On March 31st, Siegfried attended the ceremony in Brussels.
The objective of the RegioStars Awards is to identify good practices in regional development and to highlight original and innovative projects which could be attractive and inspiring to other regions. This year, Siegfried was among the jurors who first shortlisted 19 finalists from 80 projects on the basis of four key criteria: innovation, impact, sustainability and partnership, and then nominated the winners of the prestigious RegioStars 2014 Awards to Europe's most promising and innovative regional Projects.. At the ceremony, these were announced by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Regional Policy and Luc Van den Brande, former Committee of the Regions President. Four projects outshined the competition: in Paredes (North Portugal), Cornwall (UK), West Wales and the Valleys (UK) and the Polish region of Gdynia. The winners for 2014 are:• Category 1: Smart Growth - <link http: ec.europa.eu regional_policy videos _blank>"Art on Chairs"• Category 2: Sustainable Growth - <link http: ec.europa.eu regional_policy projects stories _blank>BEACON• Category 3: Inclusive Growth - <link http: ec.europa.eu regional_policy projects stories _blank>"Fifteen Cornwall Apprenticeship Programme"• Category 4: CityStar - <link http: ec.europa.eu regional_policy projects stories _blank>Ecological Transport This year's event came at a crucial time as Member States are finalising their strategic investment plans, the so-called "Partnership Agreements" on how to spend the European Structural and Investment Funds over the next seven years. The Awards Ceremony showcased the first projects reflecting the reform of Cohesion Policy. Videos of the winning projects can be found on the <link http: ec.europa.eu regional_policy projects regiostars _blank>RegioStars Website.