The European Week of Regions and Cities - the Open Days – takes place this year at a key moment because we are in the midst of redesigning the shape of the future cohesion policy after 2013 and discussions are underway on the future of the EU’s budget. There is a lot at stake for this policy, which currently accounts for over a third of the EU’s budget in terms of massive investment in all the regions of Europe.

Firstly, I believe that it is essential to make cohesion policy subject to the priorities of the new ‘Europe 2020’ strategy: competitiveness, countering climate change, the change of direction on energy, etc. The priorities of the current cohesion policy are already in line with the objectives of the strategy, as is shown in particular by the 25% of investment (ie €86 billion) devoted to innovation until 2013. But it is a matter of strengthening these links. Cohesion policy offers an ideal framework to achieve the objectives of Europe’s 2020 strategy as it makes it possible to concentrate European investment on a certain number of strategic priorities.

This policy proposes an original system of governance through which the Commission can pilot investments, in partnership with the member states and the regions. We must invest EU money in sectors that have a real added value. In addition, the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy will not work without European priorities being taken on by the maximum number of players on the ground. Where cohesion policy operates at the local and regional level, as close as possible to citizens, it will contribute more to mobilising these strengths throughout Europe.

Cohesion policy also has the advantage of offering a multi-sectoral approach tailored to local, regional and national contexts. For example, to create a competitive, connected and ‘greener’ economy, you need combined investments in communications technologies, intelligent transport, energy infrastructure, renewable energies and energy efficiency, ‘green’ public procurement and smoothly functioning administrations.

Territorial cohesion is also an important part of the future cohesion policy. We are reflecting on the most appropriate territorial scales of intervention for the future. In this respect, the EU’s strategy for the Baltic Sea region, which has been up and running for over a year, and the strategy for the Danube Basin, which will see the light of day at the end of the year, are good experiments. There will be several seminars on these new ‘macro-regional’ strategies during the Open Days.

Cities will also have to play a more significant role in the future cohesion policy, as well as in the ‘Europe 2020’ mechanism: poles of competitiveness, innovation and job creation are concentrated in urban areas.

I am convinced that we must continue to support all the European regions because Europe needs ‘locomotive’ regions to relaunch growth. In parallel, we must, of course, continue to support regions lagging behind in development in order to fully free up their potential. But it is not charity work or simply distributing subsidies. Cohesion policy is a policy of investments for sustainable, inclusive and intelligent growth. Only the sectors that show their evidence can continue to benefit from support. That’s why we want to turn the policy after 2013 towards performance and results, which means, among other things, improving the assessment processes.

Next November, the report on economic, social and territorial cohesion will put a certain number of options on the table for the new generation of programmes after 2013. It will be followed by a huge consultation of stakeholders and by the Forum on Cohesion at the end of January 2011.

I intend to commit myself fully to maintaining a strong and ambitious policy for all the regions of Europe. In the coming weeks, I will go to a certain number of capitals to convey this message. And I am also counting on the regions to argue in favour of cohesion policy.

(*) Johannes Hahn is the EU’s regional policy commissioner