The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Belgium will host the 13th October 2026 in Brussels the event Abruzzo and Europe’s Inner Areas – New Strategies for Territorial Attractiveness and Resilience, dedicated to the new perspectives of development, competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s inner areas.

Building on the experience of Abruzzo, the initiative will explore the role of cohesion policies and territorial investments in transforming inner areas into increasingly attractive territories for businesses, investments and qualified human capital.

At the heart of the discussion will be investments in services, infrastructure, innovation and institutional capacity, as tools to strengthen local ecosystems, create new development opportunities and enable talents to build their future in their home territories.

The programme will bring together representatives from the Abruzzo Region, OECD, European Commission – DG REGIO, Amazon Italy, ANCI Abruzzo and Formez PA, promoting dialogue between the regional, European and international levels and the exchange of experiences on new strategies for competitiveness, innovation and sustainable development of internal areas.

Among the most significant moments of the event, the conclusions will be entrusted to Marco Marsilio, President of the Abruzzo Region, with a speech dedicated to the future of European internal areas through cohesion and cooperation.

Programme

Opening greetings

• Fabio Morvilli, President, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Belgium
• Moderator: Maria Anna De Troia, Formez PA

Territorial attractiveness and competitiveness

• Stefano Cianciotta, Chief of Staff of the President of the Abruzzo Region

Cohesion policies and new opportunities for Abruzzo

• Emanuela Murri, Abruzzo Region

Services, infrastructure and territorial connections

• Mariangela Tucceri, Abruzzo Region

Place-based policies and resilient territories in Europe

• Dorothée Allain-Dupré, OECD – Regional Development and Multi-level Governance

Transforming cohesion policy into territorial attractiveness: the Abruzzo ERDF Programme

• Arturo Polese, European Commission – DG REGIO
  

Territorial attractiveness from the investors' perspective

• Rita Malavasi, Head of Public Policy, Amazon Italy

Capacity building and Artificial Intelligence for territorial attractiveness

• Maria Rosaria Russo, Formez PA

The experience of the internal areas of Abruzzo

• Pierluigi Biondi, President ANCI Abruzzo

Conclusions

• Marco Marsilio, President of the Abruzzo Region

At the end of the conference, at 19:15, a networking moment, which will offer participants an additional opportunity for direct discussion with speakers, institutional representatives and present stakeholders.

Participation is subject to registration, and places are limited.