Brussels, 28/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - Discussing how the regions can make a contribution to mastering globalisation, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) highlighted, in a debate which took place in Ponta Delgada, Azores, on Friday 25 November, the support needed for small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) and for social cohesion. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso sent the AER a message in which he supported its work and underlined the importance of regional dynamism in Europe in order to cope with a single and unique reality: interdependence.
The regions must use their various particularities to make them stand out in a globalised world and use these specificities to be more attractive to investors. AER said that, to support growth, it is the regions that are best placed to help small and medium sized enterprises in their internationalisation strategies. The regions can identify entrepreneurs and help them open up to external markets and attract investment. Growth must also be backed by social innovation which brings greater social cohesion, and an opportunity for all citizens to access education and follow through their entrepreneurial ideas.
The regions must, above all, bring about cohesion among themselves, according to AER President Michèle Sabban: “Cohesion is the response that our regions can and must bring to the crisis. By coming closer together, deepening our integration, and sharing the solutions that we develop to face common problems, we will succeed in balancing competition between our territories through increased cooperation, and we will contribute to ending the crisis”. (MD/transl.rt)