1 / 26

THE EUROPEAN ADVOCACY NETWORK ON DEPOPULATION

THE EUROPEAN ADVOCACY NETWORK ON DEPOPULATION. Cuenca, Evrytania, Licka-Senj, Soria & Teruel Gospic , February 21, 2017. PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION

mingle
Download Presentation

THE EUROPEAN ADVOCACY NETWORK ON DEPOPULATION

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. THE EUROPEAN ADVOCACY NETWORK ON DEPOPULATION Cuenca, Evrytania, Licka-Senj, Soria & Teruel Gospic, February 21, 2017

  2. PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION To inform about the objectives and activity of the Southern Sparsely Populated Areas (SSPA) network and to invite the Licko-senjska županija authorities and other qualified partners to join in to get the EU and member States establish a policy especifically aimed at solving our common problem for the 2021-2027 programming period. The rules of the game How? What now? Why? Diagnose & scenario The EU territorial cohesion policy Our strategy Next steps AIM To share our project with you, to know your views and needs, to invite you to participate, to cooperate in spreading the messages that express our common views and to work hand in hand on the new tasks ahead… …together we can!!!

  3. Why? Diagnose DEPOPULATION AGEING 25% population >65 years (Spain 18%) 10 pop/km2(Spain 92) 50% territory <4 pop/km2. … and there is still a third aspect: the demographic tendency

  4. Why? Diagnose DEPOPULATION AGEING 24.7% population >65 years (Croatia 18.8%) 9.5 pop/km2(Croatia 75.49) … and there is still a third aspect: the demographic tendency

  5. Why? Diagnose Cuenca, Soria & Teruel have lost 30% of their population. Seville has multiplied it by almost 3.5. In 115 years Teruel has lost 43% of its population (Spain +150%) In 111 years Lika-Senj has lost 73% of its population!!! (Croatia +65%) We are too little, too old and have gone worse too fast… are our territories inviable?

  6. Why? Scenario Does anyone out there have the same problems? No other territory has lost so much population but many have serious structural problems 20 EU NUTS III areas have <10 pop/km2. In 2050 34% de of the European will be <60 years (now 23%). Our problems are serious, but not unique… … why do Scandinavians receive EU funds to fight depopulation but NOT us?

  7. The rules of the game The EU Territorial Cohesion policy 1986 Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal 1995 Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland STRUCTURAL FUNDS 1989-1993 Objetivo 1. Least developed regions Objetivo 2. Regions in industrial reconversion Objetivo 3. Fight against unemployment Objetivo 4. Fight against youth unemployment Objetivo 5 a. Transformation of rural economy Objetivo 5 b. Development of most rural regions STRUCTURAL FUNDS 1994-1999 Objetive 6. Promoting the development and adjustment of NUTS 2 regions with a very low population density (<8 hab/km2) 1,109 million ECU in 1995-1999 • Protocole No. 6of the Act of Accession of Sweden and Finland states the conditions under which both countries (joined soon by Norway) would receive extraordinary European funding to fight depopulation

  8. The rules of the game Why Cuenca, Evrytania, Lika-Senj, Soria & Teruel? Why Cuenca, Evrytania, Lika-Senj, Soria & Teruel and not other areas? These are the sole areas of the EU legally and statistically recognized by the EU as Sparsely Populated Areas (SPA). The Association Agreement between Spain and the EU for the 2014-2020 programming period took it into account. …we did not choose our partners, the EU legal framework did it!

  9. The rules of the game The EU territorial cohesion policy THE EU PRIORITIES 1. Employment Jobs for 75% of the population between 20 and 64 years 2.I+D+i Investment of 3% of the EU GDP in I+D 3.Climate change and energy sustainability Emissions of greenhouse gases 20% (or 30% if conditions exist) lower than 1990 levels; 20% renewable energy; 20% increase in energy efficiency. 4. Education Dropout rates below 10%; 40% of people aged 30 to 34 years must complete higher education. 5.Combating poverty and social exclusion Reduce by at least 20 million the number of people in situation or risk of poverty and social exclusion.

  10. The rules of the game Is our problem a EU priority? The Strategic Plan for Europe (EUROPE 2020) does not mention depopulation among its priorities At present any request for European funds must be aimed at the 5 objectives expressed in the document Europe 2020... …if we want our problems to be a priority for Europe in thenext programming period 2021-2027we must start working now...but how?

  11. How? …the steps taken so far 2009/2012 The results of a LEADER interterritorial cooperation project meant a turning point. Depopulation was defined to be the main priority of the Teruel Business Association. 2012 For the first time a (non-binding) EU document highlights the demographic situation of Cuenca, Evrytania, Lika-Senj, Soria and Teruel as well as the Arctic regions of Scandinavia. 2013 The business associations of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel make the report: "Cuenca, Soria and Teruel as Southern Sparsely Populated Areas"

  12. How? …the steps taken so far 2014 MOTION adopted by the LOWER CHAMBER of the PARLIAMENT OF SPAIN On the Government's policy regarding the recognition of the provinces of Teruel, Soria and Cuenca as sparsely populated areas within the European UnionUnión Europea. «The Congress of Deputies, aware of the serious disadvantage for the development of the provinces of Teruel, Soria and Cuenca that is their great depopulation, urges the Government to make before the European Union all the necessary actions for the recognition of the provinces of Teruel, Soria and Cuenca as sparsely populated areas in order to obtain the support provided by the Structural Funds and the European Social Fund for areas with this problem, and expressly supports the efforts being made by the business confederations of these provinces.» No. 173/000158, approved by the Plenary of the Congress of Deputies in its session of June 26, 2014 2014 The Government of Spain recognizes the provinces of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel as sparsely populated areas and includes them in its association agreement with the EU for the period 2014/20.

