Thanks to support from the European Commission directorate for regional policy (DG REGIO), EurActiv will strengthen coverage of the issues in its regional policy section, putting the spotlight on a key EU policy area that is likely to evolve significantly in the coming years.

With 37.8 billion euro of funding per year, regional policy has become the second largest item in the EU budget after the Common Agricultural Policy (55.8 billion).

The accession of ten new member states in 2004 has doubled the development gap between the bloc's wealthiest and poorest regions. As a result, most beneficiaries of regional funds are now located in Central and Eastern Europe, which calls for a major re-think of how regional policy is shaped.

EurActiv’s network of localised media will dedicate coverage on the ground from 10 EU capitals, where EurActiv editors are in a unique position to provide balanced news coverage from the local, regional and national level. 

The Regional Policy section of Brussels-based EurActiv.com specifically will be sponsored by General Electric. 

To complement the new section, EurActiv.com is launching a free weekly newsletter on Regional Policy. 

To subscribe click here

 The coverage can be found here: 

http://www.euractiv.com/en/regional-policy (EN)

http://www.euractiv.com/de/regionalpolitik/ (DE)

http://www.euractiv.com/fr/politique-regionale/ (FR)

Members of the EurActiv Network have also launched or revamped their own regional policy sections:

BG http://www.dnevnik.bg/evropa/regioni/ 

CZ http://www.euractiv.cz/regionalni-rozvoj

DE http://www.euractiv.de/regionalpolitik

ES http://www.euractiv.es/noticias/politica-regional/

FR http://www.euractiv.fr/collectivites-locales-europe

HU http://www.euractiv.hu/regionalispolitika

PL http://www.euractiv.pl/politykaregionalna

RO http://www.euractiv.ro/uniunea-europeana/articles/categoryID_103/Politici-regionale.html 

SK http://www.euractiv.sk/regionalny-rozvoj

Highlights of the year will include coverage of the Spanish EU presidency’s regional policy initiatives, how the Lisbon Treaty will impact on regional policy, as well as a regular “Project of the Month” story which will focus on a project in an EU region that has benefited from regional funding.

EurActiv CEO Rick Zedník said, “We at EurActiv are committed to encouraging debate around EU policies on a local and national level. There is no area more local than regional policy. We are delighted to be able to dedicate more time and space to covering these vital issues for readers across the Union. We'll do so thanks in large part to the support of DG REGIO and GE."

Dirk Ahner, Director General of DG REGIO in the European Commission said, "European Regional policy deserves an increased visibility towards the citizens and the policy makers. The purpose of this partnership with EurActiv is to highlight the projects which benefit all EU regions, and to give an insight into all the opinions on the future of the policy after 2013."

Media contacts:

Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener, Managing Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.69, news@euractiv.com

Frédéric Simon, Editor -- Tel. +32 2 788 36 78, editor2@euractiv.com

Rick Zedník, CEO – Tel. +32 2 226 58 12, ceo@euractiv.com

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher, Tel. +32 2 226 58 13, publisher@euractiv.com

Note to the editor: 

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