The newly elected President of the EESC, Georges Dassis, today met with the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans. Mr Dassis presented to him the EESC's recommendations for the Commission's 2016 annual Work Programme. Among others, these included accelerated economic integration and convergence, strengthening democracy in the EU, reinforcing the European social model, and establishing a new migration policy.

Today the High Level Group on Simplification, launched by the Commission in July, held its first meeting in Brussels. The chairman of the Group, former Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas and the newly-appointed members met with European Commission Vice-President in charge of the Budget Kristalina Georgieva and Commissioners Corina Crețu and Marianne Thyssen in charge of Regional Policy and Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, respectively.

This more responsible approach responds to new economic realities in line with the EU's foreign policy. Based on three key principles - effectiveness, transparency and values - it ensures trade policy benefits as many people as possible. The Commission is proposing a new trade and investment strategy for the European Union, entitled ‘Trade for All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’.  The new approach builds on Europe's excellent trade track record. EU companies export nearly as much as China to the rest of the world and more than firms in the United States or any other country.

Spanning seven years (2014 to 2020) and working with a budget of €77 billion, Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and innovation funding programme ever. Today, the European Commission adopted the second of its two-year work programmes setting out funding opportunities for 2016-2017. This Work Programme offers a budget of almost €16 billion. It is based on extensive consultation and stakeholder involvement. All the calls and related information are published on a single portal.

From 5 to 8 October, Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu is in Greece. She meets with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Giorgos Stathakis, Minister of Economy, and with Ministers in charge of EU funds. "This visit will focus on what we, the Commission and the Greek authorities, can do to pave the way for a prosperous future in the country. The contribution of both the European Structural and Investment Funds and of the Investment Plan for Europe to growth and job creation in Greece will be at the heart of my exchanges with national and regional stakeholders."

The first EU Transnational Cooperation Programme for the “Balkan-Mediterranean”, covering the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, was adopted today. Bringing together three EU countries (Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus) and two candidate countries (Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), it will focus on two priorities: boosting the competitiveness of the regional economy through entrepreneurship and innovation, and protecting the environment.

European funding for research activities was envisaged in the first Community Treaties, related to coal and steel and nuclear energy, and was extended in the early 1980s with the establishment of a European framework programme for research. Research policy was subsequently progressively integrated in the Treaties, to become a shared competence between the European Union (EU) and its Member States. European funds for research and innovation activities are distributed between several interlinked EU programmes. For the current period (2014-20), the main programme, Horizon 2020 (the eighth framework programme for research and innovation) is fully dedicated to funding such activities across all policy field.

The European Union have revised the Circular Economy package; through this latest Position paper and related actions, BEDA can strengthen its position as the design authority at European Commission level. BEDA has prepared a Position paper on Design and the Circular Economy, led by BCD (Barcelona Centre de Disseny). This paper falls within the revision of the Circular Economy package by the European Commission; it offers a great opportunity for BEDA to strengthen its role as design authority at European level by making relevant recommendations to the EC.

This publication seeks to provide a key to understanding the complexity, richness and diversity of the examples of territorial cooperation in Europe and illustrating their role in the process of European integration. 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of Interreg, the European Union instrument to promote cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation.