During the 7th European Summit of Regions and Cities on 8 July in Bratislava, the discussion stressed the role of cities and regions as engines for creating sustainable growth and delivering on the investment plan for Europe. The local level was encouraged to fully reap the potential of the EFSI through launching local and regional investment platforms, while also agreeing on plans to provide their full support and guidance in the process.
Mr Stanisław Szwabski, President of the European Alliance Group, said that the delegates reiterated the full support of the EUs regional and local authorities to the European project based on the democratic values of promoting peace and well-being of its citizens, putting citizens first and respecting all levels of governance. He added: "A geographical quota is needed within EFSI. It will assure that the finance will go also to poorer regions where investment is needed. Our role is to defend cohesion in all Europe and diminish all disparities. We should avoid that the EFSI will replace Cohesion funding rather than complementing it as I mentioned it previously in other occasion. Smaller cities and poorer regions could not have the administrative capacity or finance if they had no Cohesion funding and only the Investment fund loans".
"Local and regional growth driven by investment must be grounded in territorial development strategies, be they for urban or rural areas. Investment must also harness our capacity to innovate based on citizens' needs". – he added.
