Panorama

"Cohesion is a marathon”: Kata Tüttő, President of the European Committee of the Regions, speaks with Panorama on two decades of local political experience in Budapest and outlines her vision for a modernised and stable cohesion policy.

Yesterday, the Commission announced major changes to Cohesion Policy, and Panorama jumpstart the conversation on their impact for the EU and its citizens.

Engaging citizens in policymaking is a practical necessity for shaping policies that truly address community needs. Across Europe, innovative approaches are empowering residents to co-design initiatives, bridge gaps between governance levels, and foster trust in public institutions. Explore how regions are transforming citizen engagement into a cornerstone of cohesion policy.

The REGIO Peer2Peer Communities are enhancing knowledge exchange and innovative solutions for more effective use of EU funds. Its members are national, regional and local civil servants from all Member States whose daily job is to help implement European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund and Just Transition Fund programmes.

The 2024 European Week of Regions and Cities celebrated 20 years of EU cohesion policy and highlighted its role in regional development amid new challenges. With 7000 participants, the event covered key themes like talent retention, clean tech, and democracy. The Regiostars Awards honored innovative projects, and Commissioner Elisa Ferreira’s leadership was celebrated as she reflected on her tenure and urged continued commitment to cohesion policy.

MEP Dragoș Benea is the new chair of the European Parliament Committee on Regional Affairs, succeeding Younous Omarjee. In this interview to Panorama, Dragoș Benea details the values that will inspire him during his mandate, his expectations and his priorities in cooperation with the European Commission and Member States to deliver a robust cohesion policy fit for contemporary and future challenges.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a step towards transforming European reporting on cohesion policy and contribute to the general understanding of European affairs. The MOOC is due to launch officially on 19 October by project partners and the European Commission.

The European Commission’s B-Solutions initiative is helping to overcome legal and administrative obstacles in border regions, fostering European integration and economic growth.

In the 20 years since the most significant EU enlargement ever, cohesion policy has supported development of infrastructure and public services and fostered innovation, education and skills development. Member States that joined

Cohesion policy is one of the most successful and important tools the EU has to strengthen democracy and integrate Member States. However, it needs to adapt to meet the needs of Europeans in an increasingly complex world participants said at the 9th Cohesion Forum held 11-12 April in Brussels.

Ahead of the Cohesion Forum 2024, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, shares her perspectives on the pivotal 9th Cohesion Report. Watch the video interview to see Commissioner Ferreira’s take on the transformative impact of Cohesion Policy, its role in addressing Europe's challenges, and its future.

Since 2004, cohesion policy has significantly reduced disparities in GDP and employment between the east and west of the EU, but challenges such as brain drain and development traps remain, the EU’s 9th Cohesion Report shows

On the 20 of February, the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion policy Report unveiled its final report containing strategies to address future challenges and adapting the Cohesion policy to ever-changing circumstances.

The findings of the high-level group on the future of Cohesion Policy will be released in early 2024. Panorama spoke to the group’s chair, Prof Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, about ensuring that the policy can help all EU regions realise their full potential and contribute to a united and prosperous EU.

In this interview, we exchange with Ms Kariková Soňa, the person behind Banská Bystrica’s innovative Ideathon. As the coordinator for Open Government, Ms Kariková led the city’s collaboration with the DG REGIO/OECD programme, to involve citizens in shaping the Integrated Territorial Strategy (ITS) for 2021-2027.

On 2nd May, the European Commission published a Staff Working Document "Cohesion 2021-2027: forging an ever stronger Union - report on the outcome of 2021-2027 cohesion policy programming". We spoke to Normunds Popens, Director General (Acting) of DG REGIO about the report’s conclusions and how cohesion policy delivers for EU citizens.

The Joint Audit Directorate for Cohesion (DAC) has successfully combined the strengths of two DGs and become an efficient tool to prevent and detect financial irregularities. Its director Franck Sébert tells Panorama what the unit has achieved since its creation and how it will face the challenges of the 2021-2027 funding period.

Karolina Kottova, Head of the Communication Unit at DG Regio, participated in the Inform EU network’s third plenary meeting from November 16-18 in Evora, Portugal. She shares with Panorama her thoughts on linking communication about EU investments in different fields, tips for successful campaigns and challenges to promoting funding opportunities.

In 2022, the European Week of Regions and Cities, the flagship Cohesion Policy event, celebrated its 20th anniversary. Experts, stakeholders, beneficiaries and citizens from across Europe gathered in person again in Brussels to take on “New Challenges for Europe’s Cohesion”.

Interview with Marc Lemaître, Director-General, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

Interview with Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms: what to expect from the 8th Cohesion Forum?

The revised Action Plan of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) covers 14 policy areas. One of them is spatial planning, which includes "ensuring coherent maritime spatial plans throughout the Baltic Sea". The overall goal of this policy area is to increase territorial cohesion in the Baltic Sea Region. Rafal Rolka interviewed Mr Joacim Johannesson from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and Ms Natalia Zając from the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure about their opinions on the process of Maritime spatial planning (MSP) development and coordination in the Baltic Sea Region.

The European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) is the first macro-regional strategy in Europe, which was approved in 2009. Three key objectives of the EUSBSR are: saving the sea, connecting the region, and increasing prosperity. The Strategy aims to strengthen cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea in order to meet the common challenges and to benefit from common opportunities facing the region. I asked three local government politicians how it looks like in practice from the Baltic cities’ perspective.

Citizens from across Europe discussing the future they want for our Union and the issues and debates that are important to them … This may sound far-fetched but the Conference on the Future of Europe is aiming at nothing less than making this a reality. Through decentralised events and citizen panels – facilitated via the recently launched multilingual digital platform – all Europeans will have a chance to shape the future of our continent.

In 2015 and 2016, hundreds of thousands of people reached Europe after fleeing their countries, often with little chance of returning any time soon. Local volunteers, welfare groups and public authorities cooperated to help these migrants and asylum seekers to integrate into their new home, with EU support.