More than €200 billion ready to be invested in Europe's cities and regions - Main contents

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of my services, we managed to adopt 189 out of the 311 Operational Programmes. All together, they are worth €202 billion.

Last week, I approved 40 new Operational Programmes for investments under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund. I will approve an additional programme before the end of this month.

With these decisions, 80% or 165 Investment for Growth and Jobs Programmes managed by my services have now been adopted, worth almost €200 billion of ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund. In addition to that, 24 European Territorial Cooperation Programmes have also been given the green light, worth close to €3 billion.

I am proud of all the programmes adopted. All these programmes are sound, consistent and forward-looking. Each and every one of them focuses on key measures to bring back trust and growth in Europe's cities and regions - connecting people, skills and jobs.

Those 189 programmes will boost economic competitiveness, enhance research and innovation, promote entrepreneurship, tackle unemployment, fight social exclusion and support the shift towards a low-carbon economy.

By the end of this month, all Operational Programmes managed by my services will have been signed for 21 Member States, except for the United Kingdom, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Sweden. I expect the remaining programmes to be adopted as soon as possible.

I wish the national and regional authorities every success in implementing their programmes so that the citizens feel the benefits of the investments in terms of jobs, greater prosperity and a better quality of life.

As always, a special thanks to my colleagues in DG Regio for their commitment to make this happen.

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