Brussels, 07/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The second annual conference of the Network of Eastern External Border Regions (NEEBOR) was held in Olsztyn (Poland) on 6-7 September. The conference, which was attended by Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner, covered cohesion policy during the programming period 2007-2013, with emphasis on the aim of territorial cooperation and transport networks for the external border regions of Eastern Europe. Over 100 people from 12 countries took part at the conference, with speakers including Polish ministerial representatives, representatives of the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and representatives from the participating countries.
Danuta Hübner stressed the role of the border regions in cohesion policy and explained why networking could improve the results of EU territorial cooperation, it is explained in a press release from the commissioner's spokesperson. Ms Hübner also called on participants to cooperate in attracting more new jobs and new investment and, at the same time, in improving the quality of life in a viable urban environment. Ms Hübner also pointed out that, in 2007-2013, the importance of territorial cooperation, as pioneered by the INTERREG programmes, will increase. “Networking is a great source of new ideas and a good way to improve them by confronting experiences and practices. This is why networking between EU regions is the basis of the INTERREG instruments. Promoting cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation is really the added-value Europe can bring”, the commissioner said on this occasion.
The conference was an opportunity for participants to meet the regional authorities of the Warminsko-Mazurskie region and to discuss their regional cooperation programme (OP) to be implemented in the 2007-2013 period. The ERDF allocation for this region is almost six times bigger (€1.036 billion) than that for the previous programming period (€156 million), the Commission press release states. The region is struggling to make up for its outlying character by seeking an opportunity in EU-funded investments to reverse negative development trends. Thus, the Commission goes on to say, it will invest massively in the development chapters of innovation and entrepreneurship, the information society, tourism and transport infrastructures over coming years. It will also use to advantage the additional €2.3 billion allocated to the operational development programme for eastern Poland (see also EUROPE 9496).
As a reminder: (1) The NEEBOR network aims to improve the visibility of the eastern external border regions of the European Union and to create ground for common local and regional development initiatives. It covers 41 regions. (2) The third strand of the territorial cooperation objective (INTERREG IV C), which aims to promote interregional cooperation, will benefit from €320 million in ERDF funding for 2007-2013. (3) Poland is the largest EU beneficiary country for the programming period 2007-2013 with €67.3 billion (see EUROPE 9423). (gb)