REGI-COTER : reinforcing cohesion through political cooperation.
Date: 2023-10-13
Institutions: Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget
Subjects: economic and social cohesion, interinstitutional cooperation (EU), regional and local authorities, regional policy

Commission for  
Territorial Cohesion Policy  
and EU Budget

COTER

REGI-COTER:

Reinforcing Cohesion through 
  noitarepooC lacitiloP

Concerning the negotiations on the new Cohesion policy package 2021-2027, COTER and REGI rapporteurs have 
consistently exchanged views in order to improve the legislative proposals. The positions of REGI and COTER were 
convergent on many similar issues, such as:

Ø  European Territorial Cooperation 

(Interreg): 
o  The CoR and the EP supported a 
signiﬁcantly higher budget for 
the ETC than initially proposed 
by the EC.

o  They also have similar views 
on co-ﬁnancing rates, and 
on increased levels of pre-
ﬁnancing. 

o  Both the CoR and the EP 

demand that the cross-border 
cooperation component keeps 
supporting both land and 
maritime cooperation.
o  Both the EP and CoR support 
the creation of interregional 
innovation investments (III) 
with speciﬁc budget allocation. 
Nevertheless, they both ask 
that this new initiative is 
kept separate from the ETC 
traditional components.

Ø  The Common Provisions 

Regulation: 
o  The EAFRD should be 

reintroduced into the CPR 
architecture.

o  Strong emphasis on the 

principles of partnership and 
multilevel governance. 
o  Both institutions called for a 
ﬁnancial allocation for the 
whole 2021-2027 period, 
higher co-ﬁnancing rates, the  
maintenance of the n+3 rule, 
and the introduction of a safety 
net that would also apply to the 
regional level;

o  The CoR and the EP are ﬁrmly 
against the idea of macro-
economic conditionality.

Ø  ERDF/Cohesion Fund:
o  The ERDF thematic 

concentration should focus on 
categories of regions classiﬁed 
according to their GDP per 
capita.

o  The necessity to implement a 
multi-fund approach with the 
ESF+ and, where appropriate, 
with the EAFRD and the EMFF.
o  Increased focus on sustainable 
urban development, reaching 
outermost regions and 
dedication to climate objectives.

o  Including in the ERDF/

CF regulation a new article 
referring to areas covered by 
Article 174 of the TFEU, as 
well as other areas with severe 
and permanent natural or 
demographic disadvantages.

Ø  Cross Border Mechanism: 

o  The views of the CoR and EP are 
globally convergent on the Cross 
Border Mechanism. In particular 
the clariﬁcation on the scope of 
the proposal.

o  They also call for the inclusion 
of maritime borders and the 
need for proper dissemination of 
information. 

o  Both institutions supported 
amendments to the text 
explicitly indicating that not 
only Member states, but also 
those territorial entities with 
legislative powers, should 
be involved in the concrete 
application of the Mechanism.

The Committee on Regional Development (REGI) of the European 
Parliament and the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and 
EU Budget (COTER) of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) 
have continued to actively cooperate throughout the mandate 2014-
2019. 

Through the close contacts between the CoR’s rapporteurs and the 
rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs of the European Parliament 
and their converging positions, both institutions have signiﬁcantly 
shaped the debate on the effective implementation of the current and 
the design of the future cohesion policy beyond 2020. This fruitful 
cooperation has also enabled the interests and demands of European 
citizens and local and regional authorities to be voiced in relation to 
the EU’s place-based policies.

The Members of the European Parliament and the CoR have been 
regularly invited to present their opinions and reports at the meetings 
and public hearings respectively organised by both institutions. 
Furthermore, the annual REGI-COTER meetings represent one of 
the key political moments of every edition of the European Week 
of Regions and Cities. The regular presence of the Commissioner 
in charge of regional policy also shows the high political interest in 
these annual meetings. 

This excellent cooperation between the REGI committee and the 
COTER commission has successfully ﬁlled with life the Cooperation 
agreement between the European Parliament and the European 

the Presidents of both institutions and which had a political focus on 
cooperation “in order to reinforce the democratic legitimacy of the 
European Union and contribute to the Treaty objective of pursuing 
territorial, social and economic cohesion in the Union” as well as to 
“ensure the respect of the subsidiarity principle”. It also served as 
a model for reinforcing the cooperation between the CoR COTER 
commission and other EP committees, as well as between other CoR 
commissions and their counterparts in the European Parliament.

The cooperation between REGI committee and the COTER 
commission was complemented by an intensive cooperation 
between the COTER secretariat and the European Parliamentary 
Research Service, which resulted in the provision of high-quality 
background information and expertise on the key policy areas of 
both committees, contributing to both a well-informed debate and an 
increased visibility of the work of both committees.

