PROGRESS AND MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN RELATION TO MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES: EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region

5 December 2012

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Concerns over degradation of the Baltic Sea environmentally• After 2004 EU enlargement 8 countries bordering the Baltic Sea

- members of the European Union• Take full advantage of new opportunities that EU membership

provides and to adequately address the challenges• Region - heterogeneous area in economic, environmental and

cultural terms• Common resources, interdependence

Why is a Strategy needed?

• High-level attention during PL and DK Presidencies• EC Communication, March 2012 (positioning EUSBSR within

wider context of EU 2020 and within EU policies 2014-2020, review recommendations):– Clarifying and strengthening roles of key stakeholders– Unifying criteria of FPs (clear and formal setting of criteria for

approving new FPs)– Information policy towards society, institutions (in particular

regional and local)– more transparent monitoring system and introduction of targets

New momentum for the first EU internal strategy for a European macro- region: 2011-2012

• National co-ordinator – Ministry of Foreign Affairs• Overall co-ordination framework:

– concrete line Ministry responsible for each priority area– Steering Group set up by the Government

How is Strategy co-ordinated in Latvia?

• Energy • Competitiveness • Education, research and culture • Environment• Civil security

Priorities for Latvia

Main actions:• Implementation of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection

Plan (BEMIP)• Increase use of renewable energies (biomass, solar energy,

wind power)

3 main priorites in the revised Action Plan: infrastructure, renewable energies and energy efficiency

Latvia and Denmark – co-ordinators of regional energy co-operation

• Revised Steering Group:

– Involves cross-sectoral coordination centre (to align two parallel processes: National Development plan 2014-2020 and review of the EUSBSR)

– Informal list of potential projects for the EUSBSR

• Visits of COM representatives:

– In March/June 2012, discussions with managing authorities of EU co-funded programmes: how to take into account national cooperation interests in future programmes

Main activities in Latvia: 2012 (I)

• Strenghtening Communication:– Task Force for Communication within the EUSBSR: – PAC training

• Discussions on Latvia’s priorities during EU Presidency

Main activities in Latvia: 2012 (II)

• When the priority areas for cooperation in the Common Strategic Framework (Art. 11) and Partnership Agreement (Art. 14) are being determined, macro-regional strategies should be taken into account where appropriate;

• Action programmes (Art. 87), where appropriate, should stipulate how the planned interventions will contribute to the implementation of macro-regional strategies.

Legislative package of EU cohesion policy for 2014-2020 (6 October 2011)

„In the framework of the EUSBSR, Latvia should seek synergies in the areas of • RTD&I,• VET and tertiary education, • entrepreneurship, • transport infrastructure, • agriculture,• fisheries and aquaculture, • energy, protection of environment and promotion of resource

efficiency.”

Position of the Commission Services on the development of Partnership Agreement and programmes in Latvia for the period 2014-2020

• PA Transport - Improving internal and external transport links: Completion of major infrastructure projects in the Macro-Region, including Rail Baltica and Via Baltica

• PA Nutrients – Reducing nutrient inputs to the Sea to acceptable levels: Putting best agricultural practices into work – Baltic Deal

• PA Education – Developing innovative education and youth Actions and Flagship Projects: Develop new methods for training entrepreneurship and innovation - Baltic Training Programme (BTP)

Relevant flagship projects in the revised Action Plan (I)

• For EUSBSR COM emphasizes 3 thematic objectives:– Strengthening research, technological development and

innovation– Protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency– Promoting climate change adaptation and risk prevention and

management• Latvia is represented in at least 8 Priority Areas of the revised

Action Plan: NUTRIENTS, HAZARDS, TRANSPORT, ENERGY, CULTURE, CRIME, EDUCATION and AGRI

• Strong need to focus attention on other Priority Areas, especially INNO

Partnership Agreement and EUSBSR Action Plan

Examples of future developments:

• PA INNO: – Baltic innovative research and technology infrastructure project

– SUBMARINER Network: Transnational Projects for Sustainable and Innovative Uses of Baltic Marine Resources

• PA ENERGY: – Sharing best practices on national approaches to renewable

energy support schemes

– Promote measures developing usage of sustainable biofuels

– Experience in energy efficiency measures

Relevant flagship projects in the revised Action Plan (II)

• EUSBSR as an instrument:– for the Baltic states to team up and to make a better bid

beyond CSF funds (e.g. Horizon 2020, CEF).– to coordinate regional objectives with strategic areas in the

Latvia's National Development Plan.– To create a space of opportunities for development of

national objectives via cooperation.• Links between EUSBSR and the Cohesion Policy should be

stipulated at the level of Partnership Agreement, while avoiding its duplication in operational programmes (in order to avoid the subsequent duplication of information in planning and reporting documentation).

Latvia’s view on the EUSBSR in 2014–2020

• 26 October 2012: 2nd draft action plan sent out (to NCP/PAC/HAL)

• 13 November 2012: deadline for comments

• 21 November 2012: COM interservice consultation

• 5 December 2012: Deadline for comments

• 11 December 2012: final version sent out

• 18 December 2012: High level group meeting

• January 2013: COM formal adoption - Staff working document

Timeline for the review of the Action Plan

• Line ministries, planning regions, socio-economic partners are expected to be actively involved in EUSBSR process further on

• Position of Latvia on the EUSBSR

• Monitoring the progress of Latvia’s involvement in each PA of the Action Plan

• Consultations and exchange of views on the future of the EUSBSR: joint meeting with national coordinators for the Partnership Agreements in BSR (January, 2013)

• June 2013 evaluation of macro-regional strategies

• EUSBSR for the Latvia’s EU Presidency

What’s next?

• Conflicting signals on the funding alignment for EUSBSR.• Supranational integration processes do not guarantee cohesion

in very diverse territories. Their own dynamics strengthen more developed areas.

• There is a need of a “positive discrimination”: programmes and projects to enhance economic, social and territorial cohesion.

• Focusing only on EU 2020 could threaten bottom-up approach and people-to-people projects.

• Political commitment and sense of ownership.

Our concerns on EUSBSR 2014-2020

Thank you for your attention!

More information: http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/eu/BalticSeaRegion/EU-strategyEmail: bjs@mfa.gov.lv