Territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges

1. Territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007 Peter Schön, BBR Bonn

2. Recent discussion on Territorial Cohesion … • Structural Funds Communitystrategic guidelines on cohesion and the National Strategic Reference Frameworks • EU constitution / EU treaty • Territorial Agenda adopted at the Ministerial Meeting 2007 in Leipzig • based on scientific background documents: Territorial State and Perspective of the European Union • Fourth report on economic and social cohesion • Priorities, themes and results of the ESPON 2006 and ESPON 2013 Programmes

3. … identify important challenges for territorial cohesion • globalisation, competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship,knowledge society, research and innovation capacities, creating more and better jobs, increasing investment in human capital, growth and jobsagenda – Lisbon strategy • demographic change, ageing, depopulation, ensuring adequate quality and level of services • cultural diversity, social integration, exclusion • climate change, sustainability, natural hazards, energy efficiency, preserving their environmental potential • improving attractiveness and accessibility of Member States, regions and cities • economic convergence between states and regions • socio-economic polarisation within member states

4. … and sometimes conflicting goals • “The Guidelines seek to provide a balance between the twin objectives of the growth and jobs agenda and territorial cohesion.” (Inforegio website)

5. 2. European economic convergence • economic disparities between member states and regions in Europe are still strong • economic convergence between EU member states has taken place in recent years: Economic growth rates in CEE are much higher than in EU-15, some new member states already have reached 75% level of EU-GDP • but even a simple extrapolation of current growth rates would suggest that equivalent economic living conditions will not exist before 20 to 40 years from now. • however, the convergence process is accompanied by growing intra-state disparities and polarisation between capital and metropolitan regions and the (national) peripheries • the high growth rates, esp. in CEE / EU-12 countries, stem from the capital metropolitan regions • the ‘pentagon’ is enlarging along corridors

7. Unemployment rate 2003

11. Growing polarisation between metropolitan regions and periphery

16. GDP per cap: 1995 – 2000 – 2004

20. Source: Growing Regions, growing EuropeFourth report on economic and social cohesion

23. thank you for your attention ! peter.schoen@bbr.bund.de