Informal meeting of Ministers for Regional Policy on 21 November in Brussels
An informal meeting of Ministers for Regional Policy will be held in Brussels on Tuesday, 21 November 2006 under the Finnish Presidency. The meeting will be chaired by Finnish Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs Hannes Manninen.
The meeting will aim to further EU level discussion on the synergy between the cohesion policy and the Lisbon objectives of competitiveness, growth and employment. The resources of cohesion policy account for about one third of the EU budget for the period 2007-2013.
A key priority for the Finnish Presidency is to strengthen European competitiveness by means of innovation policy. The meeting of Ministers for Regional Policy will discuss how innovation and competitiveness can be promoted through EU cohesion policy programmes. Promoting innovation is a priority in the Member States' strategies for the forthcoming programming period. The challenge now is to translate the strategic objectives into practical measures. Among the most central measures are those taken at regional and local levels to strengthen partnership and networking between key actors of the innovation environment, namely enterprises, research institutes, development organisations andthe public sector.
A central part of promoting innovation and competitiveness is the exchange of experience and best practice between regions. The meeting will also discuss ways to enhance the exchange of experience of EU cohesion policy programmes between regions.
The meeting will gather representatives from the EU Member States, Romania, Bulgaria, Norway and the institutions of the Union. It will be attended by some 140 people.
For further information, please contact Director of Regional Development Antti Valle, tel. +358 9 160 42312 and Information Officer Katja Palonen, tel. +358 9 160 44681