The "European Week of Regions and Cities" is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.

It will take place between 09 and 12 October 2017.

ESPON will contribute with a conference, a joint workshop and speeches in cooperation with other EU Institutions and Programmes.

(1) ESPON High-Level Conference “European Territorial Review: Territorial cohesion beyond borders”

When: 12 October 2017, 09h00 - 13h00

Venue: Committee of the Regions, Jacques Delors, Room 62

Workshop code: 12B123. Organiser: ESPON EGTC

Registration: Please register via the official website of the EWRC. Deadline for registration: 30 September 2017

The objective of the conference is to discuss the key messages of ESPON European Territorial Review. The publication will highlight current and future development challenges of cities and regions that can be addressed more effectively through joint action beyond administrative borders. Participants will discuss new evidence on the territorial diversity in Europe, good practices and possible ways to promote the development of functional urban areas, cross-border areas, transnational areas and macro-regions. Proposals for supporting functional areas and territorial cooperation will be discussed as a possible way forward for Cohesion policy to promote integrated and balanced development of Europe.

The programme is available for download below.

(2) Contribution to Workshop: “Tailor made legislation for different regions?”

When: 10 October 2017, 11h15 – 13h00

Venue: Committee of the Regions, Centre Borschette, Room 2B

Workshop code: 10C10. Organiser: European Commission – DG Regio

Registration: Please register via the official website of the EWRC. Deadline for registration: 30 September 2017

From across the Europe different regions and stakeholders ask Brussels to design tailor made legislation and avoid the one size fits all approach in order for Europe to achieve the goal of territorial cohesion and the EU legislation to be more relevant for people in different parts of the European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon has set economic social and territorial cohesion as 3 overarching goals that have to be achieved via all EU policies and funds. Brexit, the White paper on the future of Europe etc have opened a wide debate about the future of Europe. Can EU Legislation be customized to respect individual regional conditions and take under consideration cross border, rural, insular, mountain, urban and other specificities? Can DG REGIO that is working closer from all other DGs with regions, cities and citizens be the tailoring workshop of Commission? What tools and methodologies we have at your disposal?

(3) Contribution to Workshop: “Addressing urban and regional challenges through public procurement”

When: 11 October 2017, 14h30 – 17h00

Venue: Committee of the Regions, Jacques Delors, Atrium 5

Workshop code: 11C120. Organiser: Interact

Registration: Please register via the official website of the EWRC. Deadline for registration: 30 September 2017

Public procurement has often been characterised by bureaucracy, but now it’s increasingly being used as a mean of addressing key economic, social, and environmental challenges. Lately, the EU Directive of 2014 calls for flexibility, supporting SMEs and for using procurement to reach social and environmental goals. ESPON, INTERACT, INTERREG EUROPE, and URBACT programmes join forces to provide examples of progressive procurement that emerge across Europe. Speakers and participants will explore how challenges can be addressed at the various stages of the cyclical process of public procurement: procurement of innovation, spend analysis, and the use of social and environmental criteria, and realising concrete examples.

(4) Contribution to Workshop: “A territorial reference database for policy conception and assessment”

When: 12 October 2017, 09h00 – 10h45

Venue: Committee of the Regions, Jacques Delors, room 53

Workshop code: 12C126. Organiser: Committee of the Regions - COTER Commission

Registration: Please register via the Official website of the EWRC. Deadline for registration: 30 September 2017

The focus will be on data and methodological issues around Territorial Impact Assessment.The goal is to show the different data sources and motivate data providers to collaborate by contributing to the exchange platform established by the JRC (Territorial Reference Database). In addition to JRC's intervention, (1) the secretariat of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board will outline the data needs linked to enabling the effective use of tool #29: territorial impact of the EC's 'Better Regulation Guidelines'; (2) ESPON will present findings of recent applied research projects carried out in the framework of the 'Enhanced European territorial evidence production through applied research and analyses'; and (3) Eurostat will present its revised Regions and Cities application that integrates the new regional typologies (Urban/Rural, Costal, Metro).

(5) Contribution to the 5^th Master Class of European Week of Regions and Cities University

When: 12 October 2017, 09h00 – 12h00

Venue: Committee of the Regions, Atrium 6^th floor

Registration: Please register via the website of the RSA

The Master Class is a unique format to connect young researchers and will include presentations of papers by the participants as well as lectures and panel debates with policy makers, EU officials and senior academics to improve understanding of and research on EU Cohesion Policy. In particular, it will serve to discuss recent research on European regional and urban development and EU Cohesion Policy; enable PhD students and early career researchers to exchange views and network with policy makers, EU officials and senior academics; raise awareness and understanding of the research potential in the field of EU Cohesion Policy. This year, the Master Class will focus on EU Cohesion Policy’s implementation, the debate about its future post-2020 and EU and international research programmes and projects.

Useful links and more information

For more information on the European Week of Regions and Cities, please visit the Official website of the EWRC.

For more information on the ESPON High-Level Conference, please contact [email protected]