avec Loïg” and was reelected President of the Regional Council of Brittany.
At 44, Loïg Chesnais-Girard is the youngest President of a Region in France. He is a member of the European Committee of the Regions. He is the author of a book, “le souffle breton, une région pour la République”, where he sets out his vision of Brittany and the transitions to be carried out.
In 2023, he was elected President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe. He has been awarded the Order of Agricultural Merit.
Vice-Rector for Science and Director of the Institute of Statistics and Demography at SGH Warsaw School of Economics. Member of the Committee on Demographic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Managing Director as well as Country Team Leader for Poland in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Formerly, among others, deputy minister of labour and social policy in Poland. In 2021-2023 member of the High-Level Group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU, advising the European Commission. Her areas of specialisation include demography, pension systems, the labour market, social policy, health and education.
Simona Iammarino is Professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Economics and Business of the University of Cagliari, Italy; Visiting Professor at the Department of Geography & Environment of the London School of Economics (LSE); member of the Board of the LSE-Cañada Blanch Centre; affiliate faculty member at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) L’Aquila, Italy. She was Professor of Economic Geography at the LSE (2009-2022), where she acted as Head of Department (2014-2017) and academic member of the LSE Council (2016-2020).
Simona’s main research interests lie in the following areas: Multinational corporations, globalisation and local economic development; Economic geography of innovation and technological change; Regional systems of innovation; Regional and local economic development and policy. She has published more than 70 articles in major peer-reviewed journals, two co-authored books, around 30 book chapters, and numerous working papers, policy reports and other publications.
She is co-editor of the Journal of Economic Geography, member of the Regional Studies Association Executive Group and Board, and Chair of the RSA Journal Committee. Simona has a long-term experience in externally funded international research projects, and in consultancy projects for various international organisations (e.g. EU Commission, OECD, United Nations) and numerous government agencies.
After university studies in Toulouse and Montpellier, she became part of the local civil service. As a Territorial Attaché, she joined the Limoges City Council in 1994 as responsible for the historic and archaeological heritage of the city. In 1998, she became Director of the Barousse Water Union and, in 2005, Deputy Director of Territorial Planning of the Midi-Pyrénées Region, where she will also serve as Policy Officer to the Deputy Director-General for Territorial Planning, Economic Development and Sustainable Development.
She became the first president of the new region of Occitanie/Pyrénées-Méditerranée after mayors and MPs and ministerial positions. In June 2021, Carole Delga was re-elected as President of the Region. On that occasion, she became President of the French Regions.
Regions of France represent the French regions and local and regional authorities vis-à-vis the public authorities. She works at national and European level to convince the institutions of the benefits of decentralisation. At the service of regional elected representatives, our network pools together the experiences of the regions, collects and analyses data, develops arguments and advocates.
Emil Boc is the Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the second-largest city in Romania, in terms of size and economic development.
He is also the President of COTER Commission, European Committee of the Regions; co-rapporteur on the Future of Cohesion Policy, former CoR rapporteur on Brain Drain in the EU and on Achieving the European Education Area by 2025 and European Strategy for Universities; member of A Soul for Europe Advisory Board. Emil Boc holds a PhD in Political Science.
He is an associate professor at Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law from Michigan State University in East Lansing, U.S.
Former Prime Minister of Romania (2008-2012), former President of the Democratic Liberal Party (2005-2012).
Since 16 December 2020: Mayor of Utrecht
2018–2020: Council member responsible for Traffic and Transport, Water and Air Quality, Municipality of Amsterdam
2017–2018: Member of the House of Representatives, PvdA
2015–2017: State Secretary for Infrastructure and Environment, Rutte-Asscher cabinet
2012–2015: State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Rutte-Asscher cabinet
September 2012–December 2012: Self-employed, strategy and management consultancy 2010–2012: Member of the House of Representatives, PvdA
2007–2010: State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, 4th Balkenende cabinet
1994–2007: Member of the House of Representatives, PvdA
Jānis Rozenbergs has been working in the municipality for more than 20 years. He has gained experience as the Head of the Development Department and the Executive Director.
