ECR Vice-President Juraj Droba, the President of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, Massimiliano Fedriga and ECR member Pavel Branda spoke today at the "Interreg GO!" event organized by the DG Regio of the European Commission in the twin cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica, situated on the Italian-Slovenian border. These cities jointly hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2025. Discussions during the event focused on the role of Interreg territorial cooperation programs in addressing shared challenges and opportunities. 

The event featured the participation of European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto who underlined how "Interreg promotes the right to stay in cross-border areas. And cross-border cooperation in fields like healthcare, education and tourism. This improves the quality of public services and makes border regions more attractive".

Juraj Droba, COTER Vice-President, who represented the CoR President at the event called for "Interreg to be recognised as one of the EU's most important tools for strengthening the Single Market and removing its obstacles", said Mr Droba. The programme fosters cohesion and addresses cross-border obstacles while promoting on-the-ground collaboration. "Interreg plays a pivotal role in boosting the competitiveness and attractiveness of our regions. The Committee of the Regions, including through its European Cross-Border Platform, is fully committed to ensuring the continued success and growth of Interreg programmes in the future", Mr Droba added.

ECR member and President of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Massimiliano Fedriga opened the session underlining how Gorizia and Nova Gorica represent the first example of a European capital shared between two Member States. "Today we celebrate not only the past and the present, but the future of cooperation. Cohesion policy is indispensable, it has proved to be powerful in boosting the economic growth of local territories while respecting identities, values, and local traditions", said Mr Fedriga.

During his intervention, Pavel Branda, Deputy Mayor of Rádlo, emphasised the "value of Interreg in enhancing European competitiveness, and to completing the single market". He called for a "greater focus on removing cross-border obstacles", pointing out that it is estimated that removing just 20% of legal and administrative obstacles would boost border regions' GDP by 2%.