ESPON Internal Seminar 5-6 December 2012 in Paphos

1. ESPON Internal Seminar 5-6 December 2012 in Paphos EU Strategies for the Baltic Sea and Danube (macro) Regions

2. Structure • EU Strategies for European Macro Regions • The Baltic Sea Region • Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and regions of Eastern Russia • The Danube Region • Germany (especially Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine • Conclusions

3. EU Baltic Sea Region

4. EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy (1) • Strategic Aims • An Environmentally Sustainable Place (“Save the Sea”) • Reduce nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable levels • Preserve natural zones and biodiversity, including fisheries • Reduce the use and impact of hazardous substances • Become a model region for clean shipping • Mitigate and adapt to climate change • A Prosperous Place (“Increase Prosperity”) • Remove hindrances to the internal market in the Baltic Sea Region including to improve cooperation in the customs and tax area • Exploit the full potential of the region in research and innovation • Implementing the Small Business Act: to promote entrepreneurship, strengthen SMEs and increase the efficient use of human resources • Reinforce sustainability of agriculture, forestry and fisheries

5. EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy (2) • Strategic Aims • An Accessible And Attractive Place (“Connect the Region”) • Improve the access to, and the efficiency and security of the energy markets • Improve internal and external transport links • Maintain and reinforce attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education, youth, tourism, culture and health • A Safe And Secure Place • Become a leading region in maritime safety and security • Reinforce protection from major emergencies at sea and on land • Decrease the volume of, and harm done by, cross border crime

6. EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy (3) • Horisontal Actions • Align available funding and policies to the priorities and actions • Cooperate on the transposition of EU Directives • Develop integrated maritime governance structures • Become a pilot project in Marine Strategy Framework Directive • Encourage the use of Maritime Spatial Planning and develop a common approach for cross-border cooperation • Develop and complete Land-based Spatial Planning • Strengthen multi-level governance, place-based planning and sustainable development • Transform successful pilot and demonstration projects into full-scale actions • Use research as a base for policy decisions • Ensure fast broadband connection for rural areas • Define and implement the Baltic Sea basin component of the European Marine Observation Data Network (EMODNET) and improve socio-economic data • Build a regional identity • Support for sustainable development of the fisheries areas

7. EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy (4) • Many projects, some considered Flagship projects • Financed using existing funding, no new funds • Implementation via coordination of policies and funds • Seed funds recently made an option • Latest request from the Commission • • Improvements to the strategic focus • Better reflection of the Europe 2020 objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth • •Greater thematic concentration • Alignment of policies and funding • • Clarification of responsibilities of different actors • • Better communication

8. EU Danube Region

9. EU Danube Region Strategy (1) • The Strategy contains a detailed Action Plan based around four pillars • Connecting the Danube Region • (e.g. improving mobility, encouraging sustainable energy and promoting culture and tourism) • Protecting the environment in the Danube Region • (e.g. restoring water quality, managing environmental risks and preserving biodiversity) • Building prosperity in the Danube Region • (e.g. developing research capacity, education and information technologies, supporting the competitiveness of enterprises and investing in people’s skills) • Strengthening the Danube Region • (e.g. stepping up institutional capacity and improving cooperation to tackle organised crime)

10. EU Danube Region Strategy (2) • The Strategy • Open-ended, however including a number of time-limited targets: • Increasing cargo transport on the Danube by 20% by 2020 • Reduce nutrients to restore eco-systems of the Black Sea to 1960 levels by 2020 • Bring broadband fast-speed internet access to all EU citizens in the region by 2013 • Secure a viable population of Danube sturgeons by 2020

11. EU Danube Region Strategy (3) • To achieve targets the Strategy lists a series of Actions, • also making an important contribution to achieving the broader Europe 2020 goals for sustainable and smart growth, including: • Modernisation of the fleet of ships for the rivers • Construction of two bridges over the river between Romania and Bulgaria • Promotion of the Danube region as a tourist destination • Building of waste water treatment plants where required • Establishment of joint research centres • Improvement of living conditions of Roma communities

12. Conclusions • The EU macro regional strategies is a tool for better coordination, cross-sector and multi-level, of policies and available Funds • The Strategies do not include visions on territorial development of the macro region and on places for action • Actions defining where initiatives are taken comes bottom up, exploring the diversity of the territories involved • Fairly similar priority areas of strategies: Environment, Economy, Connectivity and Access, Attraction, Safety, Security and Institutional Capacity • Best experience probably in Governance providing more integrated implementation of actions and funds uptake • Contribution to territorial cohesion aims and TA 2020 not an explicit aim

13. More information • Thank you for your attention • Please visit • www.espon.eu