the institutional and economic partnership as a chance for ... · inaugural lecture will be...

8th Self-Government Forum4-5 June 2012, Szczecin

Johannes HahnKomisarz UE ds. Polityki Regionalnej

Organizatorzy / Organisatoren

Patronat honorowy / Honorary patronage

Partnerzy / Partner / Partners

Marshal of the Westpomeranian RegionOlgierd Geblewicz

Mayor of SzczecinPiotr Krzystek

Rector of Szczecin University prof. Waldemar Tarczyński

The institutional and economic partnership as a chance for the sustainable

development of the European regions

Johannes HahnKomisarz UE ds. Polityki Regionalnej

Organizatorzy / Organisatoren

Patronat honorowy / Honorary patronage

Partnerzy / Partner / Partners

Organizers

Partners

Honorary patronage

Johannes Hahn European Union Commissioner for Regional Policy

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INTRODUCTION

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hereby we give you a publication that summarizes an international conference –the 8th Self-Government Forum that took place in Szczecin on 4th and 5th of June 2012.

This year in the Forum with a headword of Institutional and economic partnership as a chance for the sustainable development of the European regions, participated over 300 people from countries of the European Union: Poland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and also partners from Eastern Europe: the Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, who creatively discussed the most important problems of territorial self-governments: the role of these regions in implementation of the European strategy of Europe 2020, economic integration in Eastern Partnership, problems and bene� ts related to territorial con-solidation of self-governments in Europe, direct foreign investments as the development factor on the local and regional levels, and the � nancial performance of territorial self-government units.

We are con� dent that the form of the Forum enables a vast exchange of views and opinions on e� ectiveness of self-government structures between representatives of all levels of administra-tion and scienti� c and economic environments. Undoubtedly, the signi� cance of this event was enhanced by patronage of honour by Johannes Hahn – Commissioner for Regional Policy of the European Union and presence of guests of honour: Mercedes Bresso – President of the Commit-tee for Regions, Cornelia Pieper – Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Foreign A� airs of Germany, prof. Giuli Alasania – Vice-Rector of International Black Sea University of Tbilisi, Nikoloz Nikolozishvili – Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Poland – Joachim Bleicker – Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Embassy in Warsaw and prominent Polish economist – prof. Leszek Balcerowicz.

This year’s edition of the Self-Government Forum included also a gala of handing out a Polish--German Self-governments Award, founded by the Polish-German Cooperation Foundation and a ceremony of signing the Declaration of Cooperation between the EU Committee of the Regions and the Baltic Organizations.

We hope that the conference was, for many of you, a source of valuable experience and an op-portunity to strengthen contacts. We intended to facilitate these contacts and bring closer the representatives of neighbouring countries, which in turn should simplify the creation of positive working conditions for development of multilevel cooperation and implementation of common projects.

We thank you for accepting the invitation to participate in the Self-Government Forum in Szczecin – and we invite you for the next editions of the Forum.

Organizers

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Dear Ministers, Dear Elected Members,Dear Friends of Regional Development and of Cohesion Policy,Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to address the Self-Government Forum, an event which brings together every year ever more representatives of the regional and local level from across Poland and neigh-bouring countries.

As Commissioner for Regional Policy I am a strong defender of the role of regions in the socio-eco-nomic health of Europe. Regions are the place where our incredible diversity is most visible – and they are also engines of the European project.

In Cohesion Policy, we give regions a strong role to play. We expect every single region to contribu-te to our socio-economic development. This is one of the reasons why I have proposed for the new legislative package that we should have Cohesion Policy activities in every single region of theEuropean Union. Our overall objectives of growth and jobs will only become reality if we all make a contribution. Every region should � nd its unique selling point and mobilise all its resources, inc-luding European funding, to unlock its potential and create its own growth cycle. Whether regions are of an urban or rural nature, whether they are central or peripheral, whether they are densely or sparsely populated, they all have endogenous potential that they need to � rst identify and then develop.

This concept is at the heart of regional policy as we know it in Europe. Cohesion funding then brings speci� c � nancial support for this development. It should be used to invest in what is ne-eded most in order to realise the local potential, whether it is missing infrastructure as is the case in less developed regions, or tailor-made business support services in more developed regions.Let me at this point also highlight some important development factors which Polish regions and communities need to take on board, especially when preparing the next generation of Structural Funds programmes.

First, there is the active involvement of Poland in the Baltic Sea Region Strategy. This strategy, the very � rst of its kind, o� ers Baltic Sea partners a great opportunity to tackle together some serious

Johannes Hahn European Commissioner for Regional Policy

INTERVENTION BY THE FORUM’S HONORABLE PATRON

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issues faced by all, such as the ecological status of the Baltic Sea, missing transport links, insu� -cient energy connections, mobility for researchers and students or the development of a common cultural identity. Structural funds provide all the countries and regions involved in this strategy with a strong investment basis – not only via the transnational programme for the Baltic Sea Re-gion but crucially via national and regional programmes, which should be increasingly aligned with Baltic Sea Strategy objectives.

Poland, I know, is very active in all the pillars of the strategy and has taken the lead in several important � agship projects. I welcome this commitment. I count on you to make sure that clear bridges are built in the next programming period between your Cohesion Policy programmes and the objectives commonly pursued in the Baltic Sea Strategy.

Secondly, I also want to stress the importance of developments to the East of Poland. The Europe-an Union and Poland share an interest in assisting Eastern neighbours to develop further.

And not only economically – there is also a need for consolidation of democracy and the rule of law. The European Union and its member states are very committed to assisting with such deve-lopments. This is clear from our continued support to the Eastern Partnership. We � rmly believe that closer and deeper trade links will play a key role in reducing disparities between European Union regions and their counterparts across the borders, thereby fostering development oppor-tunities for both sides.

Here too Regional Policy plays a role. The European Commission has established a formal regio-nal development dialogue with neighbours such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Together, we exchange experience and gain practical knowledge of issues such as cross-border cooperation,urban regeneration and the principle of partnership.

We have also encouraged the other Eastern Partnership countries to send participants to the Open Days, which are held in Brussels every autumn and which celebrate our regional diversity. I hope that this type of cooperation will continue in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen,Regional development is a precious and unique tool for increased European integration and co-hesion. It is important that we build on our past experience in this � eld and that we become as e� ective as possible when it comes to investing scarce � nancial resources. You are at the centre of such a process.

I know that I can count your commitment to make the most of Cohesion Policy and to demonstrate its positive contribution to our overall well-being in Europe.I wish you a very successful conference.

INTERVENTION BY THE FORUM’S HONORABLE PATRON

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dr hab. prof. US Piotr Niedzielski Dean of the Faculty of Management and Economics of ServicesUniversity of Szczecin

Dear Guests of the 8th Self-Government Forum,

again we meet in Szczecin at the international Self-Government Forum conference, initiated by prof. Adam Szewczuk in 2004. This is the � rst time when this main originator is not here with us. For 8 years the Forum has been a ground for exchanging experience and discussions on self-governance model in Poland integrating theoreticians and practitioners of this matter.

For me as Dean of Department of Management and Economics of Services at the University of Szczecin it is a special honour of having possibility to co-organize this event and actively participate in it. My depart-ment is committed to continue and further develop this Forum.

I am con� dent that speeches of our notable guests: Mercedes Bresso – President of the EU Committee for Regions, prof. Giuli Alasania - Vice-Rector of International Black Sea University of Tbilisi and mother of Presi-dent of Georgia, Nikoloz Nikolozishvili - Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Re-public of Poland and Joachim Bleicker –Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Embassy in Warsaw will be an excellent contribution to debates and discussions during the 8th Self-Government Forum. This year the inaugural lecture will be delivered by prof. Leszek Balcerowicz – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Fi-nance in Tadeusz Mazowiecki’s government, Krzysztof Bielecki’s government and Jerzy Buzek’s government.

