Today we reach the 100th event milestone as the Hungarian delegation is visiting peers in Lithuania to exchange good practices in implementing financial instruments for energy efficiency. On this festive occasion, our sincerest congratulations and special thanks go to the Hungarian Development Bank, the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania and the Public Investment Development Agency of Lithuania, but also to all institutions and practitioners who have already taken part in this journey!
Launched only 2 years ago by DG Regional and Urban Policy, in close co-operation with DG NEAR, TAIEX-REGIO PEER 2 PEER is a widely appreciated and simple-to-use tool, designed to help Member States administrations meet more easily and share their experience on various topics related to the management of the European Structural and Investment Funds. The initiative is part of Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu's priority to help Member States improve the way EU funds are invested and managed.
The success of the instrument is confirmed by the numbers. The Commission has so far received 171 requests for exchanges of which 100 have taken place as of today, involving 1500 participants from 25 EU Member States. The variety of topics covered in these exchanges is big, ranging from management and control issues to financial instruments, urban development, smart specialisation, public procurement, etc. In their feedback, Member States say the instrument is helpful, easy to use and non-bureaucratic.
Information and presentations from all past events as well as the online forms for applications are available on Inforegio website. Hurry up, our next target is #200!