EU Commissaris Samecki (regionaal beleid) heeft hoge verwachtingen over aankomende conferentie cohesiebeleid en regionale ontwikkeling (en)

IP/09/1894

Brussels, 9 december 2009

Commissioner Samecki addresses major conference on cohesion policy and territorial development in Kiruna, Sweden (10-11 December)

Pawel Samecki, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy , will be in Sweden's northernmost city of Kiruna tomorrow to take part in a conference organised by the Swedish Presidency on 'Cohesion Policy and Territorial Development'. The event will focus on how the policy can make best use of territorial potential to promote development and respond to challenges such as climate and demographic change. Commissioner Samecki will present his new orientation paper on the future cohesion policy .

Speaking a head of the event, Commissioner Samecki said: " Today's complex challenges do not respect rigid boundaries; we need new types of cooperation to tackle pressing issues such as intensifying global competition, shifting population dynamics and climate change. By exploiting the territorial advantages of Europe’s regions, cohesion policy can help to provide integrated solutions which contribute to the overall competitiveness of Europe."

Located 145 km north of the Arctic Circle, and as a city facing major urban upheaval as a result of the environmental impact of the mining industry, Kiruna is a very well-suited venue for this conference. Around 160 participants are expected to attend, including Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, and national government representatives from Member States and candidate countries, as well as members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission and other organisations.

Vision for future cohesion policy

The conference will be opened by Jöran Hagland , Sweden's State Secretary in the Ministry of Enterprise. In the first session, Commissioner Samecki will deliver a speech on the future cohesion policy, focusing on three main questions at the heart of his orientation paper:

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  What goals should cohesion policy pursue to meet the challenges of the 21st century?

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  How to ensure the policy is more focused on performance and results?

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  How to make the implementation of the policy more efficient and simpler?

On the second day, Commissioner Samecki will participate in a discussion on how the policy can use territorial potential to foster development. The need to address territorial disparities, natural and geographical handicaps, the negative consequences of urban concentration and the polarisation of wealth and population, remain central concerns for Europe.

Commissioner Samecki will explain how cohesion policy can help to tackle these challenges by bringing together sectoral interests and governance levels to promote an integrated, partnership approach. He will underline to the need to capitalise on knowledge, skills, and location , and to promote cross-border integration by supporting interconnections and cooperation at various territorial levels.

Other participants in the high-level panel include Danuta Hübner, chair of the European Parliament's Regional Development Committee and Mario Pezzini of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Background

Commissioner Samecki's orientation paper on the future cohesion policy is a key milestone in the debate launched earlier this year on the rationale, goals, effectiveness and efficiency of the policy. Next steps in the reflection process on the future policy include:

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  E valuations of the 2000-2006 period: reports on management and implementation systems, major projects, demography and gender are already available. Further reports will be available during 2009, 2010 and 2011.

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  The Fifth Cohesion Report, to be adopted in autumn 2010, will provide the main analytical basis for discussion on the future Cohesion Policy framework followed by the policy proposals.

More information on future cohesion policy

Conference details