On 2 June 2026, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall addressed the event 'Territories in Action: A Sneak Peek into Transformative Innovation', celebrating the first year of a Preparatory Action that has engaged 200 territories across the EU. Roswall announced that water resilience will now be part of the initiative, reflecting her portfolio's focus. She emphasised that the action demonstrates how place-based innovation can drive bottom-up transformation, turning ideas into evidence and policy into real change.
Roswall highlighted concrete examples: Ostrobothnia (Finland), Catalonia (Spain), and Banská Bystrica (Slovakia) will share their experiences, while Dalarna (Sweden) works on circularity in plastics, Norte Portugal seeks a new energy mix to reduce fossil fuel reliance, and Tuscany (Italy) reimagines living spaces under New European Bauhaus values. The speech contained no numerical targets, budget figures, or new institutional structures, but did announce the inclusion of water resilience as a new thematic area within the existing Preparatory Action framework.
The policy orientation is strongly decentralising: Roswall argued that EU rules and strategies must support innovation in every territory ready to contribute, not only in already strong regions. She framed the initiative as a positive story about EU capacity to deliver change from the ground up, contrasting it with a top-down approach. The speech was declarative and celebratory, with no concrete legislative proposals or deadlines.
Stakeholder impact: EU regions and municipalities gain a new thematic focus (water resilience) and continued access to a platform for experimentation and peer learning, which may strengthen their role in EU policy implementation. EU regulatory bodies may face pressure to adapt rules to accommodate bottom-up innovation, potentially increasing administrative complexity. EU producers in sectors like plastics and energy may see new local pilots that could influence future regulation. EU civil society and citizens benefit from inclusive, place-based solutions, though the scale of impact remains limited by the preparatory nature of the action.
Importance score: 45 – a niche policy update with moderate interest for regional development and innovation stakeholders, but no major announcement or paradigm shift.