Meetings this year will focus on the issues of institutional and economic partnerships, perceived as a pro-spect for balanced development of European regions. This topic is signi� cant and valid in the context of current issues like implementation of Strategy of Europe 2020, foreign investments as a factor of regional development, territorial consolidation of self-governments and, as usually, issues related to self-govern-ments economy. Topics discussed at the Forum this year will also have a special meaning in the context of events occurring lately in the EURO-zone, like constituting assumptions of the new EU � nancial perspective for the years 2014-2020 or excessive de� cits and indebtedness of EU countries. Mentioned challenges and threats are examples of issues to be solved by governments and self-governments in the modern Europe.

I hope that meeting at the Forum this year will let us identify key problems and solutions, especially those concerning Polish self-governments, operating under variable socio-economic conditions. Partnership, consolidation, integration, intelligent specialization are the main headwords of the 8th Self-Government Forum, and at the same time a road-sign for future activities done by governments and self-governments on local and regional levels.

I am deeply convinced that like in the past, the 8th Self-Government Forum will be an opportunity for interesting discussions, exchanging opinions and forming good practices. At the same time the work started by late professor Adam Szewczuk is a base asset that will be increased by participants of this con-ference and will extend theoretical attainments and practical solutions and popularize ideas propagated by its originator fully committed to public a� airs.

At the end of my speech, I would like to thank you all for coming and participating in this Forum.

OPENING FORUM

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Olgierd GeblewiczMarshal of the Westpomeranian Region


It is a great honour for me to inaugurate the debates of the VIII Self-Government Forum in front of such a notable auditorium. I am proud that our conference is patronaged by Commissioner for Regional Policy of the European Union, Mr. Johannes Hahn. We perceive this as quality certi� cate for self-government authorities meeting in Szczecin.

I would like to give a warm welcome to guests of honour of the Forum, who with their presence, con� rm the supranational value of the Forum.

Today the international nature of our yearly meeting appears natural but several years ago, in 2004, such option seemed very distant. At this place I must express my veneration to professor Adam Szewczuk, animator of the Self-Government Forum idea. It is because of his tireless passion and professional and personal involve-ment self-government authorities, politicians, people of science and economy could undertake dialogue for the development of our “little homelands”. At that time we faced the uniting Europe, today we are set at the horizon of 2020, but the set of problems, issues to discuss in the main aspect remains the same– how to build, in accordance with others, a successful development of our own region, our own national community and European family. Which methods to choose, which tools to use and – the most important – how to � nance it?

The 8th Forum with its headword points to a direction we should choose searching for answers on qu-estions stated. For sure in our discussions we will not � nd an explicit diagnose but I am con� dent that we will outline its fundamental frame. A strong basis of merit will certainly be a message of a keynote lecture delivered by professor Leszek Balcerowicz, whom I warmly welcome on behalf of the Forum participants.

I am con� dent that each voice will bring substantial value to the outcome of the Forum, the one of a kind ground of partner dialogue, where large Europe meets small community, East meets West and idea meets experience. This is perfectly expressed by the agenda of the conference. It is worth to mention a Polish--German Self-Government Award. For us it is a great honour that a founder, Polish-German Cooperation Foundation has selected Szczecin for their � nal gala, recognizing Forum as the � nest place for this event.

The self-government bag consists of issues of large and small scale, however each of them needs to be handled with proper attention and seriousness. In the mechanism of sustainable development every piece is equally valuable and indispensable. Without a strong local self-government there will be no strong regions, without strong regions there will be no strong united Europe.

Ladies and Gentlemen,it is easier to walk a path somebody went before… I think these words perfectly describe the mission and the challenge of the 8th Self-Government Forum. Our task, goal of every participant in this conference should be to open new paths and at the same time take care of those already existing. I hope that nobo-dy here will be left out of the self-government avant-garde.

OPENING SESSION

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Piotr Krzystek Mayor of Szczecin

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Guests and Participants of the Forum,

I warmly welcome all participants of the 8th Self-Government Forum. I am happy that notable scientists, politi-cians and economists can meet again in Szczecin. I would like to emphasize that a combination of points of view of experts from di� erent � elds of knowledge and cooperation of people working in local, national and interna-tional levels compose a strong asset of debates conducted during the conference in Szczecin.

Self-Government Forum is one of the most important events of this type in Poland. It became one of � agships of our region and city, proving that an interesting initiative can bring e� ects visible on a much larger scale. The eighth edition of Self-Government Forum shows not only the importance and validity of issues a� ecting self-go-vernance but also the determination of this group in solving newly appearing problems and dilemmas which are very often not easy to deal with.

The importance of boroughs, counties and voivodships is increasing, in many areas they are the main factors for development of our countries. Therefore one of priorities for the process of European integration is searching for possibly most e� ective ways of self-governance. All this con� rms that self-governments become an important element of European organism. For this reason it is important to learn � ndings from all over the Europe and to extend our knowledge and expertise in respective subject matters, to later be able to e� ectively and wisely solve problems of our little homelands.

E� ective absorption of European funds by self-governments engages dynamic development of the whole re-gions that slowly make up for shortages of many years neutralizing the distance that all the time exists between our regions and that of Western Europe. However, reality in which all self-governments operate is continuously and dynamically changing and therefore the frames of self-government activities must be constantly improved and adjusted to changing economy and social conditions, which very often requires reformulating new tasks and expectations and also de� ning capabilities.

New EU � nancial perspective for the years 2014-2020 sets new challenges for self-governments and determines them to further extend activities to attempt � nancial assets in the new perspective. I am happy that cohesion policy will be continued. European funds had a signi� cant impact on economic growth, investments and labour market in Poland, as well as on internal and external balance of the economy. Research done by Ministry for Re-gional Development shows that utilization of European funds helps all Polish regions to approach the EU level of development and positively a� ects local GDP dynamics. It is important to remember that old countries of the union also bene� t from support that new countries receive from Brussels. This shows that cohesion policy is not only about giving help, and bene� ts are not only for Poland but also for the whole Europe, and its continuation is pro� table for all of us.

I am convinced that this meeting is an opportunity for discussion that will bring meaningful results, a source of inspiration and a place for building new areas of cooperation. I hope you will enjoy your visit and hold warm memories from Szczecin.

OPENING SESSION

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INTERVENTIONS BY THE GUESTS OF HONOR

Mercedes Bresso President of the Committee of the Regions


I feel most honoured that you have invited me to participate in the 8th Forum. (…)I am also most pleased to have this opportunity to discover the Western Pomerania region, which has the advantage of belonging to the Pomerania Euroregion and the Baltic Sea macro-region, and also of being fully involved in the Eastern Partnership.

In my speech, I should like to roll out the Committee of the Regions’ vision for partnership as an asset for the sustainable development of European regions. By sustainable development, I mean e� orts to secure economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability and adjustments to cli-mate change, as well as social cohesion, which involves maintaining public services for everyone, throughout urban areas and rural, coastal, mountain and cross-border regions, inter alia.

For the Committee of the Regions, the best instrument available to the regions is cohesion poli-cy. We deem the Commission proposals to be a good basis for negotiation as long as there is an adequate budget to guarantee ALL regions access to a regional development policy. However, in our capacity as local and regional authority spokespersons, we feel that it is necessary to go a little further and make the proposals clearer, ensuring that there are more guarantees as regards partnership and multi-level governance.

As you know, multi-level governance is at the heart of the Committee of the Regions’ concerns. With the subsidiarity principle in mind, we therefore want local authorities to be fully involved in drafting, negotiating and implementing the strategic documents governing the future cohesion policy: the Common Strategic Framework at EU level, Partnership Contracts in each Member State, and operational programmes at regional level.

Here, we consider it to be unfair that local and regional authorities be included as economic and social partners in the partnership, since they co-manage and co-� nance cohesion policy program-mes. We have therefore proposed revising Article 5 of the draft general regulation, so that local and regional authorities are placed on an equal footing with Member States in the de� nition of the next cohesion policy.

We also want the Common Strategic Framework to be incorporated in the general regulation, which would allow the Committee of the Regions to be consulted o� cially. (…)

This would be regrettable, for the Common Strategic Framework is a key element for us all, being the instrument which will make the territorial cohesion objective a reality. It will be able to create

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synergies between the ERDF and the EAFRD so as to prevent rural regions from remaining the poor relation in European funding (as has been the case for the 2007-2013 period). It will likewise facilitate coordination of the ERDF’s regional development programmes with those for maritime activities and � sheries. (…)

As for applying this European framework in the � eld, we also support the full involvement of local and regional authorities in drafting „partnership contracts”. We hope that they will be able to be co-signed by representatives of local and regional authorities within each Member State. (…) You will have understood that, be it at European or national level, we will carefully monitor the imple-mentation of this partnership principle.