  13. How? …the steps taken so far 2014/2015 - Fact-finding committee for the adoption of measures in relation to rural depopulation in Spain. - Fact-finding committee on measures to be adopted to avoid depopulation of mountain areas. 2015/2016 The Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of Aragon 2014-2020 recognizes an Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) for the province of Teruel. CEOE Teruel requests to be part of the ITI governance council.

  14. How? …the steps taken so far 2016 - The business associations of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel join the EU Transparency Register. - They hire the services of a communication and consulting firm specialized in EU lobbing. - They sign the foundational agreement of the SSPA network, a EU lobby created to represent the common interests of any public or private bodies committed to change the economic and demographic decline of these areas. -Initiate contacts with other organizations from Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Scotland

  15. How? …the principles of our strategy Scrupulous respect for the EU “rules of the game”… Strategy… …both formally (transparency, accuracy, legitimacy) and in substantially (smart, sustainable and inclusive growth) …a long-lasting action adapted to the ressources available Recognition of mistakes made… …our past experience gives us more stable grounds for our management capacity Complicity with other territories… …with all these valuable partners that may share our strategy

  16. Now: what do we… …must, want or can do? OBJECTIVE… What? To make the fight against depopulation and ageing be considered a priority in both the national and European political agenda JUSTIFICATION… Why? Functional deterioration of the socio-economic structure of rural sparsely populated areas… lack of any future recovery prospects Application and development of Artícles 174 and 175 of the Treaty on the Functionning of the EU SCALES OF ACTION… Where? Regional National European

  17. Now: what do we… …must, want or can do? METHODOLOGY… How? Regional Designing a regional strategy against depopulation Sustainable, participatory and in line with European principles and strategies National Working to ensure that such strategy be adopted by regional and national policies Empowerment and dissemination of the project and its strategy among decision makers European Creating alliances with other territories with our own problems and challenges Principle of mutual interest between strategic partners (common front)

  18. Evolution of the population of the Highlands and Islands. 1851/2014 Población (miles) Highlands & Islands Development Board Highlands and Islands Enterprise Years

  19. LOBBYING FOR THE EUROPEAN SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS The NUTs 3 Southern Sparsely Populated Areas network http://www.nspa-network.eu/ Association of 14 sparsely populated regions of Sweden, Finland and Norway that share specific problems, structure, objectives and strategies Made up of regional governments but embracing groups of interest, partners, development agencies,etc. of these territories Identifies opportunities for action and project financing, designs common strategies and coordinates public and private actors A well recognized interlocutor vis-à-vis European institutions and a policy influence--> lobby

  20. Constituted by the employers' organizations of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel in November 2016, but with the aim to expand and collaborate with other partners and territories of Southern Europe FINLAND: Regions of Lapland, Northern Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia Central, Kainuu, North Karelia, Pohjois-Savo and Etelä-Savo. SWEDEN: Regions of Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland and Västernorrland. SCOTLAND (United Kingdom): Highlands and Islandscounties CROATIA: Lika-Senj county GREECE: Evrytania regional unit. “Contact with all the European territories officially recognized as sparsely populated”

  21. SSPA is already considered as a new qualified partner to other organizations… Invitación: Arctic Innovation Camp, Rovaniemi, 16-19 November, 2016 A major event in which a 60 people from Scandinavia and other European countries of al ages, backgrounds, origins and cultures designed and supported together the development of a new smart in the North and other parts or Europe. “Revision of the NSPA strategy”

  22. The SSPA network is also recognized by the Spanish government and the European institutions as qualified partner in the design of policies to fight depopulation… “To participate and influence in the design of policies against depopulation”

  23. Working within a SSPA network makes sense... • To take the initiative from our own territories. We want to be the owners of our future • To show the EU that the SSPA strategy is shared byall territory actors (entrepreneurs, local and regional powers, social and cultural partners NGOs…) Participation and committment • To find together new funding and action possibilites. Transparency and co-responsibility • To make use off existing structures and tools without having to create new ones. Efficiency and opportunity

  24. SSPA financing We do not know how much time and money it will tak to make our proposals be assumed by the EU institutions and member States… …according to our experience, we know this requires joint efforts. Each SSPA partner covers its own expenses to the limit of its financial capacities… …there are no contribution fees and any commonly shared expenditure is previously agreed among the partners. There are no common structures... …although the Spanish business associations have undertaken the task of coordinating the SSPA partners and ensuring internal communication.

  25. Coordination… What for? Regional Designing a regional strategy against depopulation National Working for such strategy to be included in regional and national policies European Building alliances with other regions having the same problems, challenges and vision Common activities Meetings; qualified consultancy reports; event organization; study travels...

  26. THANK YOU VERY MUCH

More Related