With a view to strengthening the single market as part of a continuous effort to stimulate investment in the European Union (EU), the Commission has presented an initiative to carry out public procurement more efficiently and in a sustainable way while at the same time making full use of digital technologies to simplify and speed up procedures. Public procurement represents a substantial part of our public investment: EUR 2 billion a year, which represents 14% of EU GDP. Ensuring that taxpayers' money is spent efficiently and effectively is in the common European interest.

The European Commission launches today the first "Europe in My Region" campaign to encourage citizens to discover and learn more about EU-funded projects all around Europe. Organised by Commission's Directorate-General for Regional Policy with the support of Managing Authorities and the Commission's Representations, "Europe in My Region" will run from 29 April to 11 June in 23 EU countries involving over 1,200 events with thousands of citizens expected to attend.

Today marks the launch of the RegioStars Awards 2016 by the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy.
The objective of RegioStars is to identify good practice in regional development and to highlight original and innovative projects which could be inspiring to other regions and project managers.

Now available here is a Practical Guide (in portuguese) for which the European Commission is responsible, on public procurement to assist administrations and beneficiaries to take full advantage of EU investment. The Guide is one of the action elements of the plan for public procurement, which is part of a broader initiative launched by Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, to help Member States and regions to improve the way to invest and manage the cohesion policy funds.

The European Commission recently launched its new publication "Ten priorities for Europe - a new start for Europe: the European Union's agenda for jobs, growth, equity and democratic change" as part of the collection "Understanding EU policies". The European Union is facing unprecedented challenges, from high unemployment, slow economic growth, economic uncertainty and a huge lack of investment, to migratory pressure and challenges in environmental and safety as well as the instability of its neighbor countries.

Today, the Commission adopted a Communication on the contribution of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) to the EU's growth strategy, the Investment Plan and theCommission's priorities over the next decade. The report also includes the outcomes of the negotiations with all the Member States on Partnership Agreements and programmes and the key challenges per country.

6 weeks have passed since Commissioner Ms Corina Creţu launched a public consultation on overcoming obstacles in border regions. We are now halfway through the consultation period and we need your help in getting as many replies as possible to the questionnaire! You can find it here. 

As a first step following the European Citizens' Initiative Right2Water, new rules adopted by the Commission today provide flexibility to Member States as to how drinking water quality is monitored in around 100 000 water supply zones in Europe. This will allow for more focused, risk-based monitoring, while ensuring full protection of public health.

It was recently published by the European Commission (EC) the Pocket Guide on the initiative "Innovation Union" under the Europe 2020 Strategy, which aims to create a Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. The future of Europe is linked to its innovation capacity. The solution is the "Innovation Union", a rich initiative in actions which aims to a Europe that favors innovation.

Now, in early September, an European Commission Report was published presenting Eurobarometer 423, with the results of surveys to citizens about the impact of European regional policy. The study was conducted in June 2015 and presents data relating to the 28 Member States about the perception of citizens on the impact of policies. The full report can be found here.