We were honoured to have welcomed Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and a delegation from the European Commission, headed by Themis Christophidou, Director-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), to our offices in Luxembourg on 2 March 2026.

The visit provided a valuable opportunity to present timely delivered evidence from our latest research to the Vice-President, which directly informs the ongoing debate surrounding the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

Key discussions revolved around:

• Housing Affordability and Quality: Based on recent ESPON’s flagship research informing the new EU policy on housing, the discussion highlighted the need for a well-designed policy mix and public investment to address the housing crisis and ensure access to affordable housing for all.
• Resilience and Competitiveness as Integral to Cohesion: Evidence presented showed how regions can enhance their competitiveness by reducing their "cognitive distance" to the technological frontier. The discussion also explored success factors for regional resilience, ensuring that place-based policies support all territories in withstanding economic shocks.
• Support for the Next Generation of INTERREG: ESPON shared its ongoing work in delivering 48 border profiles and 14 transnational fiches. This comprehensive knowledge base provides Member States and the Commission with the shared evidence needed to prepare the next generation of cooperation orientation papers and programming exercises.
• The Urban Dimension of Cohesion Policy: Building on recent insights the exchange focused on how to reinforce urban development within future policy frameworks to ensure cities remain drivers of sustainable growth.

We also had the opportunity to exchange with the Vice-President on how to further improve the integration of ESPON evidence into policymaking ahead of designing the post-2028 ESPON programme, and explore different pathways to strengthen our cooperation and support to DG REGIO.

In ESPON, we remain committed to supporting Cohesion Policy and its stakeholders with the evidence and data needed to shape a resilient future for all European territories.