Debate on territorial cohesion and competitiveness in the context of Europe 2020 Strategy

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The situation and the prospects of the European Union territory were discussed at the Conference Territorial cohesion and competitiveness in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy - National contributions to the European debate on the concept of territorial cohesion, organised by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of European Affairs, today, 15 December 2011.

Opening the conference, Minister Elena Udrea said that territory and human capital are, for Romania, the main assets to be valorised in the future to achieve the cohesion and competitiveness objectives. "In the context of the role of territorial cohesion being more and more important in negotiating the new EU financial framework, clear targets must exist, assumed at different territorial levels, regarding the main development objectives and implementation mechanisms. A correct application of the concepts related to territorial cohesion will be of big help in the successful implementation of the future operational programmes, post 2013, and this must be our constant concern. I want to thank the colleagues in the ministry for their permanent involvement in achieving all our objectives related to regional development, territorial cohesion and European cooperation," said Minister Elena Udrea.

The 140 participants from Romania and other European countries, representatives of the Government, of the European Commission, of the Committee of the Regions, of the local public administration, experts and representatives of the academia discussed the role of territorial cohesion within cohesion policy and other development policies.

The event aimed to launch a national debate on territorial cohesion in order to deepen the understanding of this concept in the new context, as well as its implications for policy formulation.

The conference was organized in two consecutive plenary sessions (where there were made presentations relating to the national and European perspectives on territorial cohesion) and in three parallel workshops on the following themes: indicators on territorial cohesion, territory - the key factor to correlate sectoral policies, instruments to implement Cohesion Policy 2014-2020.

Territorial cohesion is an evolving concept, adapted to a wide variety of realities and needs, without being a separate policy, that can provide the connection between the concepts of economic competitiveness and cohesion, a process through which sectoral policies can be harmonised, a means of valorising territorial potential. The debate about territorial cohesion was launched at European level in 2008, with the publication by the European Commission of the "Green Paper on territorial cohesion. Turning territorial diversity into strength". In 2009, territorial cohesion became a European objective, by including in the Treaty of Lisbon the three dimensions of the cohesion policy: economic, social and territorial. The legislative proposals regarding the financial period 2014-2020, published by the European Commission on 6 October 2011, grant a privileged place to various instruments that can contribute to the achievement of territorial cohesion.