European Union News - Regional Policy

The European Commission is organising a conference on 4 February in Brussels to mark 20 years of EU support for urban development. This will provide an opportunity to review the experience acquired since the launch of the URBAN initiative’s first pilot projects in 1989. The cohesion policy will invest a total of €10 billion in the period 2007-2013 in urban development throughout Europe.

According to a report the Managing Authority of Structural Instruments in Romania, the Balkan country has absorbed only 10% of funds allocated by the EU in the three years that have elapsed since his accession.

Linking six Member States over its 3,000 km course, the Danube River has seen a long history of co-operation projects but a comprehensive EU strategy is still lacking. MEPs want the Commission to promote co-operation around the Danube region with the aim of developing environmentally-friendly transport connections and energy infrastructures, as well as stimulating economic and social growth.

European efforts to tackle the economic crisis need better coordination and faster implementation on the ground, was the message of a conference organised by the Spanish EU Presidency and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Palma de Mallorca today, the 5th Territorial Dialogue for Sustainable Growth and Jobs.

On 14 January 2010, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Commission's Seville-based Institute for Prospective Technological Studies will be holding a public hearing on the key aspects of the EU innovation policy and its concrete implementation in the region of Andalucía, Spain.

Committee of the Regions President Luc Van den Brande is to voice grassroots concerns about the future of EU regional aid at the parliamentary hearing of Johannes Hahn, Commissioner-designate for Regional Policy, on Thursday 14 January in Brussels.

On 19 January, the INNO-Learning Platform of the PRO INNO Europe initiative is organising a panel discussion on 'Measuring the Impact of European Innovation Policy Cooperation Initiatives'.

The TEN-T EA is organising its second Project Management Workshop in Brussels on 12-13 January 2010. The event, which mirrors the first Project Management Workshop held in December 2008, will feature both a plenary session as well as smaller breakout thematic sessions, aimed at providing participants with more in-depth information on more specific topics.

The level of innovation in regions varies considerably across almost all EU countries. This is one of the main findings of the 2009 Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), published by the JRC's Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), together with the Commission's Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry and the Maastricht University (MERIT).

Romania absorbed under 3% of the European funds that could be accessed by Romanian firms, authorities and organizations during 2007-2013, three years after the country’s accession to the EU,

Spain has pledged to drive forward the realisation of the European Research Area (ERA) during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU, which started on 1 January. Innovation and equality are at the heart of the Spanish Presidency programme.