The Assembly of European Regions is proud to present its annual Activity Report 2019 - 2020. This theme of this year's report is "Achieving Agenda 2030", an expression of AER's commitment to supporting its member regions in localising and delivering upon the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations by resolution A/RES/70/1 of the … [Read more...]
Cohesion and partnership must be the driving force for European recovery
The #Cohesion Alliance – an EU-wide alliance of 12,000 signatories calling for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020 – welcomes the European Commission's revised 2021–2027 EU budget and Recovery Plan proposals including the extension of the current cohesion programmes with increased flexibility and additional funding. However, the Alliance urges the European Commission and … [Read more...]
AER Response to MFF & Recovery Fund Proposals
On 27 May, the European Commission published its proposals for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and COVID-19 recovery plan. The next long-term budget of the European Union will be of crucial importance to the European project. Not only will it be delivered in exceptionally challenging times after the COVID-19, but it is also the Union's first … [Read more...]
Webinar with the College of Europe
On Thursday, 30 April 2020, the Assembly of European Regions participated in a webinar entitled "Subnational Diplomacy in Multi-Level Europe" in collaboration with the College of Europe in Natolin's 'Regions of Europe' Society. Mathieu Mori, Secretary-General of the Assembly of European Regions, gave a keynote address and explained to students how cities and regions design … [Read more...]
Meeting with Commissioner Ferreira
AER President Magnus Berntsson met with European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms this afternoon to discuss the forthcoming EU Budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021 - 2027. The discussion centred around the future of European cohesion funding, the new Recovery Fund to deal with the knock-on implications of COVID-19 as well as the future of the Just Transition … [Read more...]
Cohesion Alliance: Press Release – 27 April 2020
Deal on EU budget and Recovery Fund is needed by June or delay will put citizens' safety and cohesion in Europe at risk Following the video conference of the members of the European Council on 23 April the Cohesion Alliance – an EU-wide alliance calling for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020 – calls for cohesion policy to remain a priority amid talks about the Covid-19 … [Read more...]
DG Regio Opportunities: Cohesion Policy
On 6 February, AER attended a conference run by DG Regio on "Engaging citizens for good governance in Cohesion Policy” The conference addressed key questions such as How can citizens and civil society contribute to good governance in EU Cohesion Policy?How do we bring Cohesion Policy closer to citizens?What are the experiences from cooperation between authorities and … [Read more...]
EU Regions Week 2020
The call is now open for regions to apply to become a partner at the European Week of Regions & Cities 2020. EU Regions Week 2020 will take place from 12 - 15 October 2020 in Brussels. The events will be divided across two main venues: The Square, Brussels Convention Centre, Mont des Arts/Kunstberg, 1000 BrusselsEuropean Committee of the Regions, Rue … [Read more...]
2019 Autumn Bureau Meeting in Brussels
The Autumn edition of the twice-annual AER Bureau Meeting took place in Brussels on 5 December 2019, hosted by the Brussels Capital Region. The Bureau is the primary political voice of AER. It engages in issues of a pan-European and global nature emanating from members and establishes the political base for AER’s advocacy work. Political Priorities 2020-2025 The … [Read more...]
Debating the Role of Regions in the Digital Era
During the AER Bureau Meeting which took place in Brussels on 5 December 2019, the AER Taskforce on Digitalisation hosted a panel debate on Regions in the Digital Era at the BIP – the House of the Capital Region. The event was organised under the leadership of the Taskforce Chair, the Region of Lower Austria. The shift towards an information society has profoundly … [Read more...]
Economy 4.0: Shaping a Shared Future
The annual mutual learning event hosted by AER, the Brussels Capital Region and the Government of Catalonia took place on 4 December 2019 in Brussels. The theme of the event was "Economy 4.0: shaping a future that works for everybody". This was the fourth edition of this unique conference format. The day kicked off with an opening address and welcome by the hosts, Jean Luc … [Read more...]
European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) 2021 – Call Now Open!
The successful European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) scheme, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has been modernised and renewed for upcoming five years. Each of the annual calls for applications between 2021 and 2025 will have a lead theme, which is linked with the EU policy agenda and relevant to regional and local level. The EER 2021 label will be … [Read more...]
Eurobarometer: What do we know about Cohesion Policy?
The results of the flash Eurobarometer 480 on "Citizens' awareness and perception of regional policy” were published on 7 October, just in time for the European Week of Regions & Cities. The flash survey was carried out on a sample of 700 -1000 respondents in each EU Member State in June 2019. 4 in 10 European citizens are aware of projects funded by … [Read more...]
Eurodyssey Assembly 2019
The Eurodyssey Assembly took place as part of the annual Eurodyssey Forum on 24 October 2019 in Cagliari, Sardinia (IT). The event brought together more than fifty representatives both from Eurodyssey regions and outside the programme to discuss the functioning of the programme, to share experiences and best practices and to explore future initiatives for Europe's only … [Read more...]
Youth Mobility at the fore during the 2019 Eurodyssey Forum in Sardinia
The experience of living in another country impacts a young person's personal and professional development, increases independence and responsibility, helps improve knowledge of foreign languages and develops other valuable social skills and professional competences. Youth mobility can also indirectly contribute to dismantling certain prejudices or social constructs in times of … [Read more...]