Working Together or Drifting Apart – the Future of EU Cohesion Policy

This debate, held in Brussels on Tuesday 26th April was moderated by Mark Rogerson, former BBC correspondent, who focused on competitiveness and convergence, two keywords in the latest cohesion report. The speakers were Michel Delebarre, Committee of the Regions rapporteur on the 5th cohesion report and Peter Balasz, former EU Commissioner and Professor at the Central European University in Hungary. Both emphasized the importance of using other forms of comparisons between different regions and not just GDP as a fair measure. Also intermediate regions and the recognition of urban areas in the fifth cohesion report were highlighted during the discussion. The next meeting will take place the 16th of June. The topic has to be confirmed.