Event Summary

The EU’s ambitious transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy has increasingly profound implications for Europe’s regions, workers, industries and society at large. The transition requires socio-economic transformation, particularly in regions relying on fossil fuels and energy-intensive industries, threatening the traditional economic base of these regions. Since 2019, the EU has developed a broad framework of policies and initiatives aimed at facilitating the twin green and digital transitions.

Among these strategies and programmes is the concept of Just Transition, which intends to ensure that the regions undergoing structural changes are not left behind and that the burden of transition is distributed fairly. Currently, the EU’s main specific just transition instrument is the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM), mobilising around EUR 55 billion over the period 2021-2027. On the other hand, the European Commission’s 2023 Strategic Foresight Report estimates that additional investments of over EUR 620 billion will be needed to meet the Green Deal and REPowerEU objectives.

Despite substantial investments in support of a Just Transition and the ongoing upskilling and reskilling of the workforce and economic diversification, the transformation of all regions, and the loss of entire industries in some regions, will incur significant costs, threatening economic, territorial and social cohesion and widening regional disparities.

In the face of this enormous challenge, this workshop brings together local and regional authorities, most notably the CoR's rapporteur for Just Transition President Marco Marsilio, and experts from across the EU.

In his draft opinion "A just transition for all EU regions", to be adopted during the CoR plenary session at the EWRC in Brussels, President Marsilio calls for expanding the 2021-2027 Just Transition Fund to include sectors like the automotive and supplier industries, while acknowledging the ongoing need for support in regions unable to complete their transition by 2027. It is proposed that a just transition should be central to Cohesion Policy for the post-2027 period, incorporating innovative design and delivery approaches to address regional transitions. This includes anticipating changes and supporting territories facing challenges with the transformation of strategic, energy-intensive, greenhouse gas-emitting, and labour-intensive industries. The presentation of this highly important opinion will be followed by an insightful discussion on the efforts, challenges, and expectations for successfully managing this transition in EU regions.

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