Tenth edition of the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week in Izola

State Secretary mag. Marko Koprivc at the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week | Author Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development

As part of the official opening of the Week, a high-level political panel ''Cohesion Policy post 2027: More cooperation, more Europe'' took place. Participating as a panelist, State Secretary Koprivc said: ''Having a strong post-2027 Cohesion Policy is key for strengthening cooperation within the EU and with candidate countries. More cohesion means a more competitive, more resilient, and safer Europe. That is why Slovenia calls for adequate funding for Cohesion Policy in the period beyond 2027.''

Dr Vladimir Prebilič, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the Committee on Regional Development, Roland Arbter, Deputy Director, Republic of Austria, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management, Directorate III/6 - Coordination Regional Policy and Spatial Planning, EUSDR National Coordinator, and Johan Magnusson, Team Leader for the EU Strategies for the Danube and the Baltic Sea Regions, European Commission, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, Unit D.1 Macro-regions, Transnational/Interregional/External Cooperation, Enlargement also participated in the panel.

The panelists agreed that a decade of cooperation under macro-regional strategies helped raise awareness that cooperation brings success. At the same, they outlined that cooperation resulted in a myriad of concrete projects whose impacts transcend national borders, stressing that stronger links between Cohesion Policy projects and the projects designed under macro-regional strategies increase the efficiency of EU investments thanks to cross-border impacts.

Over the past decade, the event has grown to be a key platform for bringing together local and international stakeholders under the four macro-regional strategies and allowing their exchange on relevant topics. It has also spurred the creation of some of more outstanding projects under the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region or EUSAIR.