On 11 February, ECR Vice-President Mr Marco Marsilio, President of the Abruzzo Region attended the meeting of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER). Speaking in the debate with Mr Marc Lemaître, Director-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) at the European Commission, Mr Marsilio called for further reflection on the EU cohesion policy and its tools, highlighting that without adequate policies, new economic, social and territorial disparities will arise.

The President of the Abruzzo Region also stressed that investments are needed in promoting lifelong education and training to allow everyone to join the labour market: "In particular, we need to work on training in new digital technologies. A lack of knowledge of these tools means that many regions, businesses and public authorities are not prepared to reap the benefits of these new opportunities."

Mr Marsilio also referred to the demographic crisis affecting Europe, which he sees as a factor which risks creating difficulties for regions: "The decline in birth rates and the ageing of the population will cause difficulties linked to regions' growth potential, skills development and access to services. Taking action to support young couples and mothers is an objective that the EU must adopt without delay."

In his intervention, Mr Marsilio also referred to the need to strengthen links between urban and rural regions and build infrastructure to connect EU regions which are not easily reachable: "We need to continue efforts to ensure that regions from Central-Eastern Europe catch up with the rest of the EU through building infrastructure and creating new connections via TEN-T networks and motorways of the sea."