President Cordeiro discussed with EU Ministers the crucial role of a strong and modernised cohesion policy for the future of the Union

The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, took part in the informal meeting of ministers responsible for cohesion policy from the 27 Member States. The meeting was hosted in Prague by the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The future of cohesion policy after 2027 and the role of cohesion policy in dealing with impacts of unforeseeable events, such as the current energy crisis, the pandemic of COVID-19 and the war against Ukraine, were the two main focus of today's informal meeting.

During his intervention, President Vasco Alves Cordeiro, who is member of the Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Azores, highlighted that: "We have never needed cohesion policy more than today. It is answering Europe's current key challenges and helping to The time is right for a reflection on the future of cohesion policy, leaving no stone unturned. Cohesion policy needs an "aggiornamento", both regarding substance and delivery, while we continue strengthening its fundamental pillars, like the partnership principle and multi-level governance."

Thanks to an increased flexibility of its rules, cohesion policy has been one of the main European tools to help citizens and businesses cope with the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and of the war against Ukraine. Moreover, cohesion resources have been strategically invested during the last decades to reduce energy consumption and boost the use of renewable sources, helping the EU reduce its dependency on Russian gas and oil.

The informal meeting was attended by the EU ministers responsible for cohesion policy, as well as the EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira and representatives of the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Economic Area, the European Investment Bank, and others.

The meeting opened a political debate that will feed into Council conclusions to be adopted by the General Affairs Council on 22 November. 

The video of the doorstep of President Cordeiro is available here.

In 2021-2027 EU funds allocated to Cohesion Policy amount to €392 billion. With the national co-financing, about half a trillion euro will be available to finance the programmes in the EU regions and countries. More information here.

Together with the leading European associations of cities and regions, the CoR is a founding partner of the #CohesionAlliance, to affirm cohesion as a fundamental value of the European Union and a key objective for all its policies and investment.

More information on the CoR's work on cohesion policy can be found on the CoR webpage "Cohesion, our fundamental value".