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Speech given yesterday by commissioner Gabriel.

"Check against delivery"

Commissioner Gabriel,

Dear Andrey,

Honourable members,

Dear colleagues,

The New European Bauhaus is built on a positive vision: a belief that the green transition is not defined by what we lose, but by what we gain. That it is possible to achieve “sustainability with style”, that the green economy can bring a better and more beautiful life for everyone.

Our journey towards this better green future will be built step by step by actions at the local level, as local people find new ideas to transform their local area. Because actions under the New European Bauhaus cannot be divorced from place and the use of geographical space.

This makes cohesion policy an ideal partner for the Bauhaus. We have established relationships with local partners, we have a long history of community-based and participatory methods, empowering residents and communities. We are used to working in partnership with all the different levels of government and with stakeholders in respect of the partnership principle.

We are already at work encouraging and mobilising local communities in urban and rural areas. As managing authorities at national and regional levels are finalising the new generation of cohesion programmes, we are encouraging them to lay a foundation for actions which support the New European Bauhaus.

19 Member States have already included the New European Bauhaus in their Partnership Agreements, adopted or under discussion with the European Commission.

As a next step, it will be important to integrate the New European Bauhaus in mainstream operational programmes, reaching rural and urban areas, cultural activities as well as business and SME support.

In all these areas we encourage managing authorities to “think Bauhaus”. As they set up the projects, which are the bedrock of our policy, we ask: why not make them also beautiful and inclusive? How can we bring a positive experience to local people? Why not co-design the projects with local architects and artists? Or discuss them with neighbouring communities?

There is a menu of options how Member States can support New European Bauhaus projects with cohesion funding.

Let me give you just a few examples: first, community-led local development approaches are particularly geared to the NEB participatory, grass-roots potential; second, the New European Bauhaus values – aesthetics, sustainability, inclusiveness can be integrated in the qualitative criteria in locally launched calls for proposals to go beyond cost and economic considerations; third, the Commission has launched a number of Bauhaus calls over the past months under various programmes directly managed by us: such as projects on social housing or lighthouse demonstrators under Horizon, for example.

I invite you to reach out to your constituencies in your regions and home country capitals to promote such support and incentivise policy makers to “think New European Bauhaus” as well.

We all know that the New European Bauhaus sets a level of ambition which is beyond our normal way of operation. We often hear that for some Member States, for smaller regions and municipalities, it is more difficult to engage in multidisciplinary projects, or to grasp what makes a project a Bauhaus project.

This is why, in addition to the dedicated calls under different programmes, cohesion funds will support NEB projects with dedicated financing to: first, provide technical assistance, making sure that those smaller municipalities which want to participate in the initiative but don't have the means to, can get involved.

On the 30^th of March we launched a competitive call for “Support to New European Bauhaus Local Initiatives”. This provides technical assistance to a total of 2.5 million euros, for incubation of around 20 New European Bauhaus projects across the EU. The call will be open until the 23rd of May. And we hope that the methodology developed can be replicated and used by other municipalities too.

Second, later this year we will announce a dedicated call within the Urban Innovative Actions. As you know, this is cohesion's instrument for urban projects experimentation and innovation. This call will release 20 million euros to implement innovative solutions in different dimensions of urban life in line with the New European Bauhaus principles.

Third, in collaboration with the European Investment Bank, the European Commission will launch the first dedicated  New European Bauhaus Financial Instrument – an off-the-shelf financial instrument that Member States can choose to channel cohesion funding to investments fitting the New European Bauhaus values, combining a grant and repayable support.

And we know that there are many, many excellent examples and ideas for New European Bauahus projects in Europe – for a second year in a row, the New European Bauhaus Prizes will showcase good practices, examples, and concepts that clearly illustrate the triad of Bauhaus core values: sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion.

In the very first edition, we received such great inspiration: Community gardens bringing a piece of rural life to city rooftops. Abandoned industrial sites turned into vibrant collaborative spaces. Inspiring concepts for bottom-up urban regeneration projects. And much, much more.

This year's prizes promise to be even more inspiring and representative of what is happening already on the ground in all EU Member States. We just launched public voting yesterday 2 May, which will be open till the 16^th of May to have a prize by the public in addition to expertly evaluated winners among our finalists. And we of course also invite you to join us for the prizes ceremony on 11 June 2022 in Gare Maritime.

Today's session is dedicated to practice – and rightly so. Beyond investment, practice means engagement. It means advancing the NEB agenda together with our partners.

Let me highlight just a few more ways In which the New European Bauhaus is happening in practice today as announced in our communication and as mentioned in more detail by Mariya:

• The NEB Lab, our think and do tank was launched with its first specific tasks, such as regulatory analyses in the construction sector or the NEB labelling strategy, to attract crowd-funding, philanthropy and innovative ways of investment.
• We invite regions, municipalities and business to join the effort by becoming friends of the New European Bauhaus and becoming active agents in the initiative.
• We are working with a select group of people from different disciplines, including Shigeru Ban who is well known for his work on sustainable refugee accommodation, to make the NEB part of the of the solutions that we will offer to all those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

In conclusion, let me just stress the important role the European Parliament has played in advancing the New European Bauhaus movement.

You have been an active partner from the very start – and I thank the EPP Cohesion Monitoring Group – first of all, thanks to Andrey and EPP Members for creating the group and highlighting the importance and indispensable results of cohesion policy in Europe.

And second, for highlighting the central role of the New European Bauhaus in the growth and prosperity of Europeans and European territories across the Union.

I am very excited to have our very first discussion together on no other topic but the New European Bauhaus – and I look forward to our exchange today.

Click here for the full press release