Symbolism and Setting: Connecting Twin Cities and Beyond
At a high-level event co-hosted by the cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica, Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto underscored the symbolic nature of the venue—twin cities jointly awarded the 2025 European Capital of Culture—mirroring the essence of cross-border cooperation promoted by Interreg since 1990. He acknowledged Interreg's evolution from a small initiative to a key instrument within the EU cohesion policy, with billions invested and thousands of projects fostering joint innovation, tourism, and emergency services.
Policy Proposals: Modernising Cohesion with a Focus on Results
Fitto outlined the European Commission’s upcoming Communication on the Mid-Term review aimed at modernising cohesion policy to enhance simplicity, impact, and focus. Specifically for Interreg, he emphasized preserving cooperative governance and local adaptation while increasing emphasis on performance and results, with no explicit mention of new numerical targets or budget increases.
Coverage Expansion and Integration of Portfolios
Fitto highlighted his expanded portfolio involving agriculture, transport, tourism, blue economy, and fisheries, enabling integrated cross-sectoral approaches. This signals a potential broadening of Interreg’s policy scope and interlinkage with new EU priorities.
Stakeholder Impacts and Cleavages
- EU producers and regional businesses may benefit moderately from increased cross-border cooperation and investment focus fostering competitiveness.
- Citizens in border regions, including healthcare and education sectors, stand to gain through improved public services and stronger ‘right to stay’ policies, enhancing regional attractiveness.
- National authorities in border and outermost regions might face increased cooperation demands and administrative coordination but gain strategic value from integrated disaster risk management and enlargement preparedness.
- NGOs and civil society could experience enhanced opportunities to engage local populations, especially youth, in people-to-people projects.
Political Significance
Fitto’s speech signals a drive to modernise Interreg without diluting its cooperative spirit but with added scrutiny on performance and alignment with wider portfolios. The approach reflects a balance between maintaining EU cohesion instruments and responding pragmatically to dynamic geopolitical contexts, such as reallocating funds post the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While concrete deadlines or budgets for the proposed changes remain unspecified, the direction suggests a measured strengthening of EU integration in cohesion policy with a practical link to enlargement and external relations.
Overall, Fitto’s address outlines an evolutionary rather than revolutionary trajectory for Interreg, underscoring adaptability, enhanced cooperation, and result-oriented development within the EU’s broader policy framework.