“The role of EU cohesion policy in times of the coronavirus crisis” (Cohesion Conference)

The High Level Conference on Cohesion, which is organised in collaboration with Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, aims to facilitate an exchange of views between member states on the role of the European Structural Funds in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to the direct support for managing the crisis provided by EU cohesion policy, the main focus will be on the objectives of the future programming period and appropriate instruments for reconstruction, as well as on strengthening the competitiveness of the regions and their resistance to future crises. Innovative and smart economic change will be a key topic of the conference, with particular emphasis on the competitiveness of SMEs, digitalisation, industrial locations and climate and environmental protection. The challenges posed by COVID-19 and “lessons learned” from the direct consequences of the crisis play an important role in this context.

Organiser: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy