On the occasion of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities 2021 this week, the Commissioners responsible for European Cohesion Policies Elisa Ferreira and Nicolas Schmit provided information on the implementation of REACT-EU. In her view, the cohesion policy with its various funds was crucial in the pandemic, as these contributed to the relief as well as to economic and social recovery, especially in the municipalities and regions.
REACT-EU, the second stage of EU development aid after the first crisis intervention, has been implemented with unprecedented speed, believes the Commission. In just four months, € 34.1 billion were approved, of which € 3.5 billion have been paid out so far.
The funds for REACT-EU will be fed this year and next from the NextGenerationEU budget, and they will be implemented through the individual structural funds. The approximately 34 million euros are divided into 21.7 billion euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 12 billion euros from the ESF and 410 million euros from the European Aid Fund for the most disadvantaged people.
In its declaration for the European Week, the EU authority gives some concrete examples of how the regions are using the additional funds against the background of the pandemic. Thereafter, the ESF special funds were and are mainly used to keep jobs or to support people who have become unemployed through training, coaching and career advice in their search for a new job. That is a priority in all Member States. Financial advisory services and housing for the homeless were also financed. Children in need in Austria and Romania were provided with school materials through the European Aid Fund, is to read. In Estonia, France, Luxembourg and other Member States, those most affected by poverty were given hot meals and toiletries, among other things. The ERDF-REACT funds were primarily planned for the expansion of health services and economic support.
The contribution of European cohesion policy to the recovery phase in the regions and their transformation strategies towards more digitization, climate neutrality, resilience and participation-oriented future design was then again and again a topic in the 300 digital workshops of the regional week.
Under the heading “Together for the upswing”, this year’s program concentrated on the exchange of approaches by the EU and national and regional governments to support the implementation of these requirements on the ground. Cohesion policy and the new generation of EU programs for the years 2021-2027 as well as other financial instruments to deal with the Covid-19 crisis were the focus of the digital four-day event 2021.
All events were recorded. All workshops and highlight seminars can be viewed under the “Program” button on the conference website. The website also provides access to an exhibition that offers virtual booths and sessions on the four main themes of cohesion, green transition, digital change and citizens’ engagement.