Vice-Minister of Finance D. Sadeckas: “Cohesion Policy needs to change and become more effective, flexible and responsive to the changing environment”
Vice-Minister of Finance Darius Sadeckas, who will participate in the economic forum panel discussion “The Future of EU Cohesion Policy Post-2027” in Greecetoday, emphasizes the importance of Cohesion Policy for the competitiveness and resilience of the EU. According to the Vice-Minister, growing global competition, geopolitical instability and regional disparities show that the unifying Cohesion Policy is of steadily increasing importance.
“The greatest added value of Cohesion Policy is based on three core values: the principles of this policy, convergence, mutual unity and solidarity. While preserving these values and looking to the future, Cohesion Policy after 2027 obviously needs to change. In the future, we need to reform the Cohesion Policy model, establishing a more effective, flexible and responsive mechanism that would accelerate investments, provide positive incentives for the implementation of necessary reforms and generate urgent investments for security,” the Vice-Ministersays.
The future Cohesion Policy for all regions should be even more focused on innovation, green and digital transitions, talent development, and societal resilience across the EU.
According to the Vice-Minister, in implementing the 2021-2027 Cohesion Programme, we highly appreciate the active actions of the European Commission to ensure that Cohesion Policy meets today's realities. In April of this year, the European Commission submitted proposals encouraging the Member States to channel more investments through Cohesion Programmes to EU competitiveness, defence, increasing the security of the Eastern border regions, and the transition to green energy.
“The areas of the Lithuanian investment programme reflect the geopolitical context: we have already channelled part of the EU funds to the priorities of increasing resilience, defence and security – dual-purpose investments, defence industry automation, digitalisation, innovation and strategic value chain development initiatives,” D. Sadeckas states.
Looking ahead and preparing the Cohesion Programme for the period 2028–2034, it is particularly important for Lithuania to identify specific needs arising from its neighbourhood with aggressor countries, Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, for instance, related to the country’s security, resilience, competitiveness and economic stability. Ensuring security is not only a priority for Lithuania, but also an essential prerequisite for sustainable growth.
The annual Delphi Economic Forum brings together more than 2,500 participants from finance, science, business, politics and academia. It discusses today’s most important challenges and decisions, bringing together public institutions, the private sector and civil society in both open and closed discussions. This year, the forum is being organised for the 10th time.
Cohesion policy is an EU policy aimed at reducing economic and social disparities between countries and regions and promoting sustainable development across the EU.