We will ensure that the rules for implementing structural policies of the European Union will allow the di� erent tiers of government, as well as civil society partners, to be fully involved in de� ning regional projects. It seems most positive to us for the European Union to formalise this partner-ship, both horizontally (with the social partners) and vertically (between di� erent tiers of govern-ment) and lay down concrete paths for the various partners to follow.

Moreover, as of 2013, when the partnership contracts (and operational programmes) are put in place, we will ensure that the local and regional authorities do indeed participate. We will ask the Commission to publish a report on this. However, we will also make known, via our local and re-gional authority networks (such as the Europe 2020 Platform), how these authorities assess their involvement in preparing these contracts and operational programmes.

The economic development of regions is not restricted to good use of the structural funds, even if these are very important. For the last two years, on the Commission’s initiative, Member States have agreed on a strategy for promoting smart, intelligent and inclusive growth - the Europe 2020 Strategy. (…)

My � rm belief, shared by many colleagues, is that we have to � nd new, stable resources at Euro-pean level to set the economic recovery in motion. However, whatever the case, we need more partnership. Hence, our proposal on the „territorial pacts”, which we developed in our 2009 white paper on multi-level governance. The CoR has continuously stressed that Territorial Pacts can play a central role in providing the EU 2020 strategy with a territorial dimension in order to counterba-lance the strategy’s sectoral approach. Successful implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy is highly dependent on the recognition of territorial di� erences, since the development opportuni-ties of the di� erent regions vary. Thus, those di� erences have to be translated into a place-based policy in order to improve territorial cohesion.

Therefore the CoR proposes that Territorial Pacts be used to implement Europe 2020 in partner-ship at country level. Adoption of this approach is a condition for the success of the new strategy, in that it helps all relevant tiers of government to identify with Europe 2020 goals, policies and targets.

Ladies and Gentlemen,The Committee of the Regions considers that partnership represents a major asset for our regions, when it is taken seriously, i.e. when partners at all levels and in all categories are involved in the design, decision and implementation phases. (…)

Thank you for your attention.

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prof. dr Giuli AlasaniaVice-Rector of the International Black Sea University in Tbilisi



it is an honour for me to meet you here. The subject matter of the conference, covering self-governments’ issues and relationships on this level, is substantial also in my country, and also we can share our experience with you. Hereby I have the honour to present you a short letter from my son, the President of Georgia.

Ladies and Gentlemen,the subject matter of the Self-Government Forum and an issue of sustainable development of the Eu-ropean Union are very important topics for Georgia. No country can successfully develop and care for sustainable development without considering the cross-border issues. It is essential to put pressure on local self-governments, which are closest to the citizens’ needs and that play a substantial role in the de-mocratization process.

Conference of the Local and Regional Authorities and initiatives undertaken by the Committee of the Regions positively in� uences integration and cohesion in all 6 countries of Eastern Partnership. Georgia represents the Caucasian region, a lot is happening also there when it comes to implementation of self-go-vernance practices or development of interregional cooperation. We have undertaken commitments to re-alize the democratic reforms and introduce good governance and self-governance development practices.

Over the last years a lot has changed in Georgia. We support the practice of governing the country on the level of cities and boroughs, meaning we decentralize the governance processes. This way we put e� ort to develop local economy to enable implementation of large regional projects. We introduce various in-novations, realize various infrastructural projects. Of course, these changes on the regional level create new work places, improve the quality of life of the local communities, and at the same time substantially promote tourism attracting also tourists from abroad.

Decentralization is a philosophy that brings imminent bene� ts. We would like to further develop legal basis of the local self-governments, pass on further competences to di� erent levels of self-governance and improve the quality of services in boroughs. Experience of the European regions plays a fundamental role in the democratization process. Common declaration for the dialogue that was signed between Georgia and the European Commission creates a basis for the discussion about regional policy, which will result in promotion of mutual understanding and improve the cooperation, as well as exchange information and experience about the regional policy.

Georgia very actively cooperates with the Commission on the basis of Eastern Partnership, pilot programs are being implemented, and a signi� cant aspect of this cooperation is EU support for our strategy that aims to neutralize the di� erences between the regions.

My Dear Friends, success of Georgia overcomes the stereotype of corruption and underdevelopment. This radical transfor-mation is done based on fundamental goal of integration with the European Union.

The above text is based on simultaneous recording of the Polish translation and may di� er slightly from the original version.

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I have a great pleasure to participate in the 8th Self-Government Forum in Szczecin. I am happy to be here especially because of participation of representatives of my country in the event this year, in particular prof. Giuli Alasania. I am sure this conference will be a perfect opportunity to exchan-ge knowledge and experience in cooperation of regions development.

Georgia and Poland have a historical record of good relationship. I am pleased that these relation-ships develop also on a regional level, for instance in the form of partnership of many self-govern-ment units in our countries.

I would like to wish all participants of this international forum an interesting and fruitful discussion. Thank you for your attention.

Nikoloz Nikolozishvili Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Poland

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Joachim Bleicker Minister Plenipotentiary at Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Warsaw



I am very happy of the opportunity to say a few words to you at the VIII Self-Government Forum in Szczecin.

Szczecin was in the scope of my duties when I was still a Consul General of Germany in Gdańsk and I always come back here willingly. I was also familiar with the Self-Government Forum at that time and I remember well its VI edition, in which I participated in 2010.

In Germany the meaning of territorial self-governments is written in the Constitution. Article 28 of the Act gu-arantees to boroughs the possibility to perform all tasks directly concerning them. We are aware that govern-ment structures of Poland and Germany are di� erent but boroughs in both countries perform many tasks substantial on the regional, but also transboundary level. Cooperation between our countries for sure would not be possible without undeterred and persistent activities of self-governments on both sides of Oder river.

In the past year we celebrated the XX anniversary of signing a treaty between the Federal Republic of Ger-many and the Republic of Poland of „Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation”. It was an opportunity to create a 92-points program of cooperation, which is now being implemented step by step. Most of these projects must be based on and utilize cooperation of boroughs and regions. In my opinion a good example of such a cooperation is a treaty of cooperation between departamental and emergency services, which was signed at the end of 2011 and that allows medical emergency services to quickly act on both sides of the border. (…)

To make it possible for regions to realize cross-border projects, a means of European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation has been available since 2007. This is an instrument of EU that empowers partners to create a so-lid visible structure for implementing cross-border cooperation and creating common strategies for growth and development of regions. This means was proven in German-French cooperation, thus the German-Polish Grouping of Territorial Cooperation is now under creation. In my opinion it is worth to consider more similarly structured form of cooperation between our countries.

The Oder and Szczecin are Baltic Sea gateways. The development of Baltic regions, which are going to be discussed in the � rst panel, is also one of the main areas of interest of German Leadership in the Council of the Baltic Sea States which is coming to an end.(…)

I am particularly happy that today the Polish-German Self-governments Award will be handed out. In my opinion with this example of awarded project you will see how a sustainable and lasting cooperation is imple-mented. I am proud that as a representative of the German embassy I could participate in the awarding jury.

The fact that the Forum happens for the eighth time is a proof that Polish self-governments present their commitment to act. Europe really starts in regions. Here we can see the actual fusion of particular regions. (…)There are very many problems but meetings like this show how with our commitment we work on positive solutions. With this I would like to � nish and thank you all for your attention.

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Summary of the Inaugural lecture “The condition of public � nance, macroeconomic stability, economic growth. What will happen to the euro?”

