At their first meeting of this new mandate, members of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER) elected Vasco Alves Cordeiro as President and Emil Boc as First Vice-President to lead the work of regions and cities.
The COTER commission plays an essential role in defending and promoting cohesion policy in the legislative process of the European Union. It also follows strategic topics such as the Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU budget, transport policy, housing, territorial development, cross-border cooperation, spatial planning and urban issues.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro, former President of the Committee of the Regions, former President of the Regional Government of the Azores and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores and member of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) since 2004, now completes a two-and-a-half-year term as President of the CoR. During this period, advocacy and commitment to a strong, sustainable cohesion policy adapted to current challenges was one of its main priorities.
Emil Boc, former Prime Minister of Romania, is currently Mayor of Cluj-Napoca and was Chair of the COTER Commission from September 2022 to the present.
The new COTER president and first vice-president were co-rapporteurs of the first two opinions issued by the CoR on the future of cohesion policy.
For this new mandate, the COTER commission will continue to advocate for an EU budget that is both flexible to respond to new priorities and emergencies, and stable in the long term to ensure local and regional investments aligned with the Union’s priorities and the “do no harm to cohesion” principle. It will reinforce the need to maintain and strengthen cohesion policy beyond 2027, ensuring a just transition and balanced development. In mobility, it will support the completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and accompany the green transition of the automotive industry, ensuring that no territory is left behind.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro: “With this new mandate, the COTER commission faces significant challenges and opportunities. The European Commission’s proposal on the multiannual financial framework is the first major dossier that we have to examine. Cohesion policy, in particular, must remain a powerful and decentralised instrument that invests in local and regional needs, providing tangible solutions for citizens. Transport, housing, territorial cooperation and just transition are the other key policies that we will address in COTER to transform people’s lives. Only with a strong cohesion policy, putting regions and cities at the heart of the implementation of EU policies, can the EU strengthen the internal market and reap the full benefits of European integration.
More information:
With the start of the new 2025-2030 term of office, where the new President Kata Tüttő, First Vice-President Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, was elected, CoR members also elected the new chairs and vice-chairs of the six political commissions of the Assembly of Local and Regional Leaders.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro and Emil Boc were correlates of the following opinions.
More information: European Committee of the Regions.
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