Implementatie cohesiebeleid 2014-2020 besproken (en)
The new Cohesion policy package 2014-2020 will shape the EU's policy for regional development in the upcoming years and is therefore of utmost importance for cities and regions. As the package is expected to enter into force in early 2014, it is now time to focus on its implementation. This will be the main topic of the joint COTER-REGI meeting, which will take place on 17 December 2013 in Brussels.
The meeting will be chaired jointly by Marek Woźniak (PL/EPP), COTER Chair, and the Chair of the REGI Committee, Danuta Hübner i. The first session focuses on the new instruments introduced by the Cohesion policy package to promote a "place-based approach" to territorial cohesion. Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-General for Implementation at the Commission's DG REGIO, will examine the incorporation of the principles of partnership and multilevel governance in the implementation phase. During the second session, COTER and REGI members will discuss with Nicholas Martyn, Deputy Director-General for Policy, Performance and Compliance at DG REGIO about ways to improve the absorption of Structural and Investment Funds by local and regional authorities.
Preceding the joint meeting, the COTER members will discuss a draft opinion by Brian Meaney (IE/EA) about the NAIADES II package. The proposal from the Commission on this topic modifies the current legal framework of the inland waterway transport sector and aims at reinvigorating inland waterway transport and creating a modal shift from the road to other means of transport. As local and regional authorities bear significant costs in terms of developing and managing key infrastructural assets, the proposed package will have a significant impact on cities and regions.
Also on the agenda is a presentation and exchange of views on the working document of an own-initiative opinion, Towards an Integrated Urban Area for the EU, by rapporteur Bas Verkerk (NL/ALDE). The first discussion of the draft opinion is foreseen for 19 February 2014, with its adoption in the Commission scheduled for 5 May 2014. The morning session will conclude with a round table discussion on "Active Citizenship in Urban Development".
The COTER meeting is to be held in the CoR premises, room JDE 52 on Tuesday, 17 December 2013, from 10.45 a.m. to 5.15 p.m, and will be chaired by Marek Woźniak.