Echoes from the Gorizia and Nova Gorica Interreg GO! high-level event: A modernised cohesion policy to boost the EU’s strategic priorities

During the last week Interreg GO! high-level event co-hosted by the cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica some of the important changes in the Cohesion policy were highlighted by Marta Kos Commissioner for Enlargement and Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms. Cooperation is the European key value and since 1990, Interreg has grown from a small Community Initiative to become a recognised brand of cohesion policy and led to the investment of billions of Euros via Interreg Programme.

Member States will be invited to reprogramme part of their 2021-2027 cohesion funds to new investments in the context of the ongoing cohesion policy's mid-term review. Interreg already promotes the Right to stay in cross-border areas and cross-border cooperation in fields like healthcare, education and tourism but will give more highlight on the regions bordering Russia and Belarus.

Removing the border obstacles will be pushed by The BridgeforEU Regulation, which will soon be in place. As said during the discussion Interreg will continue to play a key role in future enlargements through building the experience of cooperationa and work with the EU finds of non-EU countries.

Change in focus is put on strengthening Europe's competitiveness and closing the innovation gap in which Comission gives to the role of businesses, regardless of their size. The Commission is proposing to extend the support of the European Regional Development Fund to large companies in critical areas, such as defence, strategic technologies, and decarbonisation. Also, the Comission encourages Member States to increase investments in strategic technologies under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, to boost Europe's competitiveness and innovation.

In line with the changed security and geopolitical developments Comission highlights the need of backing the defence industry and supporting Eastern border regions. New rules will further enable Member States to use current cohesion funding to build resilient infrastructure to foster military mobility. It will also support productive capacities of small and large enterprises in the defence sector across all EU regions.

EC's goal is to double the amount of cohesion policy funding dedicated to affordable housing. Member States will also be able to leverage private and public financing by using a new financial instrument set up jointly with the European Investment Bank (EIB). Member States will be able to increase investments in water resilience, including in digitisation of water infrastructure, mitigation of drought and desertification impacts.

The energy transition will be supoorted by the Cohesion funding which includes the deployment of recharging infrastructure. This will be crucial to accelerate the energy transition and promote clean mobility. The proposal will also make it easier to fund decarbonisation measures.

While all cohesion projects developed under the EU strategic priorities will be entitled to up to 30% of prefinancing, cohesion programmes, which will move at least 15% of their overall funds to these priorities, will enjoy an even higher level of advanced payment. In addition, the EU funding for investments in strategic priorities will cover up to 100% of the costs in all regions.

Photos: EU REGIO Interreg