EU regional commissioner says Europe should not ‘destroy path we’re on’, but accepts demand for future funding will be dominated by post-pandemic rebuilding

The EU’s new industrial strategy, with its aim of driving innovation in advanced technologies, could lead to established economic development policies being seen as outdated. But tried-and-tested approaches, especially Cohesion policy, have complementary objectives - and an important role to play

Innovation clusters could thread multiple EU funding streams together to promote regional development. But those on the ground say fragmented schemes make this impossible, and reforms can’t go ahead until the 2021 – 27 budget is agreed

European Commission president tells MEPs EU needs a bigger budget if it wants to become a ‘world leading research region’

As 16 member states met in Prague to defend cohesion funds, the European Commission’s head of finance cautioned research would pay the price of cuts to overall EU budget

EU leaders remain deadlocked over the union’s next long-term financial plan, but all signs point to a smaller research budget from 2021

An EU-wide coalition of cities and regions urges commissioner-designate Elisa Ferreira to defend cohesion policy

At confirmation hearings, Johannes Hahn told MEPs a ‘compromise’ on agriculture and cohesion is needed to divert funds to research, while proposed new head of energy, Kadri Simson said the EU will not meet carbon targets unless it invests more in R&I