Nearly two years ago, the European Commission proposed a carefully-balanced budget that included a more modern cohesion policy for the period 2021-2027, a policy that would leave no region or city behind, a policy that enables every town, every region and every border region of the European Union to contribute to our common EU priorities.
A cohesion policy that is ready to help in the face of threats such as COVID-19 and that remains the policy that glues the EU together.
The crisis that we are going through now has proven to everyone that we always need to be ready. Cities are home to most Europeans, being our closest link to citizens.
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They are the engines that drive the European economy and the place where innovation happens. However, cities are also the main line of response to many of the challenges that we are facing, such as climate change, social inclusion or poverty.
We need to continue working against climate change and reducing cities’ greenhouse gas emissions is key.
This can be done through supporting infrastructure for sustainable mobility solutions, such as clean public transport and walking and cycling paths.
“Cohesion policy is the most concrete expression of European solidarity. This has been clearly demonstrated by the proposal for a Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative”
Reducing air pollution is also a key challenge, given its strong negative impact on human health.
Investments are needed to reduce energy consumption by insulating buildings and by switching to LED lights inside public buildings and on streets.
At the same time, cities need to prepare to deal with more frequent and extreme natural hazards, such as heatwaves and floods.
Nature-based solutions, such as pocket parks, green roofs and street trees, are often particularly well-placed to cope with such issues. At the same time, pockets of poverty exist in many cities.
There is a need to make deprived urban neighbourhoods more accessible, to reduce the share of early school leavers, especially in certain social groups, and to support the integration of migrants by providing training and education.
The role of cities as key drivers of growth needs to be supported, by promoting research, development and innovation, fostering entrepreneurship and improving the business environment, but also by creating the conditions for development in cities to also benefit other regions.
“Cities are home to most Europeans, being our closest link to citizens. They are the engines that drive the European economy and the place where innovation happens”
That is why there is an urban dimension to cohesion policy. That is why for the period after 2020 we will support tailor-made investment strategies in regions, cities and local communities, to address their diverse challenges and tap into their unique development potentials.
That is why cities will receive dedicated funding, so that they can develop and implement sustainable urban development strategies.
We believe that a more collaborative decision-making process, involving relevant authorities and local communities, is key to addressing challenges and unlocking potential.
We have proposed such an inclusive, multi-level governance approach to be part of cohesion policy programming and implementation.
For the post-2020 period, the Commission proposed a European Urban Initiative. This is a novel initiative that seeks to strengthen the integrated and participatory approach to sustainable urban development.
This initiative will also build on the results of the Urban Innovative Actions that has already supported 75 cities in developing innovative projects.
It also provides a stronger link to relevant EU policies and in particular to cohesion policy investments.
Furthermore, territorial tools such as community led local development may offer possibilities to support capacity-building initiatives in a targeted manner, for example when providing support for the preparation and design of territorial and local strategies.
Cohesion policy is the most concrete expression of European solidarity. This has been clearly demonstrated by the proposal for a Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative.
It will help to frontload the use of the unallocated €37bn of cohesion policy funding within the 2014- 2020 cohesion policy programmes, thus providing a much-needed boost to economic investments.
In the 2021-2027 period, health remains an important priority for cohesion policy under policy objective “A more social Europe implementing the European pillar of social rights.”
In this way, cohesion policy can also help overcome challenges and improve the living standard of citizens in European cities.
We are going through a period in which Europe needs more solidarity - more cohesion. It is the best way to ensure that all citizens feel part of the European project.
With new challenges in front of us, we must stay united and invest in our common future. That is why I am confident that Member States will react to the current crisis and give the EU a budget that allows us to face common challenges.
I am also confident that the co-legislators will speed up negotiations to make sure all relevant legislation is in place as soon as possible, so that the new cohesion policy programmes can roll out soon.
The earlier the programmes start, the better for Europe’s citizens.