Striving for enhanced territorial cohesion
Cohesion Policy is the main EU investment policy which aims at reinforcing economic, social and territorial cohesion in all regions.
The policy is delivered mainly through regional programmes and projects financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund. Cohesion is therefore at the core of CPMR’s activities.
CPMR advocates for a territorial investment policy to reinforce economic, social and territorial cohesion in all regions based on strong multi-level governance arrangements in partnership with regions and their citizens at its core.
A regular partner of the EU institutions, CPMR participates in the European Commission expert group on Structural Funds, the Network of Territorial Cohesion Contact point meetings and the Informal EU Council on Cohesion, and has a long-standing working relationship with the European Parliament.
CPMR is also a member of the S3 Platform Mirror Group and the Future of Cohesion working group at the Committee of the Regions.
The main areas of CPMR work on Cohesion are:
- A reinforced and legitimised role for Regions within Cohesion Policy
- The role and impact of financial instruments within Cohesion Policy
- Reducing the administrative burden and simplifying the Policy
- A well-resourced Cohesion Policy for all Regions
CPMR actions on Cohesion Policy are coordinated by a dedicated working group (the ‘Core Group’).
Fostering European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) and particularly on macro-regional strategies is also an important part of CPMR’s work in this area. This work is carried out through the CPMR Macro-Regions Task Force and the Adriatic-Ionian Task Force.
The CPMR launched the AI-NURECC Initiative (Adriatic Ionian Network of Universities, Regions, Chambers of Commerce and Cities) on 01 March 2018, with the support of four partners from the area: Adriatic Ionian Euroregion (AIE), Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities (FAIC), Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce, and UniAdrion.
The Initiative aims to support the political objectives of the EU Strategy for Adriatic Ionian Regions (EUSAIR) and to support the implementation of its Action Plan.
It is financed by the European Commission and will last for 18 months, with key actions covering: Youth Action, Creative and Cultural Industries Action, Tourism and Cultural Heritage, and Skills Development & Training Action.
Cohesion Working Groups
The CPMR CORE Group brings together CPMR Members and practitioners to work on Cohesion policy related issues.
Created in 2011 to anticipate the Cohesion legislative package negotiations for 2014 – 2020, the CORE group is the forum in which CPMR members discuss and structure CPMR Cohesion policy objectives and activities.
The work of the group is based on regular meetings, analysis, technical notes and positions papers, as well as dedicated meetings with the EU institutions and other specialised organisations and experts.
Cohesion Task Forces
Within the CPMR, a Macro-Regions Task force was set up in June 2012 to look more closely at the macro-regional and sea basin strategies in progress, exchange best practice and thereby identify common guidelines for future initiatives.
This Task Force tries to make sure that the Regions are involved in all the phases of the design and delivery phase of these strategies. Macro-regional strategies should promote a new form of inclusive, multi-level governance based on priorities fixed in agreement with the regional actors.
The EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) is a macro-regional strategy adopted by the European Commission and endorsed by the European Council in 2014.
The Strategy was jointly developed by the Commission, together with the Adriatic-Ionian Region countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia) and stakeholders, in order to address common challenges together (www.adriatic-ionian.eu).
EUSAIR focuses on four thematic pillars:
- Blue growth
- Connecting the region (transport and energy networks)
- Environmental quality
- Sustainable tourism