ICAMCyL calls for a greater role for regions in cohesion policy
Icamcyl in the media / 29-09-2025
The director of the ICAMCyL Foundation, Santiago Cuesta López, took part in a meeting chaired by Rafaelle Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms of the European Commission, held in Brussels under the title: Dialogue on the Implementation of EU Funding and Regional Competitiveness, according to the statement issued by the organization.
Cuesta, representing ICAMCyL, presented a series of concrete proposals to boost regional competitiveness, business growth, and the sustainable development of the regions.
These proposals are structured around five lines of work:
• Work by missions, not isolated projects. Instead of funding one-off actions, the aim is to drive the entire value chain. This way, local initiatives will have a greater chance of consolidating and reaching the market.
• Strengthen investment in small regions. Through the creation of investor clubs, interregional testbeds, and specific funds that enable innovative SMEs to overcome the so-called “valley of death,” attracting investment, economic dynamism, and population to smaller and more depopulated regions, as opposed to the current major population hubs.
• Create interregional investment offices (I3) that bring together civil society, local authorities, clusters, and investors, serving as launch and development platforms for projects.
• Streamline administrative processes for granting permits and processing investment projects with the collaboration of the European Union, as well as regional and national administrations.
• Simplify access to funds. Reduce bureaucracy so that SMEs can devote their efforts to innovating and growing rather than to the administrative management of this funding.
