Brussels, 15/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 June, at an annual conference on regions as agents for economic change, EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that innovation was crucial for stimulating growth. In its draft legislation for the 2014-2020 programming period, the European Commission is planning to make use of most ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) spending to encourage a low carbon footprint economy and focus on research, innovation and competitive small businesses.
Hahn said that innovation had to be used as the main engine for growth and small businesses are increasingly important in this connection although they do not always have much room to manoeuvre and find it difficult to drum up funding. As far as Hahn is concerned, the EIB and the member states should combine efforts to introduce infrastructure to provide loans to small businesses because the 24 million unemployed in Europe could all find work if all the 23 million small businesses in Europe created one or two new jobs each. The commissioner said small business funding was only one part of the solution, the other being smart specialisation to create a small-business-friendly environment and identify the challenges for each region. The Commission therefore urges the member states and regions to develop strategies based on need, but also on regions' competitive potential. Philipp McCann, a special advisor to the commissioner, said this was a policy based on the existing regional structure. Hahn also called for cooperation across the board between business and academia.
RegioStars 2012. The commissioner welcomed the vast scope of projects unveiled on Thursday 14 June at the RegioStars 2012 competition awards ceremony, in which five innovative projects in receipt of EU Structural Funds won prizes. In the smart growth category, Austrian project “Eco World Styria” won an award for using eco-innovation to create 5,000 jobs. In the sustainable growth category, the cross-border “GRaBS” project won a prize for providing knowledge and tools to adapt urban projects across Europe to the impact of climate change. Under the inclusive growth category, the transnational “Older People for Older People” project won a prize for its way of using old people to draw up policies for old people. Swedish project “South East Malmö” won the CityStar Prize for its way of dealing with high unemployment and reliance on social security, setting up a strategic partnership and action plan for the whole city, particularly areas hit by high unemployment. The http://www.podlaskiedotacje.pl website for the Podlachie region in Poland won the information and communication category prize for its detailed information on investment by the European Union. (EL/transl.fl)