In terms of content, the primary focus of the debates over the last 
four years has been on the simpliﬁcation of Cohesion policy, the 
discussions on the upcoming programming period 2021-2027 and 
the launch and implementation of the Urban Agenda for the EU. On 
these matters, the CoR and the European Parliament have joined 
forces to improve the quality of EU regulations and policies.

Created in 1994, after the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Committee of the Regions is the EU’s assembly 
of 350 regional and local representatives from all 28 Member States, representing over 507 million Europeans. Its mission is to 
involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU’s decision-making process and to inform 
them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council consult the Committee in policy 
areas a ecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union if its rights are infringed or it 
believes that EU law infringes the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.

Catalogue N°: QG-02-23-076-EN-N  |  ISBN: 978-92-895-2963-1  |  Doi: 10.2863/413232                                                 © European Union, 2019

Edited by the Directorate for Communication of the European Committee of the Regions

Brussels, September 2019

Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 101   |

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/european.committee.of.the.regions   |   

/european-committee-of-the-regions

collaboration territorial developmentterritorial approachcommon frameworkCohesionpolicy implementationmultilevel governanceprinciples of partnershipkey policy areasdemocratic legitimacysustainable urban developmentLorem ipsumconverging positionsUrban AgendaStart of the 
mandate, 
new CP period 
2014-2020, new 
tools

2014 

The beginning of the mandate 2014-2019 was significantly 
influenced by the five years of economic crisis, which heavily 
impacted on many regions and also coincided with the start 
of a new 7-year programming period for Cohesion Policy. The 
2014 edition of the annual REGI-COTER meeting allowed a 
timely discussion on the challenges for the implementation 
of Cohesion policy in 2014-2020 and on the need for the 
Structural and Investment Funds to deliver results as fast and 
effectively as possible.

Against this background, Members of both institutions recalled 
the role of regions and cities as central policy actors in policy 
implementation, and the new available tools such as Integrated 
Territorial Investments (ITI) and Community-Led Local 
Development (CLLD), which allowed for a place-based approach 
to territorial development. 

Iskra Mihaylova, Chair of the EP  REGI committee stressed 
the importance of making use of these tools to deliver results 
quickly to citizens , to look into individual projects and to 
strengthen administrative capacity.

Marek Woźniak, Chair of the COTER commission (2012-2014), 
noted that the delays in the programming and the adherence to 
the principles of partnership and multilevel governance were 
the most pertinent issues at that time.

Flexibility and 
simplifying 
cohesion policy

2015

On 13 October 2015, under the motto “Investing in partnership: 
how to best use the reformed Cohesion policy 2014-2020 for 
creating growth and jobs in Europe’s regions”, REGI and COTER 
Members jointly discussed the implementation of Cohesion 
policy with the Commissioner for regional policy, Corina Creţu.

During that meeting, REGI and COTER members stressed the 
importance of the principles of partnership and multilevel 
governance as a prerequisite for the successful implementation 
of Cohesion policy programmes. They highlighted the major 
challenges that local and regional authorities face in view of the 
refugee crisis.

Finally, Members expressed their readiness to contribute 
to the political debate on measuring progress in territorial 
development that goes beyond GDP.

EU Urban Agenda 
#1

2016

Within the framework of the formal adoption of the Pact of Amsterdam 
establishing the Urban Agenda for the EU, on 30 May 2016, by the informal 
council of ministers on urban affairs, the REGI committee and the COTER 
commission adopted a joint political statement to accelerate the adoption 
of this Pact, while reinforcing the role of the regions and cities in the EU 
legislative process, . In this respect, both institutions organized the first joint 
public hearing on the implementation of the Urban Agenda in 2016.

Hella Dunger-Löper and Kerstin  Westphal, both rapporteurs on the 
Urban Agenda, stressed that

Cohesion policy 
remains a crucial 
tool to attain 
the EU goals 
of solidarity 
and economic 
convergence

the EU Urban Agenda should go beyond 
the intergovernmental level and should 
closely be linked to the Better regulation 
Agenda of the European Commission, 
including within its framework the use of 
Territorial and Urban Impact Assessments.”

2016

Within the 2016 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities, 
COTER Members expressed their conviction that prolonged periods 
of negative growth and low absorption of Structural and Cohesion 
Funds could be reversed. In particular, REGI and COTER worked 
together, to oppose especially in the possible application of the 
macroeconomic conditionality in the cases of Spain and Portugal, 
which both institutions were formally opposed to.

