As part of EPRC's IQ-Net research programme on Structural Funds, EPRC organised an international conference on progress with implementing the Lisbon Agenda through Cohesion policy programmes in Prague on 13-15 December 2010, in collaboration with the Czech Ministry for Regional Development and the City of Prague.
The conference was attended by more than 50 delegates from 15 EU countries, together with a representative of the European Commission. The meeting gave IQ-Net partners the opportunity to assess progress with the delivery of Structural Funds programme objectives at the mid-term point of the programmes.
Particular emphasis was placed on assessing progress with implementing the Lisbon agenda at national and programme levels, and on identifying lessons for improving the delivery of the Lisbon agenda during the rest of the period, as well as contributing to the EU2020 strategy, based on EPRC research and a background paper written by Carlos Mendez, Stefan Kah and John Bachtler. The conference also gave network partners an early opportunity to discuss the messages of the Fifth Cohesion Report, which presents Commission thinking on the future of Cohesion policy after 2013.
Following the meeting, a study tour gave partners the opportunity to visit the EU-funded centre for experimental research of circulatory diseases and organ replacement (CEVKOON) at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, and the Dolni Pocernice district of Prague, where Structural Funds resources have been used to restore the historical centre and castle grounds.