After a intensive  and constructive period of preparations and consultations  Commissioner Elisa Ferreira announced on 6 July 2022 that the European Commission has approved the new ESPON programme 2021-2027. The new programme in its approved version will be soon available on our website.

What are now the next steps?

What is now remaining is the approval of the Operation Proposal submitted by ESPON EGTC as the single beneficiary for the Programme to the ESPON Monitoring Committee. Approval  is envisaged for August – September 2022, meaning the implementation of the first activities of the new programme can start at the same time. 

So, what is the focus at the start of the programme? 

In the first round ESPON will focus its activities on four thematic priorities implemented via so-called Thematic Action Plans (TAPs): 

• Climate-neutral territories: green transition towards a climate-neutral economy. To further developing the knowledge base on territorial patterns in relation to the green transition, in order to encourage and stimulate European territories to transition towards climate neutrality by 2050.
• Governance of new geographies: new functional territories facing a state of uncertainty or challenges. Develop knowledge the base on emerging new geographies in terms of their delineations, functional and cooperation arrangements and the actors and stakeholders involved.
• Places resilient to crises: specific strengths for withstanding and adapting to crises. Creating territorial evidence on European territorial vulnerability to different types of crises, to help territories strengthen their adaptation, mitigation and recovery capacities.
• Perspectives for all people and places: balanced territorial development and fewer inequalities and disparities. Developing the knowledge base on territorial patterns of social and economic convergence to promote more balanced territorial development and fewer disparities between people and places. 

More information about each of the TAPs can be found on the ESPON website on the page dedicated to the consultation organised in relation to these themes. More TAPs are shall be agreed during 2023, after consultation with stakeholders, in the same way as this was done as with the first four. In total, a maximum of 10 TAPs are expected to be implemented by the ESPON EGTC during the whole programming period, subject to the approval of the Monitoring Committee.

More detailed information about opportunities to get involved in the new programme’s activities will be provided on the ESPON website from September 2022 on. In the meantime, we invite you to take a look at the descriptions of the first TAPs. If you would like to get involved and have a specific interest in any of them, please contact us at ESPON EGTC, we are happy to provide you with further guidance.