Brussels, 17/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Open Days, the ninth week of the cities and regions, ended on 13 October with the emphasis on regional cooperation with global partners such as India, China and Brazil. While the Committee of the Regions (CoR) for the first time received an Indian minister at its plenary session (EUROPE 10472), European Commissioner Johannes Hahn met representatives of the Chinese and Brazilian authorities. The cohesion policy, Commissioner Hahn stated, is an exportable model: “The dialogue we have with so many third countries shows that regional policy is an interesting concept for investing in growth and jobs. With our new proposals (EUROPE 10468), we want to improve the impact of structural funding. The fact that this is picked up in other parts of the world shows that we have taken the right approach to move forward with our policy.”
EU-Brazil. Hahn discussed multi-level governance and the trans-national exchange with Sergio Duarte de Castro, Secretary of State at the Brazilian ministry for national integration, at an EU-Latin America seminar held on 12 October. Territorial cooperation holds true, as the EU has a direct border with Brazil, via French Guiana. Cooperation between the EU and Brazil in terms of regional policy was sealed by a protocol agreement in 2009. Both sides have the common objective of reducing disparities, the difference being that the gulf is between the North and the South for the 27 federal states of Brazil, and between old and new members for the EU.
EU-China. In 2006, the EU also signed a protocol agreement with the National Commission for Development and Reform (NCDR) of the People's Republic of China. As part of the extension of this agreement, Hahn and the vice president of the NCDR, Du Ying, took part in a seminar on regional cooperation organised as part of the Open Days, on 13 October. Chinese and European experts carried out a comparative study between Chinese and European approaches to regional and cohesion policies, focusing on best practice in adapting to climate change, urban and rural development and the management of migratory flows.
Other exchanges of best practice took place during the cities and regions week, for example with Ukraine, Moldova, Chile and Georgia, which are all linked to the EU by a protocol agreement. (MD/transl.fl)