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Knowledge economy needs 'si.nergy' from regions and cities
07.06.2008, 18:46
Luc Van Den Brande, President of the Community of the Regions (CoR), underlined the role of regions and cities as an asset for strengthening the knowledge economy in a keynote speech at the European Regional Economic Forum (EREF) in Nova Gorica, on 6 June.
One of his main messages was that globalization can only achieve sustainable benefits for the public if it has the support of efficient local and regional governments. "Regions and cities deliver more than 66% of all public investment in the EU and are key actors in innovation, research, and education policies," he told the EREF, which acts as a bridge between Member States and the countries of South Eastern Europe.
Mr Van Den Brande hailed the energy of the regions and the "si.nergy" of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU, stressing that the Lisbon Agenda required a commitment to partnership to "bear fruits".
He focused on the crucial role that regional and local governments play in the "knowledge triangle" - education, innovation and research. For the most part, these core areas are typically under local and regional control in the Member States.
Education is the main factor for creating "the skills that are one of the key drivers of productivity," he noted, and innovation is the foundation of local and regional policy making. "Research is about turning money into knowledge whereas innovation is about turning knowledge into money," he added.
The CoR President highlighted the fact that regions and cities can tap into the EU structural funds to aid funding for research. The "ear-marking" requirement at the heart of EU regional policy had been a great success: 57% of regions and cities which have devoted a percentage of the structural funds resources to objectives related to the Lisbon Strategy for jobs and growth have seen positive results in innovation and research funding, he said.
In his closing remarks, Mr Van den Brande invited the EREF to take part in the annual OPEN DAYS European Week of Regions and Cities (6-9 October), organised by the CoR and European Commission, in order to continue their discussion and to exchange best practice in the area of local and regional development.
Following the conference, the CoR President crossed the border into Italy to hold talks with Renzo Tondo, the new President of the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, and regional ministers. The meeting in Trieste centred on the Lisbon Treaty's implications for better subsidiarity control and the role of regions with legislative powers such as Friuli Venezia Giulia. The leaders also discussed the new European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation, an EU instrument which provides a legal basis for joint services delivered by local and regional authorities in different Member States and which is high on the agenda of the border regions between Slovenia and Italy.
Source: www.cor.eu