A starting point for the lecture by prof. Leszek Balcerowicz was an assessment of current situation and perspectives of self-governments in the European Union, and mainly public � nance, government debt, budgetary expenditures, taxes, economic growth and broadly de� ned � nancial situation of EU member states. The lecture covered also an issue of the crisis in Greece and Portugal, as well as condi-tion of Polish and European economy.In the opinion of former Minister of Finance creating conditions for economic growth and reduction of public debt on central and self-government levels should be the two priorities for authorities.- The debt of self-governments is a part of public debt. In the context of public � nance the signi� cant expenditures are those that a� ect taxes. When expenditures are higher than the income then a debt is created. That is why discussing taxes separately from discussing expenditures is a dry matter – commented former Minister of Finance.

In the lecturer’s opinion, an image of public � nance condition is in� uenced by– except for the debt “visible in securities and bonds” – a hidden debt, that in most of European countries is much higher than the declared debt. The ageing of societies will negatively a� ect economic situation in European countries. Growing economic problems will force a crisis, stagnation or reforms, which are the best solution for economic impasse. The most important thing in this case is economic growth, especially in the de-veloping countries such as Poland. Economic problems of many countries are most often a result of a decline in economic growth. Another reason for the deteriorating economy or even its crash is the crisis that has a� ected many European countries. The crisis has a direct in� uence on slowing down the economic growth. An example of two countries can be presented– Spain and Mexico. Both countries were back in 1960 at the same level of GDP growth, later the situation changed rapidly, in Mexico the-re was a breakdown of the economic growth compared to Spain, which was a result of three economic crises in the 80s caused by improper economic policy.

- „In Euro-zone countries and outside of it two types of crisis can be distinguished”– said professor Balce-rowicz. The � rst one starts with a � nancial crash, including banking sector and a� ects the � nance of the state. Some examples here involve Ireland, Spain, Great Britain and the United States. The second type of crisis begins with � nancial crash, and then as a consequence, it a� ects the banking sector. Greece can be used as an example here. A basis for both types of crises is excessive increase of expen-ditures � nanced with bank credits or other forms of external � nancing. A very common characteristic of excessive increase of expenditures is a so called “bass” – a crash that causes decrease of economic

SUMMARY OF THE INAUGURAL LECTURE

prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, PhDCivil Development Forum Foundation, Warsaw School of Economics

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growth. Many economy sectors turn out to be too overgrown. This causes recession, collapse of inco-me from taxes, and as a consequence, an explosion of de� cit, meaning a � nancial crisis. Such situation can be observed in Spain, where � nancial economy was increasing because of housing loans. At some point, an economy crashed and currently this country is facing a de� cit of 8-9%. So, very often, a direct cause of � nancial crisis is credit boom.

- „In case of Greece the crisis started with excessive amount of social and administrative expenditures” – professor explained. Excessive expenditures lead to economy crash, public � nance problems lead to crash in the banking sector. Greece was falling into debt and banks bought government bonds, which drove them to bankruptcy. “Greek banks have about 50 bln. in government bonds, bonds of their own country. It is a lot more than German or French banks” – he continued. Poland can be proud of govern-ment debt limitation to 60% GDPset in 1997. The professor stressed that it was not a perfect solution, but if the debt had not been limited, then Poland would have been, as he said, „closer to Greece”. Here addressed also political situation in Greece, coming parliamentary elections and � nancial support for the new government.

Fiscal crisis results in signi� cantly growing costs of incurred debts and this process cannot be stopped. In a response to crisis there are two types of counteractions that can lower the probability of the next crash or mitigate its results. The � rst one is to receive support from other countries by credits with lower interest rates, the other one is to introduce a regulation that increases capital in banks.

The audience of the keynote lecture was especially interested in the issue of hidden debt in EU co-untries, including Poland, and the topics of state and government interventions aiming to stimulate the economy, also in the context of latest experiences in America. - Economic policy tools can be split into two groups. The � rst group consists of those that aim to stimulate demand, whereas tools in the se-cond one focus on the supply policy. The most important activity of countries that lost trust of � nancial markets is policy aiming to mitigate the risks for public � nances, which as a consequence means reduction of expenditures. Such a policy, activities to restore trust, are e� ectively carried out in Bulgaria or Ireland – explained prof. Balcerowicz. In Greece there was a rapid increase of taxes, and secondly there was reduction of expenditures. However, there were no legal deregulations or privatisation, which as a consequence caused serious recession. Healing public � nance is a complex and time consuming pro-cess. Reduction of expenditures in this case is the only proper way.

An e� ective solution for healing public � nance and a way to � ght the crisis is improving working conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises. A task for European structures is to encourage self-governments to undertake many activities and initiatives that aid businessmen, an example of such positive activities is legal deregulation. On the level of EU the initiative that has a positive impact on economic growth is building a homogenous labour market that allows to o� er various services without obstacles and legal limitations on domestic and international level. A priority for activities of European countries governments should be identi� cation of problems and threats, and as the second step, taking up substantial preventive actions, especially when it comes to government � nance.

The rest of the debate focused on questions related to Polish access to Euro-zone, monetary policy in the European Union, strengthening � scal supervision and � scal limitations, economic growth by reforms on the supply side, increase of � exibility of labour market, removal of incorrect � nancial regu-lations and condition of Polish economy.

14

“New regional development strategy – smart specialization. The role of the Baltic regions in im-plementing the Europe 2020 strategy”

moderator:

dr Wojciech Drożdż, Vice-Marshal of the Westpomeranian Region

panelists:

dr Wolfgang Blank, President of the ScanBalt, Director of BioCon Valley® GmbH, Mecklenburg-

-Western Pomerania, Germany

Sven Gunnar Edlund, The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems VINNOVA

Björn Lagnevik, Project Leader, Department of Innovation Development of Skåne Region, Sweden

prof. Piotr Niedzielski, Dean of the Faculty of Management and Economics of Services, University

of Szczecin

Jacek Walendowski, Expert of the Technopolis Group in Brussels

Dariusz Wąs, Vice-Mayor of Szczecin

Summary of panel discussion

The topic of the panel was introduced by the moderator, Wojciech Drożdż – Creation of intelligent specializations in countries and regions was described in the documents of the EU institutions as a key element of the new innovation development policy, which is an answer to the current economic challen-ges that our continent is facing – said W. Drożdż. He pointed out that basing on available foreign and domestic materials, it is not possible to form a de� nition and usable tools for intelligent specialization. As the best attempt it is possible to list rules, conditions and factors that occur in the creation process, which includes local knowledge, innovations, concentration and critical mass, uniqueness, and � rst of all the voice of businessmen. The process of searching and selecting intelligent specializations in the region should be based above all on the knowledge and economic experience of the businessmen. A signi� cant role in the process of creation of such regional specializations can be played by the local self-government through supporting the search for economic niches, monitoring and coordination of the areas where intelligent specializations are searched, as well as supporting identi� ed specializa-tions by allocation of � nancial resources designated in the regional budget, or the Union’s budget for education, training and implementation research.

PANEL I

15

Jacek Walendowski focused on giving examples of working regional specializations in the EU coun-tries. He referred to attempts of assessing the e� ectiveness of these policies: The activities focus mainly on support for businesses and research and development. However, little shows the positive results of these activities. This means we are still far away from � lling the niche and realizing the goals. Therefore it is neces-sary to support direct investment and take into account the speci� cs of the region. It is necessary to better understand the dynamics of interactions between acting units, implement more e� ective policies and not forget about academic schools that play a very important role here.

Dariusz Wąs, Vice-mayor of Szczecin, presented the speci� cs of the city and its development, referring to Europe 2020 Strategy and assumption of the National Municipal Policy created by the Ministry of Regional Development. – These two documents outline steps that were taken by the city towards the development support – assured Dariusz Wąs. He emphasized that the potential of the city is in its geo-graphical location.

In turn, Bjoern Lagnevik discussed experience of the Swedish region of Skania in creating a consistent pro-innovation policy. – We moved from traditional specialization based on smokestack industry, such as shipbuilding, to the focus on services, such as materials science, medicine, mobile technologies, nouri-shment. We have about 54 units that support innovations in the region. We came to conclusion that we should support cooperation between them, start a dialogue and create a common vision for the region. In this process, that has been ongoing for about 3 years now, we involved the industries, universities, high schools, politicians and users – listed some real solutions Bjoern Lagnevik.

