Meeting in the Slovak capital a week after Slovakia took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time, local and regional leaders adopted a declaration that calls on the EU to improve regulation and attract greater private-public investment to create more jobs and tackle the investment gap.

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) endorses a forward looking vision for Europe based on strengthening investment for promoting cohesion, sustainable growth and job creation in the cities and regions.

1. The European Union is a historic achievement of peace, prosperity and security on the European continent. It is built on the key objective of promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion to ensure that everyone everywhere in the Union has a fair chance to participate in and benefit from our single market. Overcoming the growing territorial divide between Europe's cities and regions by promoting investment at local and regional level is therefore more important than ever to ensure inclusiveness and a sense of belonging of the citizens to our common European project.
2. Regions, cities and rural areas in Europe have vast untapped investment potential but still face too many obstacles in achieving it. Investment levels in the EU have dropped by 15% in the last decade, in some extreme cases even by 50%. This gap is a major factor holding Europe back and hindering our long-term economic growth prospects. To get growth and jobs on track, EU's regions and cities together with the CoR - the political assembly of EU's regional and local authorities - are committed to re-connecting and building on Europe's territorial opportunities, to overcoming barriers and identifying sustainable solutions.
3. Regional and local authorities make investments that are relevant on the ground. They are responsible for more than 70% of public investment, which has a direct impact on local economies and subsequently on the life and well-being of European citizens. Through the application of the principle of subsidiarity, they are at the forefront in ensuring that investments address local needs and are decisive in stimulating targeted jobs and growth. They ensure the quality and impact of public spending by supporting and managing projects and making it easier for private funding to reach the grassroots level thereby enhancing economic, social and territorial cohesion.
4. Economic and technological change is rapidly transforming our societies and territories: this is happening not only at global level - it impacts the local and regional levels in particular. Investment cannot operate in a vacuum: we need to further promote cross-border connections and multi-level cooperation. Urban and rural actors must also be empowered to reach their full potential through connecting investments. These should be targeted at areas such as sustainable and smart energy and transport solutions, IT infrastructure, education, research and innovation, healthcare, childcare and social housing. This is how Europe will remain competitive on the global scene.
5. Regional and local authorities are politically committed to putting forward five main solutions in order to make investments more effective:5.1 Connecting Europe through territorial investment. Local and regional growth driven by investment must be grounded in territorial development strategies, be they for urban or rural areas. Investment must also harness our capacity to innovate based on citizens' needs. There is an urgent need to ensure a more efficient approach to EU investment policy, identify and remove obstacles to public and private investment and simplify the regulatory environment as well as cut red tape for SMEs.
   
   5.2 The way in which we make our investments a reality will determine their outcome. For results-oriented investments, we need to achieve a change in mind-set: entrepreneurial thinking, a place-based approach, digitalisation and open innovation must be the foundation for EU governance and long-term development strategy. At the same time, future investments must be oriented towards sustainability in order to meet climate change goals at global level. The creation of new jobs and sustainable growth is dependent on targeted public and private investment, in particular for SMEs, which provide eight out of ten jobs in the EU. This equally applies to start-ups but also to innovations, such as the internet of things, the circular and sharing economy, as well as new models of transport and decentralised sustainable energy production.5.3 Enhancing the investment capacity of regional and local authorities must be coordinated with EU and national economic cycles. Public budgets supporting quality investments must act in synergy with other financial sources at regional, local, national and European level. Even though the European Structural and Investment Funds and the European Fund for Strategic Investment show great potential and are key to achieving the Europe 2020 long-term goals by providing the major share of investment, we need a strong commitment that these funds are complementary and do not replace any other sources of cohesion funding. In addition, while there is a positive overall assessment of the EFSI after its first year of functioning, its geographical balance and the truly additional character of its investments should be improved, as should the efforts to develop investment platforms. Moreover, the technical capacity of potential project promoters at regional and local level should be enhanced via the European Investment Advisory Hub. We underline the need to strengthen the capacity of local and regional authorities to use financial tools provided by the European Investment Bank, as well as public-private partnerships and, where relevant, make use of promotional banks in delivering investments. We stress the importance of the EU in continuing to provide the framework for adequate funding for quality public investments in developed and less developed EU urban, rural, maritime, mountainous and peripheral areas. The territorial dimension to investments should be reflected in the mid-term review of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 and an improved and simplified cohesion policy after 2020. In order to achieve this aim, we will continue monitoring the implementation of various EU funds as well as the balanced use of grants and other financial instruments.

   5.4 Nothing can be achieved without continuous dialogue and partnership: learning and working together is key. Increasing human capital is what matters and in particular in the European Union we see on a daily basis the importance of joining forces. This applies to individuals and institutions alike. As cities and regions are the powerhouses for progress and societal innovation. we, the EU's cities and regions, commit to working in partnership with the EU institutions and Member States to effectively bridge the innovation, skills and investment gaps.

   5.5 Increasing ownership and awareness to respond to citizens' needs. Reconnecting citizens, businesses and investments at the local and regional level will therefore continue to be at the heart of our long-term investment strategy as local and regional authorities are the closest and most trusted levels of governance.

6. As part of the CoR's long term vision for investment, this Declaration will be accompanied by a comprehensive action plan, building on a number of opinions outlining the CoR's political priorities.
7. The Bratislava Declaration will be submitted by the CoR President to the Presidents of the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee, as well as to the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU.

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