Since 2013, he has served as the Chairman of the Cēsis County Council, holding the position for his third consecutive term. Considering that his current term began in 2021 when the new municipality was formed by merging the previous seven districts, he has been actively involved as a leader of change in recent years.
Last year, he began working both as an Advisor to the Prime Minister and as the head of the Regional Development Center association.
André Sobczak works to empower cities in EU decision making through Eurocities, following two terms as Vice-President of the Nantes Metropolitan Area.
He is forging new connections with academia, where he has a history of driving social and ecological change, spearheading initiatives on issues like gender equality and precarious employment.
He leads with an approach of multi-level cooperation between the public sector, businesses and civil society for tangible positive impact.
Maroš Šefčovič (born in 1966) is a Slovak politician and a career diplomat, who since 22 August 2023 serves as Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. Before that, since 1 December 2019 he served as Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. In this capacity, he leads the Commission’s work on the European Green Deal, interinstitutional relations, better policymaking, strategic foresight and the European Battery Alliance. He is also responsible for the European Union’s relations with Western non-EU countries, notably Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Lichtenstein, San Marino and Switzerland. He also cochairs the EU-UK Partnership Council under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the EU-UK Joint Committee for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.
European Affairs have been at the centre of Mr Šefčovič's career for almost two decades. In 2014, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. From 2010-2019, he was Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of initially Interinstitutional Relations and Administration, and then the Energy Union. In 2009-2010, he was European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth. From 2004-2009, he was the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the European Union, steering the country's integration in the European Union, such as its entry to the Eurozone and the Schengen area. As a diplomat by profession, he served between 1992 and 2004 in Zimbabwe and Canada and as Ambassador of Slovakia to Israel.
He graduated from the University of Economy in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Moscow State Institute for Foreign Relations. He holds a degree as Doctor of Law and a PhD of European Law from Faculty of Law at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He also undertook training in diplomacy at Stanford University, USA.
A book "Driving the EU forward – talks with Maroš Šefčovič" focuses on his first mandate as the Commission Vice-President. In 2018, he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at the Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Mr Šefčovič is married and father of 3 children, Helena, Martina and Maroš. Two dogs and a cat are also part of the family.
Teresa Ribera is Vice President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
Prior to that, Ms Ribera was Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) from 2014 to 2018, and enabled the Institute to play a key role in the negotiation of the Paris Climate Agreement and the transition towards sustainable development. She served as the Spanish Secretary of State for Climate Change and Biodiversity from 2008 to 2011, responsible for environmental and climate policies, as well as the National Meteorological Agency. A public official from the Senior Corps of State Civil Administrators, she has also taught at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz is a sociologist and specialist in international politics. In 1994, she graduated from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Warsaw, where she defended her doctoral thesis. She then went on to work at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 1992 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2012, she was associated with the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, where she served, among other positions, as head of the Russian department and deputy director.
In 2011-2012, she was the representative of the Centre for Eastern Studies in Brussels and coordinator of a joint research project between the Centre for Eastern Studies and the French Institute of International Affairs. She was Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2014 and Ambassador of Poland to the Russian Federation from 2014 to 2016.
After leaving the diplomatic service, she took up the post of director of the Open Europe Programme of the Stefan Batory Foundation and later as director of the Ideas Forum think tank. On the 13th of December 2023 she took up a position of Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.
Oliver Röpke was elected as the president of the EESC in April 2023. Member of EESC since 2009, Mr Röpke was the president of the EESC Workers' Group, a member of the EESC Bureau and rapporteur of many EESC resolutions and opinions on employment and social policy, single market and innovation.
Mr Röpke headed the Brussels office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and took on several senior positions including as ÖGB representative to the EU institutions, the Executive Committee of the ETUC, and an advisory member of the ÖGB federal executive board. Mr Röpke has a legal background and holds a law degree from the University of Vienna.
Michele Emiliano, born in Bari on July 23, 1959, has been serving as the President of the Apulia Region since 2015. In April 2021, he assumed the role of Vice President of the Conference of Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces.