Sven Gunnar Edlund emphasized that cooperation in the Baltic Sea areas will bring more to the part-ners – At this moment we can identify 5 cooperation areas: clean water, prosperity, health care for the elderly people, future transport and ICT sector solutions. 4 out of 5 of these areas include partners from Poland, we are very happy of the participation of the Polish side – said Edlund.

- Health care can be a sector that adds to prosperity – said Wolfgang Blank, President of ScanBalt - - If we look at the whole region of the Baltic Sea, it turns out that we have very similar solutions in the sec-tors of health care and health services. It is necessary to discuss creation of innovative approaches, ways of commercialization of some resources, that operate e.g. in the public health care system, and o� er these resources to our communities, as well as bring foreign investments or investments in the Baltic Sea region to be able to export our services to other regions, including Asian and Arabic countries.

Prof. Piotr Niedzielski directed attention to shortcomings that still exist, but also to a visible progress in cooperation of the Baltic Sea countries – We must strengthen companies in the region in order to have more middle-size and large companies in di� erent areas. Szczecin has a solid ground for it, we are a young and dynamic community with signi� cant values, but we cannot utilize Baltic Sea cooperation as a synergy. These tools are just starting to work.

- The future perspective, that more money will be given to regions and academic schools, will encourage the schools to take on this responsibility and co-create the development – � nalized the professor.

16

“Economic integration within Eastern Partnership. Financial instruments of the Eastern Partnership”

moderator:

Marek Woźniak

Marshal of the Wielkopolska Region, member of the CORLEAP, Poland

panelists::

Prof. Giuli Alasania, PhD, Vice-rector of the International Black Sea University, Georgia

Mikael Benthe, Minister (Political A� airs), Embassy of Sweden in Warsaw

Andrzej Cieszkowski, Plenipotentiary for the Eastern Partnership, Ministry of Foreign A� airs, Poland

Igor Kogut, Agency for Legislative Initiatives; Ukrainian School of Political Studies, Coordinator

of the Ukrainian Platform of the Eastern Partnership, Ukraine

Stefan von Senger und Etterlin, PhD, Brandenburg Development Economic Board GmbH, Germany

Prof. Jacek Szlachta, PhD, Head of Strategy and Planning Division, Warsaw School of Economics,

Poland


In introduction to the topic of this panel Marek Woźniak reminded that this valuable and important for the whole Europe initiative was built on three pillars – democracy, security and e� ective trade in mind. Countries that formed Eastern Partnership were predictable in terms of their situation and social processes. They had a bottom-up democratic potential.- I am very closely looking at several countries, i.e. the Ukraine and Georgia, recently, after 5 years, I had an op-portunity to visit Tbilisi and I must say that I was impressed by its development and commitment to improve public space, quality of life, institutions that operate there – explained Marek Woźniak.

In his opinion there are too many administrative and technical activities, which results in a small political e� ects of this initiative, there are no clear goals and perspectives where they are heading to. – Somewhere there in the distant future somebody says even about integration with the Union, but it is still far away, a remote future.

Commenting self-governments contribution to Eastern Partnership Marek Woźniak emphasized a signi� cant openness of self-governments and will to create common new undertakings. However, he mentioned that self-governments with their limited � nancial resources, are not able to cause

PANEL II

17

a major breakthrough without external � nancial support. Prof. Giuli Alasania emphasized that Georgia considers integration with EU as its strategic goal and will make use of all available cooperation means. – Eastern Partnership de� nes a very important frame for such cooperation and fosters positive development of relations between Eastern Europe countries, building e.g. political and economic relations – said prof. Alasania. Cooperation between EU and Geo-rgia has been developed in many key areas, a free trade area is under construction, they are working on liberalization which will lead to political and sectorial dialogue. - We consider Eastern Partnership to be a very positive mechanism that will positively a� ect the integra-tion of Georgia and EU.

Mikael Benthe emphasized that Sweden has a good experience in the scope of technical support for developing countries, and assesses them by the e� ectiveness of activities implemented. – Di-scussing the new neighbourship policy of the EU, Eastern Partnership is of course a part of this policy, we believe that we should encourage the most ambitious Eastern countries and o� er more for their bigger commitment – explained minister Benthe – but if partner countries’ reaction is insu� cient and they do not set more ambitious goals, then we should have the possibility to o� er less.

- I would like to express my special recognition to the Self-Government Forum for opportunity to discuss this issue, this is an important message that self-governments, at least in Poland, want to discuss coope-ration with Eastern Europe – said Andrzej Cieszkowski, representative of the minister, emphasizing that Eastern Europe is now in the priority areas of external policy of the EU.- I support the idea of the “more for more” rule we discussed here and promoting leaders of reforms and cooperation with the EU – emphasized Andrzej Cieszkowski. He pointed also to a social impact of such policy, related to interpersonal contacts, including the issue of visa liberalization. In his opinion contacts between societies are a key aspect for common understanding, exchange of ideas, business exchange and youth exchange. In this context the visa liberalization is one of the key goals for Eastern Partnership.

- I share many doubts related to technical aspects of Eastern Partnership. It is a very complex initiative – con� rmed Igor Kogut, who represents Civil Society Forum within the partnership. – In spite of that I am an advocate of Eastern Partnership because new policies and the program create new chances, new opportunities for the civil society to participate in this process.European integration is not only a diplomatic process, not only diplomats’ e� orts and negotiations, but it is a realization of reforms and modernization of society in every country – emphasized our guest from the Ukraine.

Prof. Jacek Szlachta reminded that programming must always answer the basic question: which intervention directions bring the most value, as the menu of options in European regulations is so rich, that only 2 or 3, maximum 4 priorities should be selected. In his opinion a strategic question to ask is about the level of political involvement, i.e. how many international issues, how much of local development? – Of course the more of regional development, the more pro-developmental orientation – emphasized prof. Szlachta.

Dr Stefan von Senger und Etterlin based his speech on examples of his own business practice. – My agency supports economic growth and for 10 years has been working with business units, some-times these are scienti� c research organizations that want to do their tasks in other countries. The � rst step is usually a casual trade, i.e. import and export – explained Stefan von Senger und Etterlin. For countries from Poland to Bulgaria the access to EU was bene� cial. This is con� rmed by growing numbers related to trade exchange. Countries of the Eastern Partnership for sure have a potential, but so far they have not been able to use it in a similar way. According to Stefan von Senger und Etterlin one of the reasons is a problematic application for EU resources in the Partnership, because it is necessary to � nd proper companies, boroughs need to be ready to realize the projects, and procedures must be 100% correlated with European procedures.

18

”Territorial consolidation of self-governments in Europe – problems and advantages”

moderator:

prof. dr hab. Stanisław Flejterski, Head of Department of Banking and Comparative Finance

at the Faculty of Economics and Management of University of Szczecin

panelists:

Alexandru Gincu – Head of Local Public Administration Department at the State Chancellery in Chi-

şinău, the Republic of Moldova

Prof. Stanisław Korenik – Head of Department of Spatial Economy and Self-Governed Administra-

tion at the Faculty of Economics of Wroclaw University of Economics

Magdalena Młochowska – Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Administration and Digitization, Poland

Sussane Puvogel – Mayor of Hagen, Germany

Uwe Rennwald – Mayor of Hollenstedt, Germany

Dariusz Wąs – Vice-Mayor of Szczecin


At the beginning of the discussion, a moderator of the panel outlined theoretical basis of consolidation and presented selected theses for discussion.

- A dilemma in this discussion is a question of proportions between government and self-government admini-stration. An argument between centralization and decentralization. Consolidation – yes or no? – emphasized prof. Flejterski.

In the beginning, the discussion focused on self-governments environment, tasks and roles of government and self-governments administration in the � eld of territorial consolidation. Then the moderator referred to a “Green book” prepared by Ministry of Administration and Digitization, that concerned metropolitan areas. This document – next to showing ways of “becoming a metropolis” – discusses consolidation of metropolitan area as a single borough and territorial consolidation on the second territorial level.

Aleksandru Gincu shared his experiences in consolidation, mainly in the context of territorial and admini-strative organization, discussing consecutive historical facts, political situation and administration reforms related to competence and funds split, as well as legal regulations in Moldova.

