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EditoriALL
From the financial crisis to the pandemic and from there to the war in Ukraine, Europe is learning to live with overlapping crises.
From the financial crisis to the pandemic and from there to the war in Ukraine, Europe is learning to live with overlapping crises. Resilience has become the new Holy Grail, as policies and tools at the European, national, regional and local level are adjusting or repurposing to address the new needs.
The French presidency emphasises that the EU Green Deal is the backbone of the future resilience, and the director of ANCT, Yves Le Breton, explains how territorial issues were placed in the heart of the European debates, in one of the most turmoiled periods in the EU history.
EESC president, Christa Schweng, warns that the European social model needs to hold despite the external pressures from continuous crises, and asks to put the young people in the spotlight.
But professor Mariana Mazzucato argues that it's not a coincidence we're so unprepared, as we are by design reactive and not proactive. She uses an inspirational example of the NASA mission to the moon to explain why we need capacities and knowledge in the public sector and well-defined partnerships with the private.
Professor Carlos Moreno is more optimistic. He believes that the COVID pandemic is an opportunity for the cities and their citizens to rethink their priorities and make better use of their time and space.
If there is one European policy that stood by the regions and the cities of Europe in the course of all these crises, this is the Cohesion Policy.
DG Regio director, Peter Berkowitz, summarises the successes and the challenges, as presented in the 8th Cohesion Report.
Nathalie Sarabezolles, chair of the COTER Commission, focuses on the need to safeguard cohesion and ensure a stronger partnership with the local and regional authorities.
Are we asking the right questions, wonders Fransesco Molica, CPMR director, already opening the debate for the post-2027 programming period.
While planning for the future, we also need to address the current challenges. The war in Ukraine reminded us that peace and freedom are not for granted.
MEP Urmas Paet analyses the next steps the EU has to take and warns the war will continue for a long time.
But even if the end of the war is not yet close, preparations for the reconstruction of Ukraine have started.
The head of the EIB representation in Ukraine, Jean-Erik de Zagon, explains in an interview the plans of the bank and the mechanisms that will be used to support the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Slobozhan, executive director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, and Eugenia Maruniak, director of the NAS Institute of Geography of Ukraine with her colleagues, provide an insight view of how Ukrainians think this reconstruction plan can maximise its results and rebuild a resilient urban environment adapted to the local needs.
You can find more in this issue of our TerritoriALL: An eye-opening presentation on the impacts of COVID-19 on the European regions, based on the final results of a recent ESPON project, and an article about the impact of COVID on the accessibility of services of general interest. Articles about cross-border cooperation and cross-border public services. And more.
Enjoy your reading!