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European Cohesion Policy improves the daily lives of mountain citizens

25.01.2022

Montana174 is a 12-month communication campaign on the Cohesion Policy in mountain areas, funded by the European Commission – DG REGIO, and coordinated by Euromontana. In December 2021, Montana174 showcased stories of 15 mountain citizens and how the Cohesion Policy improved their daily lives in mountains.

The European Cohesion Policy shapes mountain areas in various ways by funding initiatives related to a wide range of sectors and actions. For example, funds from the Cohesion Policy help to drive climate action in mountain areas, support the tourism sector, boost innovation and help improving mobility and access to education and employment for young people.

Montana174’s stories show how a computer specialist in the Lombardy Region (Italy) can now use a co-working space funded by cohesion funds, and how the owner of a rural multiservice shop in the Aragon Region (Spain) can now use shared electric vehicles to go to her shop, among other success stories.

To provide concrete examples of how Cohesion Policy has influenced these issues in the 2014-2020 programming period, Montana174 also published five thematic brochures. They show, for example, how initiatives funded by the Cohesion Policy help young people to find their first job in the Slovenian Alps, or how carpooling services, to and from work, can be set up in the French-Swiss Jura. To learn more, check out Montana174’s thematic brochures and newsletters, all available in English, Croatian, French, Italian, Slovenian and Spanish.

Montana174 intends to inform mountain stakeholders on how the current Cohesion Policy works. Therefore, in the next few months, it will publish a collection of factsheets to explain how mountain actors can access the new 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy funds to finance their own project. Local workshops in different mountain regions will also be organized to present these funds and how to benefit from them and answer questions from mountain citizens.

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News by Euromontana

Photo: Montana174 project