​​​​The President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Vasco Alves Cordeiro, and the Chair of the COTER commission, Emil Boc, react to the publication of the 9^th Cohesion report by the European Commission.  ​

The President of the CoR and co-rapporteur of the opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy, Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), stated: "Let's face it: Cohesion Policy as we know it is at risk and this is not the time to sit and wait. The 9th Cohesion report confirms the unequivocal achievements of Cohesion Policy in supporting all regions in the face of the challenges European citizens are confronted with. It makes an undisputable case about the need for a stronger Cohesion Policy in the future based on its partnership and multilevel governance principles, with regions at the heart of its implementation. Let us all mobilise and unite around a new Cohesion Policy that continues to support all regions."​  

The Chair of the commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER), co-rapporteur of the opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy and Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc (RO/EPP), stated: "In comparison with the Recovery and Resilient Facility, which is a top-down emergency instrument, Cohesion Policy has already proven successful with its active part as a long-term investment policy for boosting local economies and job creation for all regions in every corner of Europe. If we allow any diminishing of EU's Cohesion Policy, we might risk undermining another factor strengthening the EU's foundations and the faith in the European project. Let us also recollect that Cohesion Policy and the internal market go hand in hand as EU's success stories providing for tangible and tailor-made results on the ground." 

In November 2023, the CoR adopted by unanimity an opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy after 2027, when the current programming period will be over. President Cordeiro and COTER Chair Boc are​ the co-rapporteurs of the text that collect regions and cities' key requests on how to make EU's regional policy more flexible, robust and for all territories in the coming decade.  

During the 10^th European Summit of Regions and Cities, held on 18 and 19 March in Mons (Belgium), the CoR, together with the founding partners of the EU-wide coalition #CohesionAlliance, launched a joint call to the European institutions and national governments to keep Cohesion Policy as the main pillar of the EU's development model in the next decade. The call states the principles on which the future EU regional policy should be based in order to remain a fundamental pillar of the EU development model and the core long-term, decentralised investment policy of the future EU budget.     

More information:  

Press release on the adoption of the opinion on the future of Cohesion Policy post-2027 (November 2023). 
Text of the opinion in all EU languages.  
Factsheet on the content of the opinion. 
Text of the #CohesionAlliance joint call.  
To sign the joint call, use this link. 

Contacts: 

Monica Tiberi – Spokesperson of the President
Tel: +32 479 51 74 43 
Monica.tiberi@cor.europa.eu

Matteo Miglietta
Tel: +32 470 89 53 82 
Matteo.miglietta@cor.europa.eu ​