“Competitiveness is one of the EU’s top priorities. Europe must close gaps in productivity, innovation and industrial capacity – while ensuring that progress is shared across all territories.” were the opening remarks of Pehr Granfalk (SE/EPP) Member of the Municipal Council, Solna Municipality, and Rapporteur for the CoR opinion on the European Competitiveness Fund at the workshop organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), in cooperation with ESPON and ÖIR.
The workshop brought together experts, partners and stakeholders to assess how the proposed Fund could affect regions and cities across the European Union, and to identify concrete recommendations for a more balanced, place-sensitive approach.
The European Competitiveness Fund is part of the post-2027 EU budget package and aims to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness by supporting strategic technologies and sectors along the investment journey. The proposal foresees a single, large-scale instrument that consolidates multiple existing EU instruments into a streamlined architecture.
Opening the workshop, Mr Pehr Granfalk (SE/EPP) underlined the importance of ensuring that competitiveness gains translate into cohesion and opportunity across all territories. He also highlighted the central question for local and regional authorities:
“From a local and regional perspective, the key question is: what will be the territorial impact? If funding is driven mainly by excellence criteria, we may see asymmetric outcomes – with strong hubs attracting investment and talent, while other regions struggle to access opportunities.”
The workshop was designed around a policy scenario in which the ECF would be implemented primarily on the basis of excellence/competitiveness criteria, and explored potential differentiated effects across territories. Discussions focused on impacts across economy, society, environment, and governance, and examined how access, capacity-building, and place-based elements could be strengthened to support inclusive development.
“That is why today’s discussion matters. We want concrete insights on impacts across economy, society, environment and governance, and recommendations on how to improve access, capacity-building and a place-based approach where needed.” concluded Granfalk.
Insights from the workshop will feed into the CoR’s ongoing policy work on the ECF and will support the preparation of the CoR opinion. A dedicated follow-up report will capture the methodology, key findings and policy recommendations from the discussions.