territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges open days brussels, 10 october 2007 peter...

Territorial cohesion, its opportunities and

challenges

Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007Peter Schön, BBR Bonn

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR Bonn Territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

Recent discussion on Territorial Cohesion …

• Structural Funds Community strategic guidelines on cohesion and the National Strategic Reference Frameworks

• EU constitution / EU treaty• Territorial Agenda adopted at the Ministerial

Meeting 2007 in Leipzig• based on scientific background documents:

Territorial State and Perspective of the European Union

• Fourth report on economic and social cohesion

• Priorities, themes and results of the ESPON 2006 and ESPON 2013 Programmes


… identify important challenges for territorial cohesion

• globalisation, competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge society, research and innovation capacities, creating more and better jobs, increasing investment in human capital, growth and jobs agenda – Lisbon strategy

• demographic change, ageing, depopulation, ensuring adequate quality and level of services

• cultural diversity, social integration, exclusion• climate change, sustainability, natural hazards,

energy efficiency, preserving their environmental potential

• improving attractiveness and accessibility of Member States, regions and cities

• economic convergence between states and regions• socio-economic polarisation within member states


… and sometimes conflicting goals

• “The Guidelines seek to provide a balance between the twin objectives of the growth and jobs agenda and territorial cohesion.” (Inforegio website)


2. European economic convergence• economic disparities between member states and

regions in Europe are still strong• economic convergence between EU member states has

taken place in recent years: Economic growth rates in CEE are much higher than in EU-15, some new member states already have reached 75% level of EU-GDP

• but even a simple extrapolation of current growth rates would suggest that equivalent economic living conditions will not exist before 20 to 40 years from now.

• however, the convergence process is accompanied by growing intra-state disparities and polarisation between capital and metropolitan regions and the (national) peripheries

• the high growth rates, esp. in CEE / EU-12 countries, stem from the capital metropolitan regions

• the ‘pentagon’ is enlarging along corridors


Unemployment rate 2003


Growing polarisation between metropolitan regions and periphery


GDP per cap: 1995 – 2000 – 2004

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

lu no ie ch nl at is dk be se uk fi fr de it es cy gr si pt cz mt hu sk ee pl lt hr lv ro bg tr

2004

2000

1995


Source: Growing Regions, growing EuropeFourth report on economic and social cohesion


thank you for your attention !

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territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges open days brussels, 10 october 2007 peter...

Documents

bbr bonnterritorial

karl peter schn

challenges open days

bbr bonn slide

periphery slide

eu member states

social cohesion priorities

economic growth rates