Date: 26 May

Time: 10:30 – 12:30 CEST

On 17 December 2020, after months of painstaking inter-institutional negotiations against the backdrop of a global pandemic, the European Union adopted the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), its long-term budget for 2021-2027.

Together with the NextGenerationEU recovery instrument, the MFF represents an unprecedented €1.8 trillion of funding to support Europe’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU’s long-term priorities across different policy areas.  It is therefore essential that Europe’s regions get training with these instruments to ensure a robust and sustainable recovery. 

That is why the AER is delighted to announce a series of 3 information sessions to help regions make the most of MFF and NextGenerationEU Package. Featuring insights from experts at the European Commission, these webinars will give regions guidance on how to plan initiatives and projects that can benefits from the different funds.

The first session in our ‘Unboxing the MFF’ series will cover Cohesion Policy and Rural Development funds. Participants can expect an overview of:

• The overall structure and features of the MFF 2021-2027;
• Updates on the  ERDF, Cohesion Fund, the new generation of interregional and cross-border cooperation (“Interreg”) programmes, ESF+ and EAFRD;
• Insights on funding streams within the NextGenerationEU recovery package.

We are delighted to confirm our line-up for this session will be:

1. Christian Spahr, AER Secretary General;
2. Tereza Krausova, Policy Analyst – Senior Specialist for matrix interaction at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission;
3. Louise Reid, Policy Assistant at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission;
4. Stefan Jensen, Economic and Policy Analyst at Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission.

As places are limited we encourage you to register early to ensure you can join.  Regions are welcome to invite local stakeholders (SMEs, NGOs, Academia, etc) who would benefit from insights on these new instruments.

This training session is organised as part of the Skillnet Project, which is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. Skillnet aims to strengthen the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s role and capacity to design high-quality VET programmes tailored to current societal needs through enhanced transnational and cross-sectoral partnerships. To learn more about funding opportunities within the Skillnet Project, visit our dedicated Partnerships in Focus Hub.