European Union News - Regional Policy

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Staffan Nilson, invited Ramon Valcárcel Siso, president of the Committee of the Regions, to attend the latest plenary session of the EESC in order to look at ways of developing political cooperation between the two Committees. The main aim of this action was to join forces in building a Europe "of the people and for the people".

These four cities have been selected by the European Commission to move to the next phase of this award that distinguishes European cities which stand out for their efforts to protect the environment. The four short-listed finalists have been selected among a group of eight candidates cities .

The President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, highlighted during a conference held in Dublin that it is extremely important to involve local and regional authorities in delivering the new "Youth Guarantee" scheme to answer to the youth unemployment challenge. He also pointed out that cities and regions are key to creating workforce that meets needs of labour market.

The 2013 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, that recognise the best public initiatives and public-private partnerships in promoting business development and entrepreneurship, are open to applications. On this occasion, a new category rewarding successful projects contributing to the green economy has been added.

The Assembly of European Regions (AER), which is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe, regrets in a statement the historical reduction in the European Union budget, following the agreement reached between European leaders on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020.

The European Commission announced that the EU will co-finance with over €12 million from the TEN-T Programme three Spanish projects forming part of a new high speed rail line in the Basque country (Spain). The main aim is to help bring high speed rail travel to Spain.

The RegioStars 2013 Awards were granted by the European Commission in five categories to projects from Portugal, the UK, Poland, Germany and Lithuania which demonstrate good practice in regional development.

The European Commission presented proposals for a Fourth Railway Package to encourage more innovation in EU railways by opening EU domestic passenger markets to competition, as well as substantial accompanying technical and structural reforms.