Session summary: #EURegionsWeekUniversity: A Territorial Agenda 2030 for Cohesion?
The recording of this session is now available on the REPLAY section of the event web: https://euregionsweek2020-video.eu/video/euregionsweekuniversity-a-territorial-agenda-2030-for-cohesion
See the session details on the #EURegionsWeek website
Eduardo Medeiros, Geography Professor / Integrated Researcher, ISCTE, Portugal.
Sina Redlich, Desk Officer, Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning, Germany.
Jacek Zaucha, Professor of Economics, University of Gdańsk and Maritime Institute of Gdynia Maritime University, Poland.
Four speakers debated the third (2030) Territorial Agenda (TA) that has been produced and is due to be adopted in December 2020. In conclusion the TA 2030 presents very important challenges as important messages and values from the former TAs are maintained. it conveniently expresses values according to nowadays European political narratives. However, some elements are missing related to the emotional bond (my place). What will happen to my place? Will it be developed or neglected? Being a political reference framework for territorial development in the EU, the TA does not have a dedicated budget. However, it can be linked to funded policies such as EU Cohesion Policy. The Portuguese government, for instance, is planning to allocate 30% of the EU Cohesion Policy post 2020 budget in implementing goals associated with the TA 2030 mostly related to the Green Europe main goal. Moreover, six ongoing pilot actions will serve to foster the implementation of the goals of the TA.
Take away message
Territory is more than growth. There are still several marginalised areas in Europe. Hence, future public interventions must be more local, territorially suited and forcing territorial cooperation processes. In this stance, the TA 2030 plays a crucial role to foster territorialicy which can be understood as a process of incorporating a territorial driven policy design to development strategies. For that, the TA needs to influence EU Cohesion Policy, because that is where the action lies.
What is missing in this agenda is a powerful project that people want to follow and that drives people’s imagination. There is still a kind of business as usual rationale behind it.
Jacek Zaucha, Professor of Economics, University of Gdańsk and Maritime Institute of Gdynia Maritime University, Poland.
A better alignment between the TA and EU Cohesion Policy requires favouring the concentration of funding in medium cities, and promoting cross-border planning strategies, renewable energy production, transnational planning and reinforcing sustainable urban integrated development strategies.
Eduardo Medeiros, Geography Professor / Integrated Researcher, ISCTE, Portugal.
The TA 2030 reinforces the role of strategic spatial planning and calls to the reinforcement of the territorial dimension of all kinds of policy fields at all governance levels.
Sina Redlich, Desk Officer, Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning, Germany.
Territory matters when developing the instruments for Cohesion Policy. The mission is not to leave anyone and any territory behind.
Ana Abrunhosa, Minister of the Territorial Cohesion, Portuguese Government, Portugal.
The #EURegionsWeekUniversity Webinar Series was organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), advised by the Regional Studies Association European Foundation (RSA Europe), and with the cooperation of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) and the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP).