The presence of Lombardy Region at the heart of EU Institutions in Brussels provides an effective technical and administrative tool to facilitate the interaction between the Regional Government Authority and various actors at EU level. This, in order to strengthen the coordination between regional and European policies. The Brussels office carries out a variety of strategic activities in all EU areas of regional interest, promoting the entire Lombardy system at European level.
What do we do
The main activities of the Delegation are:
Representing the interests of Lombardy Region in all the EU Institutions (Council, European Commission, European Parliament etc.) also through a permanent contact with the Italian Embassy, the Permanent Representation to the EU, the Italian and European regional representations and the territorial associations.
Cooperating with the most important European networks of Regions to lobby the EU Institutions in coordination with our partners around the continent, particularly in view of new regulations or determination of the directly managed EU programs (i.e. 4 Motors for Europe, Vanguard Initiative, NEREUS, ECRN).
Coordinating the “Lombardy system” in Brussels together with all the socio-economic actors from the Region by supporting their interests and offering them information and technical assistance in the framework of EU regulatory and financial opportunities (i.e. call for proposals, seminars or information and dissemination workshop in coordination with the regional Directorates).
For this purpose, within the offices of the Brussels Delegation it has been established “Casa della Lombardia” which is the expression of the economic, cultural and social context of the Lombardy Region. Casa della Lombardia offices gather the most relevant actors and stakeholders from the territory - Universities, Chamber of commerce, Associations among others - with the ultimate objective to create a comprehensive ecosystem that works coordinately into the best regional interest.
General address and contacts
Place du Champ De Mars, 2 - B1050 Bruxelles
lombardia_ue@regione.lombardia.it
Tel: +32 2 518 76 00
Giuseppe Costa
Director
giuseppe_costa@regione_lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 5187610
Marina Sicuro
Administrative management
marina_sicuro@regione.lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 5187601
Leonardo Lorusso
Education, training, jobs and sport
leonardo_lorusso@regione.lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 518 7641
Folco Ciulli
Industry, infrastructures, mobility and environment, energy, climate change
folco_ciulli@regione.lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 5187611
Roberta Negriolli
Culture, tourism, territorial cooperation and civil protection
roberta_negriolli@regione.lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 5187604
The Delegation will be responsible for monitoring and lobbying on key EU dossiers regarding environmental, energy, and climate change policies. In particular: the "Clean Air Package", the EU strategy for renewable energies; the "Circular Economy" package; Biodiversity - Natura 2000; the implementation of the post-COP21 agreements – Paris; and the management of water resources. It will also support the participation of EU Direct funds promoted by the EC, that is, LIFE and Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 3-5.
folco_ciulli@regione.lombardia.it
tel. +32 2 5187611
Education sectors have the main aim to oversee a wide range of European cultural, youth, sports and educational programs in order to encourage the participation of the stakeholders from Lombardy, notably Creative Europe and Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and European for Citizens. It supports also the Regional ministers in charge of these policies to set up all kind of actions (advocacy, capacity building, technical assistance and communication) whose objective is, among others, to promote the mobility of students and apprentices, the knowledge and the preservation of cultural heritage of Lombardy as well as the development of the cultural and creative industries, the social inclusion and the availability of sporting opportunities.
It also coordinate the participation of the Lombardy Region to the European Network such as RESET (education and training), ESN (Social), Enos (sport).
leonardo_lorusso@regione.lombardia.it
+32 2 518 7641
With over one million hectares devoted to Agriculture, Lombardy is the main agricultural region of Italy. It has a long history of producing and processing agricultural products and food for consumption throughout Europe. The regional agro-food sector as a whole is clearly emphasised by the Lombardy Smart Specialisation Strategy. Meanwhile, the European Common Agricultural Policy still represents an important slice of the EU budget: in the complex framework of the CAP, the Delegation is mainly committed to the development of initiatives related to the position of the paper; Promoting European Local Food Systems, which was signed by several European Regions and Networks during EXPO Milan 2015. With regards to the Research and Innovation field, the Societal Challenge "Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy of the Horizon 2020 programme represents a significant opportunity, as do the development of the European platform; European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability and the Vanguard Initiative on the bio-economy, which Lombardy co-leads at the European level.
The Delegation is also deeply involved in the defence of the Cohesion Policy for the post-2020 period, which over the years has been securing a significant amount of important resources for the region through the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). It is crucial to build alliances and partnerships with other European regions and try to participate in shaping the future of this fundamental policy, bearing in mind the principles of simplification and flexibility, the focus on results, and developing closer links with EU Economic Governance. In this framework, particular attention is dedicated to the financial instruments as well as to the synergies between ESIF funds and other European funds.
Industrial Policy: the most important political dossiers we are dealing with are: the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership) and China MES (Market Economy Status). Both dossiers have a direct impact on the economy of the region, and therefore it is essential to constantly monitor the evolution of the negotiations and work with the European Parliament to support the positions of the Lombardy production system at the highest level. Other topics of great interest are the EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments) and the Design for Europe policy.
In addition, the work within European Networks such ECRN (European Chemical Regions Network) and NEREUS (Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies) is crucial: the chemical and aerospace industries are fundamental pillars of the regional industrial system. Last but not least, the cooperation within the "House of Lombardy" framework with Assolombarda, FederlegnoArredo Furniture and Unioncamere Lombardia allows the Delegation to give targeted support to all industrial sectors of the region, both in terms of funding programs and legislative monitoring.
Infrastructures and Mobility: the most relevant activities are related to policies and projects on inland waterways. In particular, the waterways of the Po in collaboration with the Interregional Agency for the Po River (AIPO), which have won several European projects co-financed by "TEN-T programmes" and the "Connecting Europe Facility". Finally, the Region of Lombardy is on the Board of the European Network "Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Electro-mobility in European Regions" (HyER), which is developing a range of actions on Sustainable Mobility, a priority for the Ministry for Infrastructure and Mobility.
folco_ciulli@regione.lombardia.it
+32 2 5187611
The delegation follows the implementation of European Research and Innovation (R&I) policies aimed at achieving the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, the Flagship Initiative Innovation Union and the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy / Flagship Initiative Innovation Union. This is reflected in the support for the participation of the regional system in the Horizon 2020 program, which finances research and innovation of excellence, joint strategic programming and the creation of the European Research Area. The involvement of the Lombardy Region in the development and implementation of policies for R&I aims to improve the competitiveness of the regional system, growth and employment, while at the same time facing social challenges.
The delegation also follows the implementation of the "Together for health" strategy within Europe 2020, which intends to transform the EU into an intelligent, sustainable and inclusive economy, capable of promoting growth for all. To achieve this goal, the good health of the population is a fundamental requirement.
As from the beginning of 2020, the Delegation closely monitors all measures taken by the European Union to fight against the Covid-19 outbreak. Particular attention is given to EU initiatives in the Public Health and Research & Innovation sectors in order to promptly inform about relevant actions to uptake with the scope of supporting regional authorities in the management of the emergency and their efforts towards the mitigation of negative socio-economic impacts.
Macro-regional strategies provide a new way for EU and non-EU Member States, regions and local stakeholders to cooperate. Regione Lombardia has been strongly involved in the European Strategy for the Alpine Area (EUSALP) since its foundation, and presently leads Action Group 1 on Research and Innovation. Our region is equally involved in the European Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region. Macro-regional strategies are intertwined with and connected to European territorial cooperation, EU direct funds, and other national and regional funding sources in order to pursue the Action plans' objectives.
Furthermore, these themes are followed up through the activity of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), namely via support for the CoR's Lombard members in their respective functions. Regarding the “Four Motors for Europe - which includes the regions of Lombardy (IT), Auvergne-Rhône Alpes (FR), Catalonia (ES) and Baden-Württemberg (DE) – our Delegation provides necessary support to the involved delegations in Brussels for on-going projects.
roberta_negriolli@regione.lombardia.it
+32 2 5187604
The activity focuses on the relevant European legislation, the sentences of the EU Court of Justice and the practices of the European Commission, with attention also directed at the ascendant phase of the related discipline. In particular, the Delegation provides assistance and support to the regional General Directorates, and in close collaboration with Unit Advocacy, European affairs, and legal support, cultivates contacts with the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission during the notification and pre-notification procedures, and deals with requests for information from the Commission and/or in the case of launching of formal investigations. The Delegation also maintains and develops an on-going dialogue on state aid matters with the Italian Representation to the EU and other regional delegations in Brussels.
Concerning civil protection, the Delegation follows in particular the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the resources allocated in the annual work programme. The Mechanism, reformed with Decision 1313/2013EU, governs European cooperation on civil protection and the associated financial planning for the period 2014-2020. In addition, as part of the Horizon 2020 programme, within the third pillar “Societal Challenges”, the challenge ‘Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens’ offers significant opportunities regarding the issue of civil protection, according to which the Delegation carries out monitoring and reporting activities.