Brussels, 29/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 June, the European Commission adopted its 6th progress report on economic and social cohesion in Europe. The report, “Creative and innovative regions”, focuses on factors that encourage creativity and innovation both in developed regions and in the less developed regions of the EU. It refers to technological innovation, and also social, artistic, cultural, process and service innovation. It also contains a summary of the debate on territorial cohesion following the publication, last year, of a Green Paper (see inter alia EUROPE 9872 and 9754).
The Commission notes that the regional data available for the report do not yet reflect the crisis. Until 2007, unemployment rates were shrinking fast and converging rapidly. Now, however, they are increasing spectacularly in Spain, Ireland and the three Baltic States and are expected to reach between 11 and 17% in 2009, more than double the 2007 rate.
Regional dimension of creativity and innovation: the financial crisis and the recession reinforce the role of creativity and innovation, which have an undeniable regional dimension. On most indicators, regional competitiveness and employment (RCE) regions score highly. This is so, for example in the core creative class (which is heavily concentrated in capitals and their surrounding regions, and in the Benelux and Northern countries, Ireland and the United Kingdom), Research and Development and human capital intensity. On other indicators, such as foreign direct investment (FDI) and productivity growth, convergence regions score highly. In conclusion, the Commission says that (1) convergence regions could obtain greater benefit from foreign firms by embedding them in their regional economy and improving their absorption capacity: strong links between foreign firms and local suppliers increase efficiency, local employment and knowledge transfer; in addition, these regions should increase their appeal to leisure and business travellers by boosting cultural and creative activities; (2) transition regions are closing the gap on RCE regions, but still score lower on many of the economic indicators, including productivity and employment; (3) RCE regions should make sure that they derive the maximum benefit from the high share of residents born in other countries, by ensuring that they are integrated into the labour market and by making it easier for them to set up their own business. The Commission says that all regions should work to reduce discrimination, promote intercultural dialogue and more openness towards people from different backgrounds and lifestyles.
Territorial cohesions: the state of the debate. In the consultation exercise launched in October 2008, the Commission received 391 responses, including contributions from all member states, from almost 100 regional authorities, from more than 150 regional and local associations and also from cities, economic and social partners, civil society organisations, research institutions and individual citizens. The European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee have each adopted their opinions on the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion.
The main outcomes of the consultation are: (1) territorial cohesion complements and reinforces economic and social cohesion; (2) the solidarity dimension of territorial cohesion is, for some respondents, a territorial dimension of the European social model; (3) a minority of respondents proposed linking territorial cohesion with a small number of geographical features which may influence development, and suggested specific EU policies and funding, and even comprehensive EU strategies for these territories; many argued that different issues (for example, social exclusion, urban sprawl, accessibility to services or the risk of flooding) require policy responses at different territorial levels; (4) territorial cohesion is associated with an integrated approach, multilevel governance and partnership; (5) coordination could be improved through greater different level governance; (6) the importance of coordinating national and regional strategies on the sustainable development of whole transnational areas was underlined; (7) there was wide support for strengthening inter-regional cooperation (in particular, INTERREG C and URBACT), especially networking and benchmarking on solving problems regardless of administrative borders. (G.B./transl.rt)