Raffaele Cattaneo, Chair of the COTER Commission 
(2015-2017) noted that

Cohesion policy improves the quality of citizens’ 
lives and fosters EU solidarity, by tackling major 
global challenges from a local perspective”.

As a result of the discussions, the REGI and COTER members concluded 
on the need to effectively connect the next generation of the European 
Structural and Investments Funds to the actual challenges faced by 
regions and cities on the ground, in a bottom-up approach, as well as 
on the need to focus on results and to better communicate the positive 
impact of cohesion policy.

Iskra Mihaylova said that

In a time of economic uncertainty and doubts on the 
European project, cohesion policy remains a crucial tool to 
attain the EU goals of solidarity and economic convergence”.

EU Urban Agenda 
#2

2017

The Pact of Amsterdam established that the Urban Agenda for the 
EU the partnerships should focus particularly on three pillars of EU 
policy-making and implementation: better regulation, better funding 
and better knowledge.

In the second public hearing in 2017, 
Kieran McCarthy, rapporteur of the 
Opinion on that matter and 
Jan Olbrycht, MEP and President of the 
URBAN Intergroup, underlined

the specific attention that should be given 
to cities, by promoting further synergies 
between the Urban Agenda for the EU 
and the sustainable urban strategies 
co-financed by the European Structural and 
Investment Funds.”

An enhanced 
REGI-COTER 
cooperation 

2019

On 10th of April 2019, REGI-COTER chairs and political coordinators met to showcase the 
excellent cooperation between both institutions. CoR’s rapporteurs have maintained with 
the rapporteurs of the European Parliament regular contacts and both institutions have been 
able to significantly contribute to the debate on the effective implementation of the current 
and the design of the future cohesion policy beyond 2020. 

In this context, working together, the Members of the COTER and the REGI have 
demonstrated that the regulations are better shaped and adapted to the regions, cities and 
final beneficiaries. Representatives from both institutions agreed on the need for a strong 
partnership principle to accelerate the implementation of the future Cohesion policy beyond 
2020. Moreover, they also called to speed up the negotiations on the future multi-annual 
budget and the new regulations for cohesion policy in order to avoid any delay and start the 
implementation on 1 January 2021.

To conclude, the local and regional representatives and Members of the European Parliament 
expressed their wish to continue with the annual REGI-COTER meetings that represent one 
of the key political moments of every edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities.

7th Report on 
Economic, Social 
and Territorial 
Cohesion 

2017

The 2017 edition of the joint REGI-COTER meeting featured a 
presentation of the main findings of the 7th Cohesion report on 
economic, social and territorial cohesion by Commissioner Corina 
Crețu, which demonstrated the tangible European added value of 
Cohesion policy in facilitating job creation, sustainable growth and 
modernising infrastructure.

For a Strong 
Cohesion policy 
beyond 2020

2018

With regard to the next MFF period 2021-2027, the 2018 REGI-COTER 
meeting addressed the global wide issues but explicitly the regional 
concerns of migration flows, demographic change and natural disaster 
risks.  REGI and COTER members asked for less complicated rules, 
flexibility between Union programmes and funding instruments, greater 
synergies and complementarities to obtain quicker results and added value 
of Cohesion policy investments.

Looking forward 
to 2021-2027

However, it also made it clear that, in view of the challenges that 
Europe was facing, a strong and effective Cohesion policy was more 
needed than ever in the following years. 

Both the European Parliament and the CoR joined forces to ensure 
a strong, effective and more visible Cohesion policy after 2020. 
Therefore, many parliamentarians welcomed and joined the “Cohesion 
Alliance” policy campaign, in order to send a strong signal that 
Cohesion policy must continue to be an integral part of the European 
Union’s future.

The objective of this alliance is to send a clear message to institutional 
decision-makers on the importance of securing a strong cohesion 
policy for all regions beyond 2020.

REGI Chair Iskra Mihaylova concluded

It is clear there is a common vision for the future of 
Cohesion Policy. The message of this meeting today 
is there is an understanding of responsibilities to 
deliver the options of Cohesion policy to the European 
citizens as efficiently as possible and be simpler, flexible and 
closer to its citizens.”

Petr Osvald, Chair for the COTER Commission (2017-2018), said

Relaunching the EU requires a stronger cohesion policy 
for all regions, as defended by the CoR together with 
the EU associations of regions and cities, MEPs and all 
partners of the #CohesionAlliance. The Committee and 
the European Parliament are made of elected politicians, 
we know well that the EU has to deliver new answers to citizens’ 
needs and that cohesion policy can make a difference in this effort. 
This way we work together to make it better and stronger”

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