He held the position of Mayor in Bari from 2004 to 2014 and served as the Regional Secretary of the Democratic Party during two separate periods, from 2007 to 2009 and from 2014 to 2016.
He is an Italian magistrate, currently on leave. In his capacity as a public prosecutor, he presided over some of the most significant trials involving the Apulian mafia. Prior to that, he worked as Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic, first in Bari's Anti-Mafia District Directorate, and later in the courts of Brindisi and Agrigento.
He is the proud father of three children: Giovanni, Francesca, and Pietro.
Deputy Prime Minister for Digitisation and Minister of Regional Development Ivan Bartoš has been a Chairman of the Czech Pirate Party for many years and was one of its founding members in 2009. Since the autumn of 2017, he has been a Member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and was re-elected in 2021. He served as a Chairman of the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development in the Chamber of Deputies for four years and was active in the field of digitisation as well.
Ivan Bartoš was born in Jablonec nad Nisou in North Bohemia. When he was 17, he left to study in the United States and successfully graduated there. After his return, he passed the Czech school-leaving exams at U Balvanu Grammar School in his hometown.
At the age of 19, he began his studies at two faculties: Theology at the Hussite Theological Faculty and Information Studies and Librarianship at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.
He eventually decided to focus on the Information Studies and obtained a PhD degree. He returned to the U.S. once again during his studies and spent a semester studying Computer Science at the University of New Orleans.
During his professional career, he worked in IT departments in multiple Czech and multinational companies, such as Newton IT, Monster Worldwide, T-Mobile and was at the launch of the Air Jobs recruitment platform.
He is fluent in English and can get by in French and Russian.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman is responsible for matters of the Innovations and Enterprise Financing Department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The Department is responsible for innovation policy, special public funding and export financing policy, mineral policy, internationalisation policy of business and industry, tourism coordination and promotion of foreign investments. The Department is also in charge of the development of the business subsidy system and space policy.
Rydman is also responsible for security of supply issues and other matters related to the Department for Regions and Growth Services. Furthermore, Minister of Economic Affairs Rydman is also responsible for matters related to the Financial Markets Department of the Ministry of Finance. Profile
Wille-Werner Rydman was born on 2 January 1986 in Helsinki, where he continues to live. Rydman completed his general upper secondary education at Helsinki Normal Lyceum in 2005. He holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki where he studied political science between 2006 and 2008. Rydman has been a member of Helsinki City Council since 2013, serving both as member of the City Executive and as First Vice-Chair of the City Council. He has also chaired the Board of Directors of the Port of Helsinki and served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the energy company Helen. Rydman was first elected to Parliament in 2015. He served for a long time in the Constitutional Law Committee (also as Vice-Chair) and in the Administration Committee. Rydman was a member of the Presidium of the Nordic Council for seven years.
Before entering Parliament, Rydman’s career included working as parliamentary assistant and secretary for international affairs. In addition to Finnish, Rydman speaks Swedish, English and German. Rydman's grandfather is composer Kari Rydman. Other members of his family include business leader Walter Rydman, Minister Heikki Ritavuori and Mayor Eero Rydman.
Rydman enjoys playing music. A former member of the Cantores Minores boys' choir, he has played the flute, studied at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music and at Sibelius Academy, and composed music for various ensembles.
Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Regional Development, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for European Strategy Research of the University of Public Service, Professor at the University of Public Service, and Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of ELTE.
In 1990 he obtained his degree in law, followed by his PhD in Political Science from the ELTE University Faculty of Law in 1999. From 2006 to 2014 he served as a Fidesz Member of Parliament and parliamentary group leader.
During the period from 2010 to 2014 he held the positions of Minister of Public Administration and Justice, as well as Deputy Prime Minister. In 2014 he assumed the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
From 2014 to 2019 he served as the European Commissioner for Culture, Education, Youth, and Sport.
Anna Diamantopoulou is President of DIKTIO – Network for Reform in Greece and Europe, a leading non-partisan, Athens-based think tank.
Ms. Diamantopoulou served as the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, and has held several significant portfolios as a Minister in the Greek government as well. She was Minister of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, and, prior to that, Minister of Education, Research and Technology, and Lifelong learning.
Ms. Diamantopoulou is a member other Advisory Board of Brenthuster Foundation in South Africa.
She is member of the Board of Trustees of the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, a Council Member of the European Council on foreign relations (ECFR), and a member of the Scientific Council of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and member of the Advisory Board of the Delphi Economic forum.
Anna also sits on corporate boards, including the Board of Directors of Coca Cola HBC, an FTSE 100 company and the Global Advisory Board of KEKST CNC, a global strategic communications firm, member of Publicis Groupe.
Mirja Vehkaperä is the Chair of the Oulu City Board
She has a long career as a municipal politician. She has worked as a Member of Parliament in the Finnish Parliament from 2007 to 2018 and in the European Parliament years 2018-2019. Mrs Vehkaperä is currently a member of the Committee of the Regions. She holds numerous positions of trust in Oulu, Northern Ostrobothnia and at national level. She has a master's degree in education from the University of Oulu. Mirja has worked as a teacher in a primary school.
Hon. Chris Fearne is the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) of Malta and the Minister for European Funds, Equality, Reforms and Social Dialogue. Between 2016 and 2024 he was Minister for Health for three consecutive legislatures. DPM Fearne is Vice-Chair of the Quadripartite One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. In May 2023, he was elected President of the 76th World Health Assembly.
DPM Fearne, has been a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party since 2013. He is the Leader of the House and Chairs the National Audit Office Parliamentary Committee. Prior to becoming Leader of the House, he served as the Chairman of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee.
Before entering the political arena, DPM Fearne worked as a doctor and surgeon for over thirty years during which time he held the position of a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Clinical Chairman for Surgery at Mater Dei Hospital. He received his formal education at the University of Malta graduating in Medicine and Surgery in 1987, after which he became a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He worked and studied in a number of children’s hospitals in England, including Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. He also lectured students of medicine at the University of Malta.
DPM Fearne is married to Astrid, also a doctor focusing on paediatric primary care, who together have three children – Dawn, Julian, and Rafael and two grandsons.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro is the President of the European Committee of the Regions. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal and an EU outermost region.
In 2012, he was elected President of the Regional Government of the Azores for the first time, a position for which he was re-elected in 2016, and, in that capacity, represented the region at European and international level, including as President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe.
Elected for the first time in 1996 as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, he has also held several positions in the regional executive, including Regional Secretary of Economy, Regional Secretary of the Presidency, responsible for European and External Affairs, and Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro is a lawyer by education and profession.
Teodora Preoteasa, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, is a recognized leader of Romania's sustainable development efforts through the Cohesion Policy, which she has been involved with from Romania’s first programming period.
The strength of her leadership has been confirmed in successfully negotiating the key 2021 - 2027 programmes amounting to €31 billion.
More recently, Teodora took over the coordination of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a testimony to her continued resolve to driving sustainable growth and prosperity.
With her committed leadership, she is working to foster synergies and maximizing the efficiency of varied investment instruments for the benefit of Romania's future in a strong and competitive Union.
A former diplomat, with a strong academic background, she brings extensive expertise in international relations, European funds and project development.
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose is the Princesa de Asturias Chair and a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics, where he leads the Cañada Blanch Centre. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Innovation Research at the University of Stavanger.
Since 2022, he has chaired the European Union's (EU) High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy. He has served as President and Vice-President of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and as Vice-President and Secretary of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA).
Rodríguez-Pose's research spans a broad range of subjects including regional growth and inequality, trade, innovation, fiscal and political decentralisation, institutions, discontent and populism, migration, as well as development and industrial policies and strategies. This research is widely cited in academic circles. In the Stanford/Elsevier list of the 2% most cited scientists, he ranked first globally in the field of urban and regional planning by scholarly citations in both 2023 and 2021 and among the top 1,000 researchers worldwide across all academic disciplines.