PANEL III

19

Professor Stanisław Korenik emphasized that – Consolidation means uniformization and should consider va-riety of potentials of speci� c regions, especially when it comes to metropolises, and their construct. Consolidation as a term is relative, so is a role of consolidation. For sure this is a process, not a single time event, a process of becoming e� ective.

Magdalena Młochowska came back to the Green Book pointing out that - very many tasks in Poland were pas-sed on to self-governments but it is not sure, if self-governments are able to handle them, for example in the scope of environmental protection. The goal of the government is to support and promote self-government units co-operation in those tasks that a� ect more than one self-government, which leads to a unity of self-governments, improvement in cooperation, cooperation within metropolitan areas. This is the schema where Green Book � nds its place.

Many were also interested in the following speeches of Sussane Puvogel and Uwe Rennwald, who described experiences in consolidation context of boroughs they represent, emphasizing that Europe should „give certain signals and stimulators to realize new projects and implement new solutions”, and ful� lling � nancial commitments should be done by boroughs themselves.

Dariusz Wąs pointed what are the major problems and dilemmas related to functioning of this area. - We look at the metropolitan area as a whole, while these are separate boroughs with di� erent problems. We are missing common coordination, common thinking about certain things and areas that we have in common. He emphasized that it is necessary to consider the form of cooperation between boroughs in scope of metro-politan area. He said that - Metropolis is � rst of all a change in philosophy of spatial management. Metropolitan area should be considered in categories of functional paradigm, not territorial, i.e. in categories of functions it must perform to meet the expectations of inhabitants and businessmen.

Panelists discussed also the hierarchy of main challenges, main intentions for the years that the self-govern-ments will face. Moldova introduced a national strategy that aims to decentralize basing on territorial and administrative units of the same potential, which will ensure autonomy and ability to o� er required services, while local authorities elected will act independently and democratically.

Professor Korenik claimed that metropolis is a „central point of growth” of regions and territorial consolidation should be done on international - European level”, and this is what we should be especially concerned about.

According to Magdalena Młochowska a signi� cant issue is distinguishing new tasks put on self-govern-ments from tasks that can be standardized. Another issue is the under-developed economic law analysis or even lack of economical analysis of legal acts. Overcoming these problems is a challenge for the coming years also for self-governments.

Referring to boroughs in Germany, Sussane Puvogel said that they should be given � nancial resources requ-ired to implement tasks put on them, which means that without certain budget the process of consolidation might fail. - „Not every borough must handle its problems or tasks on its own, the future is in cooperation betwe-en boroughs, if only they are given required � nancial resources” – commented Uwe Rennwald.

Dariusz Wąs emphasized: - Strengthening education, improving quality of life, giving possibility to utilize the bene� ts of the city, good � nancial situation in boroughs and local and metropolitan areas, e� ective human re-sources, availability of personnel, e� cient tra� c – these are the most important elements of added value of the city. Metropolis o� ers a signi� cant development potential, by e.g. special economic zones, economic and business activities. - The future is in metropolises. Presidents of metropolises have a real authority – summarized the panel prof. Flejterski, and gave thanks to all participants in the panel for the discussions.

20

Dear Guests, Participants of the 8th Self-Government Forum,

On behalf of the rectors of the University of Szczecin I have the honour to welcome you at the 8th Self-Government Forum. The Forum, which was � rst initiated by late professor Adam Szewczuk in 2004, has a form of two-day conference organized every year in Szczecin and it integrates represen-tatives of various organizations focused on the issues of self-governance.

The headword of the 8th Self-Government Forum is “Institutional and economic partnership as a chance for the sustainable development of the European regions.” The Forum this year is patronaged by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Regional Policy of the European Union and covers the main topics of:

- new strategy for regional development in context of the role of regions in the implementation of the European strategy of Europe 2020;

- economic integration in Eastern Partnership with focus on sources of � nance;- territorial consolidation of self-governments in Europe;- direct foreign investments as the development factor on the local and regional levels.

I believe, that this year’s 8th edition of the Self-Government Forum co-organized by the Department of Public Finance at the Faculty of Management and Economics of Services of the University of Szcze-cin, the city of Szczecin and Self-Government of the Westpomeranian Region will be again a ground for discussion on operation, organization and � nancing issues of territorial self-government units in the changing environment, as well as new challenges and problems related to globalization and integration of the European space.

I am con� dent that the 8th Self-Government Forum will create opportunities to exchange valuable experience between representatives of di� erent self-government levels (boroughs, counties and vo-ivodeships), as well as between representatives of scienti� c and economic communities.

At the end of my welcome speech, on behalf of the rectors, I wish you all fruitful debates and discus-sions. Shall the meeting at the Forum this year contribute to exchange of experience and information on current problems and challenges of self-governance on national and international levels. Already today I would like to invite you to the next conference of 9th International Self-Government Forum.

OPENING SESSION

prof. Edward WłodarczykVice-Rector for Education, University of Szczecin

21

Welcome everybody on the second day of the 8th Self-Government Forum in Szczecin.

Polish-German Cooperation Foundation in its 20-years long history has always been a partner for cities, boroughs and regions. I know that many of you remember the 1990s when we supported many investment projects, e.g. we built schools, kindergartens, social care homes, restored pala-ces, and some regret that today we no longer act in this area. But I think that yesterday evening when we handed out a Polish-German Self-governments Award, clearly showed that there are still many useful things to do and here we can clearly see the added value of the Polish-German coope-ration of boroughs and cities, it is clear that such support is properly given to your area.

In your projects often participate people from other countries, e.g. from countries of Eastern Part-nership or the Balkans. These are new opportunities created for the Polish-German community and our Foundation supports such activities. Of course this does not mean that bilateral issues are relegated to secondary priority. Here in the borderland, we can clearly see that this bilaterality needs our continuous commitment and support.

At this point I would like to show you a publication prepared in cooperation with the Institute of Public A� airs. The title of this publication is “Disappearing border.” The content in fact concerns Szczecin and the region we are now, and also includes distant corners of Mecklenburg and We-stern Pomerania. Among other things, it discusses Polish migration and chances and problems re-sulting from it. From this publication we can learn what is most important today and in which areas the Polish-German Cooperation Foundation can act. These are, � rst of all, language and bicultural competencies on both sides of the border.

It turns out that youth on Polish side of the border prefers to learn English than German, o� cials on the German side sometimes speak Polish but usually they speak German and English, and this is where communication problems arise. That is also why cross-border projects are necessary.

For the next year we are planning projects related to language and bicultural competencies in kindergartens and schools to prepare the next generations for better cooperation. I hope that the next generations will lead to a situation when Polish-German border will not be a “disappearing border”, but the border that has indeed disappeared.

OPENING SESSION

dr Albrecht LemppMember of the Board, Director of the Foundation of the Polish-Germany Cooperation

22

Cornelia Pieper Minister of State at the Federal Foreign O� ce, Germany


today I am very happy to be in Szczecin, the city I visited 30 years ago, as a young woman at the time of “Solidarność”. Then I was a student at the University of Warsaw, I lived at the time of a break-through, huge changes, euphoria of “Solidarność” and I must say that it was the time for me when the freedom and unity of Germany started (…). As a person responsible for relationships with Poland in the Federal Government of Germany I would like to discuss issues that are especially important for me.

Sustainable development of regions is very important from the perspective of our common bor-der region, and it is an issue concerning more than just Poland and Germany. Bene� ts from this cooperation a� ect the European context. The Federal Chancellor - Angela Merkel and the Prime Minister of the Polish Government - Donald Tusk, at the meeting in June last year, on occasion of XX anniversary of signing the Polish-German treaty of good cooperation, said that the Polish-Ger-man relationships have never been as good as today. Two generations back statements like this were only a wishful thinking. (…) The Federal Government led by the Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister of Foreign A� airs Guido Westerwelle since the very beginning set a goal to keep re-lationship between Poland and Germany on the same level as the relationship between Germany and France. The relationships are tended not only on government level but also on the level of friendly contacts between citizens.

