sk flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by TASR.

Slovak Delegation in the European Committee of the Regions to Focus on Cohesion Policy

by AI | 20.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Bratislava Governor Juraj Droba at the European Committee of the Regions event in Brussels on the importance of EU cohesion policy.

The chairman of the Bratislava region, Juraj Droba, and the head of the Slovak delegation in CoR on the importance of EU cohesion policy. PHOTO: TASR

Brussels – Throughout this week (February 19 to 21), the inaugural session of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is taking place in Brussels. The session confirmed nine members of the CoR from Slovakia and their nine alternates, who were assigned to various working committees and who will represent Slovak local governments in this advisory body for the European Union (EU) institutions for the next five years. This is reported by the Brussels correspondent of TASR.

In Slovakia, the nine positions in this institution are shared by the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS), the Union of Towns of Slovakia (ÚMS), and the association of self-governing regions SK8. The Nitra and Trenčín self-governing regions are not directly represented in the CoR; they only have alternates.

The head of the Slovak delegation in the Committee of the Regions remains the chairman of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (BSK/SK8) Juraj Droba. According to him, cohesion policy, which is of strategic importance for regional development and reducing disparities, is a key topic for all members of the national delegation.

“Members of the Slovak delegation also want to influence the setting of cohesion policy after 2027 through the European Committee of the Regions in order to strengthen the position of local governments in programming and implementing EU funds,” stated Droba.

The mayor of Chorvátsky Grob, Vladimíra Vydrová, appreciated that the chairman of the European Council, António Costa, also spoke at the inaugural plenary session of the CoR, highlighting the strengthening of European security, the support for the competitiveness of European companies, and the preservation of multilateral management of cohesion policy. According to her, this means that not everything will be governed by the European Commission within cohesion policy, but also by individual national and, in particular, regional levels.

Other members of the Slovak delegation in the CoR include the chairman of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, Ondrej Lunter (independent/SK8), the chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region, Rastislav Trnka (independent/SK8), the chairman of the Prešov Self-Governing Region, Milan Majerský (KDH/SK8), the chairman of the Trnava Self-Governing Region, Jozef Viskupič (PS/SK8), the mayor of Chorvátsky Grob, Vladimíra Vydrová (independent/ZMOS), the mayor of the town of Kežmarok, Ján Ferenčák (Hlas-SD/ÚMS), the mayor of Stará Ľubovňa, Ľuboš Tomko (independent/ZMOS), and the mayor of the town of Vrútky, Branislav Zacharides (independent/ZMOS). (February 20)

“Members of the Slovak delegation also want to influence the setting of cohesion policy after 2027 through the European Committee of the Regions in order to strengthen the position of local governments in programming and implementing EU funds.” Juraj Droba.