His research has also had significant influence in policy circles, having acted as an advisor to the European Commission, the World Bank, the Cities Alliance, the OECD, the ILO, UNCTAD, UNDP, FAO, EIB, IADB, the Development Bank of Latin America, ADB, and the African Union, among others.
Among his honours, he was awarded the 2018 ERSA Prize in Regional Science —arguably the highest award in his field— and holds Honorary Doctorates from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and Jönköping University (Sweden).
Rachel De Basso is a prominent politician in both national and regional politics, currently serving as President of the Regional Executive Board at the Region of Jönköping County, Sweden.
With a diverse background, she began her career as an Assistant Professor after completing her PhD in physiology. Her academic pursuits have endowed her with a deep understanding of various subjects, contributing significantly to her role as a leader and decision-maker in her region.
Beyond academia, Rachel is actively involved in shaping healthcare policies as the chairperson of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) healthcare delegation. Her leadership in this capacity underscores her commitment to ensuring accessible and quality healthcare services for all residents.
In addition to her regional responsibilities, Rachel De Basso is engaged in EU affairs, advocating for her region's interests and leveraging structural funds to address local challenges effectively. Her efforts highlight the importance of EU cooperation in fostering regional development and addressing socioeconomic disparities.
Rachel De Basso's multifaceted career trajectory reflects her dedication to making meaningful contributions to society, whether through education, healthcare governance, or regional development initiatives. Her unwavering commitment to public service continues to drive positive change in her community and beyond.
Jacki Davis is an experienced journalist and moderator of high-level events; a regular broadcaster on television and radio news; and a Senior Adviser to the European Policy Centre think tank.
. She has been based in Brussels for more than 30 years, and was previously the EPC’s Communications Director; editor-in-chief of the EU magazine E!Sharp; launch editor of European Voice, a Brussels-based newspaper on EU affairs owned by The Economist Group (now Politico); and Brussels correspondent of a British national newspaper.
Alison Hunter is a highly experienced, Brussels-based policy consultant and moderator. She is joint owner and director of a consultancy business – Economic and Public Policy Consultancy (EPPC) - specialising in economic and public policy advice and support with EU institutions and at national, regional / local levels).
Her career history spans private and public sector settings including EU policy, consultancy, economic development and academia. She is a specialist in EU Cohesion Policy (including Regional Innovation / Smart Specialisation), EU Research & Innovation Policy (including economic and green growth) and EU Industrial Policy.
She is a recognised expert in facilitating trans-national and interregional collaboration; research and policy analysis; event moderation and reporting; and working across the EU’s multi-level governance system.
Alison is a Senior Adviser with the Brussels-based think-tank European Policy Centre in Cohesion Policy, Regional Innovation and Industrial Growth.
Eulalia Rubio is senior Research Fellow at the Jacques Delors Institute. She is an expert on the EU budget and EU budgetary policies and over the last fifteen years has provided extensive research and advisory services to various EU institutions on these topics.
She has recently participated as external expert for CEPS on the independent mid-term review of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), provided external advice to the Committee of Regions for the preparation of an opinion on Own Resources and has co-authored a study on the rule of law conditionality mechanism on behalf of the European Parliament.
Eulalia holds a Ph. D in Political Sciences from the European University Institute of Florence. She has also been associate professor in comparative politics at the University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona and associate professor on European economic governance at the European School of Political and Social Sciences of Lille.
Javier Espinoza is the FT’s EU correspondent covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. Prior to that he was the paper's private equity correspondent in London. He was part of the original group of reporters that formed the FT's Due Diligence newsletter in 2017.
He was the Daily Telegraph’s education editor for two years prior to joining the Financial Times. Before joining the Telegraph in 2015, he was a multimedia reporter for the Wall Street Journal in London. He's done stints at Forbes, the Observer and other UK and international outlets. He studied journalism at City University. He is also a Political Economist having completed a second Master’s degree at King’s College London. He recently completed an executive MBA at IE Business School.