Between our countries there is a more and more dense network of cooperation. Poles and Germans have learned to talk with each other openly and without fear of the past, but they also formulate requests and demands on the future of Europe. Such demands were stated at the session of go-vernments last year. A balance of the cooperation until then was assessed, there were discussions on further cooperation but also on 100 projects that would be realized, which is a bigger number of projects than there were in cooperation with Germany. Those concerned not only cross-border cooperation, but also our civil societies, scienti� c cooperation, cooperation in energetic sector, environmental protection.

By implementation of those projects our countries show how much Poland and Germany mean in Europe. I am con� dent that Poland, Germany and France, as the Weimar Triangle, will together be


23

a driving force for innovations in Europe. Particularly, when it comes to Poland and Germany, we are planning a number of infrastructural projects. For example, we are planning to modernize the railway between Berlin and Szczecin, so that the travel would take 90 minutes. (…)

To further enhance and strengthen the Polish-German contact, we need you – borough politicians, mayors, marshals, presidents of the cities. You are the people that build and enhance cooperation networks with the civil society, who competently and pragmatically suggest new projects concer-ning cross-border cooperation, that will soon make the border completely invisible.

All the cross-border projects build a mutual trust, they help us get to know each other as neighbo-urs. This background shows the importance of youth exchange and cooperation in the area, which is very important for me. In Szczecin there are 4 schools that o� er extended scope of lessons of the German language and enable passing an extended language exam organized in Germany. What is more, middle school in Loeknitz is a place where children from Poland and Germany study to-gether, and Polish language is one of the school subjects. (…) This year the Polish-German Middle School in Loeknitz will be awarded for outstanding achievements and signi� cant work on Polish--German relationship. Of course also academic schools tend to long-term cooperation – at the University of Szczecin, which is a co-organizer of the Forum, the Conference of Rectors now covers already 19 undertakings of this type, including common � eld of study – computer science, this is also our common success. We have also a number of other projects of youth exchange, which enhances our relationships a lot.

Of course the Weimar Triangle itself shows the meaning of being European and directs how to act in Europe in the future. When we imagine that almost 500 mln. of Europeans live together in all these countries, we see this is a strong political power, which we can involve to work on further European integration. In my opinion initiatives like this should be strongly supported also in this Forum, where we can discuss, express interests of regional self-governments, here the economy meets the world of science. I am con� dent that the power of e� ects of this positive experience that is indeed created by our Polish-German cooperation is big enough to prepare a ground for the next bilateral and three-way initiatives in the European � eld.

I wish you could contribute to our common work in your daily activities and also at this Forum. Thank you very much for your commitment and intensive support for our Polish-German relation-ship.

24

„Direct foreign investments as the development factor on the local and regional levels”

Moderator:Olgierd Geblewicz, Marshal of the Westpomeranian Region, President of BSSSC

Paneliści:Adam Szejnfeld, Member of the Polish Parliament, Chairman of the Parliamentary State Treasury Commission in Polish ParliamentAndrzej Dycha, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of EconomyVasyl Fedyuk, Director of the Regional Development Department at the State Agency for Invest-ment and National Projects of the UkraineDaniel Larsson, Trade Commissioner, Swedish Trade Council in WarsawRyszard Pacholik, Mayor of KobierzyceAdam Ryniak, Chairman of the Board of Cargotec Poland Sp. z o. o.


- Today we are talking about the in� uence of foreign investments in Poland on local and regional levels, about di� culties that boroughs face when they try to bring investors and capitals. We will summarize the result on the Polish economy due to foreign investments in the last 20 years” – with these words the mar-shal started the discussion.

The � rst speaker, Adam Szejnfeld, said that direct foreign investments were the basis for building a free--market economy, „capitalistic Poland”, twenty years ago. Economy is a kind of “system of linked ves-sels” that do not exist separately from other � nancial, economic and socio-economic events. “Foreign investments are related to horizontal development of the country, which means also local and regio-nal development. – Direct foreign investments in� uence promotion and build a trademark of the country, region and local communities, it in� uences economy pillars – export, domestic demand, consumption. Our country is very attractive for foreign businesses, for international companies, in world rankings we occupy a very good place. Poland became a world leader in terms of direct foreign investments, which positively a� ects our prestige and stabilizes economic basis for the future, it also positively a� ects the labour market, the creation of new work places. Self-governments are very committed to bring direct foreign investments to their ground because it is one of the elements to build competitiveness of the Polish regions and cities. In my opinion, foreign investments play an important role in socio-economic development, I have no doubt they are one of the most important means of the development.

PANEL IV

25

The next speaker was Ryszard Pacholik, related to investments in the Kobierzyce borough, e.g. in indu-stry, and the biggest companies, logistic centres and special economic zone located in the borough, emphasizing at the same time that economic situation of Kobierzyce is on a very good level and it is stable, it is not endangered. Investors are aware of the fact, that “it is bene� cial to invest in Kobierzyce.” Foreign investments are a direct factor of local development and economic growth. - Over the last three years the invested capital has exceeded 3 bln. Euro, which means 28 thousand new work places in a borough with population of 16 thousand – emphasized the mayor.

Adam Ryniak focused on stages of foreign investment, i.e. on selection of location, execution of the project and operation itself. As he emphasized, there are many elements that help investors in selecting the location for investment and realizing the investment. One of it is the Investor Assistance Centre, which o� ers continuous support in decisive and administrative processes, as well as cooperation with local self-government.

Commenting this statement, the moderator emphasized the importance of pro-investment support, creating positive conditions, contact and cooperation during the whole investment realization, from the location selection, ending with carrying out the investment.

Experience from inviting investors and in� uence of investment on economy development was also a topic of speech of Vasyl Fedyuk, who emphasized that 20% of all the investment in the Ukraine ori-ginates in Germany, Poland and Sweden, and Polish investments sum up to USD 875 mln. and is still expected to grow. He stated that it is bene� cial to invest in special economic zones and create relevant legal basis for its operation. It is important to take example of other countries that have success in eco-nomy, create positive working conditions for businessmen, for investors, it is important to introduce institutional changes and improvements in legislation, which will have a direct impact on economy development, on the development of the country and the region.

- „For business, for development of foreign investments in a given place, regardless if it is Poland or the Ukra-ine, the most important is stability, predictability, continuation” – summarized the thread marshal Geble-wicz.

The next question was about the opinion on Poland by the Scandinavian investors. It was answered by Daniel Larsson, who said that image of Poland in Sweden is positive and it has recently been improving faster and faster. Particularly appreciated is e� ective, quali� ed work force and its low costs. However, knowledge in Sweden about investment possibilities o� ered by our country is still insu� cient and only intensive promotion of Poland can bring noticeably positive increase of interest for our country among Swedish businessmen.

Andrzej Dycha emphasized that, in order to increase foreign capital in Poland, it is necessary to take care of those investors that are already present in the country, as their opinion is the best factor that can attract next investments. An important role to play here is for self-governments and central administra-tion. The minister informed also that the government, using proper � nancial instruments, supports � rst of all those companies that locate in Poland production of the most important and the most expensive elements of their � nal products.

Adam Szejnfeld noticed that fundamental responsibility for creating positive conditions for invest-ments is not only the role of territorial self-governments, but particularly a long-term policy of the go-vernment, which considers worldwide trends and mechanisms in the economy and which will create conditions for investors for the next 15–25 years. He appealed that such policy should be “cross-party, cross-policy and timeless.”

26

SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS AND THE BALTIC ORGANIZATIONS

The participants of the ceremony of signing the Declaration were: dr Gerhard Stahl, Secretary--General of the Committee of the Regions, Olgierd Geblewicz, Marshal of the West Pomerania voivodeship, Chairman of the Board of the Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation BSSSC and a regular agent of the Committee of the Regions, Piotr Krzystek, Mayor of Szczecin, President of the Pomerania Euroregion, Ulla Petterson, President of the B7 Baltic Islands Network.

The Declaration will also be signed by President of the Baltic Euroregion - Roland Gustbee and President of the Union of the Baltic Cities - Per Bodker Andersen, who could not participate in the ceremony.

