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Today marks the launch of the RegioStars Awards 2016 by the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy. The objective of RegioStars is to identify good practice in regional development and to highlight original and innovative projects which could be inspiring to other regions and project managers. 

Interested in improving efficiency and quality of public procurement and ensure value of money for your contracts? Looking for tips on how to plan, publish and award avoiding the most common errors? European Commission's "Guidance for practitioners on the avoidance of the most common errors in public procurement of projects funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds" will answer your questions and will help you make the most out of EU investments.

Are you a leader in innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing? Would you like to become one of the "Reference sites" of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing? Then apply before 15 April 2016! Reference Sites are highly inspirational ecosystems, delivering creative and workable solutions that improve the lives and health of older people. These solutions can be scaled-up and replicated across the EU.

The new EU public procurement system, entering into force on 18 April 2016, will open up fresh opportunities for public authorities to spur eco-innovation by using new award criteria in contract notices that place more emphasis on environmental considerations. Public authorities will be able to require that bidders not only comply with environmental obligations, but also deliver goods fulfilling the requirements of environmental labels.

The Conseil Regional Nord-Pas de Calais (Entrusted Entity for the implementation of the UIA Initiative) is issuing a Call for Applications for the constitution of a Panel of External Experts for the Strategic Assessment of project proposals submitted in the framework of the 1st Call for Proposals.

The long-term unemployed (LTU) are those who have been out of work and searching for a job for 12 months or longer. The number of long-term unemployed doubled between 2007 and 2014, reaching 12.4 million people or 5% of the active EU population. This equals to around half of the total number of unemployed.  What is particularly worrying is that six out of ten of the LTU have been out of work for more than two years and their share remains at historically high levels.

The new European Urban Agenda should improve the quality of life in cities but also the EU governance. It is about developing new working methods, including partnerships and selective impact assessments of legislation. European Parliament's Regional Development Committee and Committee of the Region's COTER members stressed in a joint hearing on Monday afternoon that to reach this goal there is a need for a practical and concrete approach, reflecting the needs on the ground and building partnerships with different levels of government.

The environmental benefits of adopting a circular economy in Europe could be considerable – reducing waste, and minimising the continent’s heavy dependence on imports of raw materials. A new report published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA) draws attention to both the benefits and challenges of such an economic transition.

General care nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, real estate agents and mountain guides can now pursue their professions more freely in other EU countries thanks to the European Professional Card (EPC). The card, available from today, aims to ease the free movement of these mobile professionals by simplifying the procedure for getting their professional qualifications recognised in another EU country.

This conference seeks to exchange knowledge and experience concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of supporting innovative entrepreneurship at territorial levels in the context of implementation of smart specialisation strategies. The conference is jointly organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission. It takes place in Brussels on 26 January 2016, from 10.00 to 16.00.

Join European Commission on 25 February in Amsterdam for the launch of the 2016 European Social Innovation Competition. The event will introduce this year's theme: social innovation for refugees and migrants. The launch event is organised in partnership with the City of Amsterdam.