Organised by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and Regions4 the session on cohesion policy will take place online on 15th October at 11:30-13:00 CET in the framework of the European Week of Regions and Cities.

According to the UN at least 100 of the 169 targets underlying the 17 SDGs will not be reached without the full engagement and coordination of all levels of governance: national, regional, and local, in line with the principles of multi-level governance: subsidiarity, proportionality, and partnership.

When it comes to the implementation of the SDGs, cohesion policy plays a central role. Developed through a process involving authorities at European, regional and local level, social partners and organisations from civil society, cohesion policy is the main EU investment instrument for regions and cities to achieve sustainable and inclusive development across Europe.

The Sustainable Development Goals should be met leaving no one and no place behind. Regional and local governments must ensure cohesion policy programmes bring about the best outcomes for sustainable development and the localisation of the SDGs, turning the 2030 Agenda into a reality across Europe.

In this regard, this workshop will aim to address the main question of “How cohesion policy can make regions deliver for a sustainable and fair Europe and progress on the implementation of the SDGs”. In order to answer this question, a panel debate will be convened with key stakeholders that will share their views and inputs and engage in a discussion with the audience on how cohesion policy supports regional efforts towards the SDGs. 

Moderator

Magnus Berntsson, President, Assembly of European Regions, Belgium.

Speakers

Agustí Fernández de Losada, Specialist EUROsociAL+Programme, European Union, Spain.
Leyre Madariaga, Director of Foreign Relations, Basque Government, Spain.
Stefano Marta, Coordinator, Territorial Approach to the SDGs Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development Division, OECD, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, France.
Natàlia Mas, Secretary of Economy, Government of Catalonia, Spain.
Javier Sánchez Cano, Head of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Directorate-General of Development and Cooperation Catalan Government, Spain.

Registration is available from 27 August – 27 September.