Brussels, 19/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Commission is seeking to stimulate partnerships with a conversion region classed as the 16th most attractive region in Europe by the Financial Times.
As part of Commissioner Antonio Tajani's “growth strategies” project, the Belgian city of La Louvière, in the region of Wallonia, hosted a conference and meetings on 18-19 February for 500 European and Walloon companies and SMEs. This business networking sought to encourage partnerships with companies from different EU regions, in sectors that are key to boosting dynamism in the region: the aeronautical and aerospace industries, the mechanical engineering industry (mechatronics, future materials and surfaces), biotechnology, transport and logistics and the creative industries.
Wallonia was hard hit by the recent crisis and the negative impact it had on some of its major industrial sites. SMEs, however, were better able to resist there than in the majority of other EU countries and its employment rates have grown by almost 2% since 2008. Significant measures have been taken for entrepreneurship, access to funding, internationalisation, the environment and innovation, as part of a number of ambitious action plans that seek to meet the region's economic and social challenges, said the Commission. Wallonia's regional specialisation has helped to create a very SME-friendly environment in cutting edge sectors that consequently create enormous potential for expanding onto global markets. Walloon firms are already providing specialised products and services in sectors such as biotechnology and health (BioWin), environmental technologies (GreenWin), mechanical engineering (MecaTech), aeronautics & space technologies (SkyWin), agro-industry (Wagralim) as well as the logistics cluster. This region clearly chose to develop and modernise its economic tissue by placing creativity and innovation at the centre of their strategy, in particular with the Creative Wallonia initiatives. As a result, Wallonia, together with Tuscany, is one of the two European regions which have been recognised by the European Commission for their strategy of supporting the creative economy as a driver of economic change.
SME internationalisation and their access to markets, generic technologies and also regional clusters and specialisation were central to the conference on the EUROPE 2020 strategy for growth which was also attended by Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and Minister of Economy of Wallonia Jean-Claude Marcou. Tajani also presented the COSME programme, a new initiative with a €2.3 billion budget for SMEs. (EH/transl.fl)