The Declaration concerns cooperation between the Committee of the Regions – an advisory unit of the European Institutions and � ve regional Baltic Sea organizations: the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Cooperation, the Union of the Baltic Cities, the B7 Baltic Islands Network, the Pomera-nia Euroregion and the Baltic Sea Euroregion. The signed document will be valid in the period of 2012–2015 in the scope of: possibility of participation of partner organizations in the process of preparing expertises and opinions for the Committee of the Regions, participation in the dialogue with the European Commission, participation of the representatives of partner organizations as speakers at the conferences and seminars organized by the Committee of the Regions, work on development and implementation of the Baltic Sea Strategy in the context of assumptions of Eu-rope 2020 Strategy and operations of the Committee of the Regions and partner organizations in the � eld of confronting the crisis in the area of the Baltic Sea on the regional level.

After signing the agreement, dr. Gerhard Stahl – Secretary-General of the Committee of the Re-gions, emphasized the importance of the concept of the European cooperation in the Baltic Sea area and assured that the Committee of the Regions will support the cooperation in the coming years, so that the EU strategy could develop and increase the investment and tourist attractiveness of the region which will support the economic growth of the Baltic countries.

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EXPERT DEBATE

“Financial performance of territorial self-government units”

moderator: prof. Paweł Swianiewicz, Head of Department of Local Development and Policy, Faculty of Geo-graphy and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw, Advisor to President of the Republic of Poland for the local self-governance

experts: Rafał Antczak, Deputy President of the Deloitte Business Consulting SA in WarsawProf. Krystyna Brzozowska, Head of Department of Public Finance, Faculty of Management and Economics of Services, University of SzczecinDr Zbigniew Miklewicz, Treasurer of the West Pomeranian voivodeshipDr Gerhard Stahl, Secretary-General of the EU Committee of the RegionsProf. Jolanta Szołno-Koguc, Voivode of the Lubelskie voivodeship, Head of the Public Finances Department at the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin

Summary of discussion

The moderator prof. Paweł Swianiewicz started the debate with the topic of the slow-down in the econo-mic growth of the country, which automatically causes � nancial issues for the territorial self-government units. On the other hand, according to the professor, very often such problems stimulate innovations and, eventually, success.

Such an innovative – though still underused – solution for modern self-government economy can be, according to prof. Krystyna Brzozowska, public-private partnership. – All institutions that can be involved in PPP in Poland share the same doubts. However, in my opinion PPP is one of possible solutions to increase public investments in Poland – said the professor. To encourage utilization of this means, it is necessary to teach potential bene� ciaries how to work on partnership promotion.

Rafał Antczak, shared the concern about PPP development in Poland. – Above all, to increase the speed of this process it is necessary to change the mentality and remove doubts that both sides of PPP have. At the same time it is necessary to ensure transparency of this type of projects – he argumented.

Prof. Jolanta Szołno-Koguc pointed out that problems of PPP result not only from doubts or unclear regu-lations but also problematic characteristics of the sectors - public, which should be safe, and private that by default is open to risk. Good PPP can � nd a consensus between the safety and the risk. According to prof. Szołno-Koguc, an interesting mechanism here can be the special purpose entities, which are especially popular with territorial self-government units. – This can be a recipe for the crisis – said the professor.

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Prof. Swianiewicz continued the discussion into the area of � nancial sources for self-governments. Accor-ding to the professor, many self-governments would like to have more autonomy, at the same time many of them need more security, which – more than independence from the government – could secure other forms of transfers of e.g. taxes received from the country’s budget. – There is no political risk here, however, it gives better sense of security – explained the professor, asking also the speakers the following questions: if the debate on � nancing the self-governments should head towards � nancial security and the transferred amo-unts or towards autonomy of � nancial policy of the self-governments, both in terms of income and expenditu-res? What should be the response to the � nancial crisis? Which is the proper response in this situation - limiting autonomy and closer � nancial monitoring of territorial self-government units, or deregulation, which by default gives self-governments an opportunity to be innovative but can be risky if applied in the whole country?

Prof. Krystyna Brzozowska discussed the interdependence of the central government and self-govern-ments and lack of knowledge of an ordinary citizen, who is usually unaware of the di� erence in duties between the government, borough, county or voivodeship. According to the professor “a citizen should feel safe and have his needs ful� lled – this is what one expects from a democratic country” and the real local democracy “does not exist without � nancial independence.”

This issue was addressed also by dr. Gerhard Stahl: - We need proper law regulations more than deregulations. Europe needs a law that will guarantee security in terms of proper legal and � nancial regulations. Above all, it is necessary to take care of security of planning structural funds and try to ensure � nancial autonomy of the local units.

A similar attitude was presented by Rafał Antczak. He drew attention to the lack of credibility, thus decre-asing clarity of some information or data concerning e.g. debts of the public � nance sector. Following the thesis of dr. Stahl – open and public access to information that can be easily veri� ed could stabilize � nancial markets.

In the discussion there were several situations where de� cit and threats for the public sector were mentio-ned. – Participation of self-governments in the public debt in Poland is still small in contrast to participation in public investments – more than a half of the public investments come from self-governments – said prof. Paweł Swianiewicz. On the other hand, although the development has been visible only for several years, it is already slowing down due to the crisis. According to prof. Swianiewicz, it is not surprising that the Ministry of Finance is concerned about this situation and looks for ways to limit the de� cit.

- Of course, this is a con� ict between emotions and reason – explained the de� cit issue dr. Zbigniew Mikle-wicz. – In the emotional meaning, every self-government representative would like to spend as much as po-ssible on investments because the needs and challenges are huge in all the areas. A common sense tells, that discussions on investments should � rst of all include PPP. This is the path that, when some essential criteria are ful� lled, will be outside of the limit of the debt. The only things missing – summarized dr. Miklewicz – are some regulations and a change in our mentality.

Near the end of the debate an issue of direct reserves came out, which led into the discussion about the Euro-zone. – If I were to decide, I would de� nitely choose a soon access of Poland to the Euro-zone - declared Rafał Antczak. – This gives a certain amount of a direct reserve. It will be risky if we follow a settled and stable path as a country outside of the Euro-zone. In this situation we would be vulnerable to all � uctuations of the international markets – he warned.

Dr. Gerhard Stahl listed tools that in his opinion could stabilize situation in the Euro-zone. First of all, these are consistent and common rules for all countries, based on trust, but also on possibility to � nance and monitor the public debt. This is met e.g. by infrastructural bonds for large investments in transport and energy sector. – Without additional funds, in my opinion, - gave notice dr. Gerhard Stahl. – the growth rate in the whole EU will not be high enough to overcome the unemployment. The proper solutions here are not limi-tations and resignations, but clear rules and additional funding and investment options. This should also ensure the credibility towards international � nancial investors. This opinion was shared - at least in some of its aspects – by most of the speakers.

The topic of accessing the Union’s � nancial zone was the last one in the experts debate.

29

CLOSING INTERVENTIONS


in a few moments the 8th Self-Government Forum will be a history. Then there will be time to honestly summarize the outcome of the two-days conference, for analyses and conclusions. But before that let me here share my afterthought of our meeting.

I realize that each issue listed in the agenda of the Forum deserves in every aspect a dedicated confe-rence, taking even more than one day. In here we were limited by the discipline of the debates and time running out, and tried to discuss the most important threads. Nevertheless, everybody listening carefully to speeches of the participants could hear many interesting opinions about common European expe-riences. After these debates one evident thought comes to my mind –discussions in the Forum proved that we operate the same terms and values, despite the fact that we come from di� erent countries and regions and we speak about di� erent areas of self-governance activities. This is a solid base for building the future of Europe, because e� cient and clear description of the case allows us to quickly move to constructive actions.

Challenges for self-governments – being local or regional – are getting more di� cult every day. We have to face them right now, that is why it was so valuable to hear every voice saying not only how and with whom, but also pointing to sources of funding. For us the basic means is a cohesion policy, both on European and national levels. This was mentioned for instance by Commissioner Johannes Hahn and President Mercedes Bresso. According to them only consistent implementation of cohesion policy ensu-res development of regions and thus improves European integration. It is important to mention that in the opinion of debaters a common subject of all programs or projects is partnership. Actually, every un-dertaking has it incorporated in its assumptions. Why is it so important? Without partnership there is no cooperation, and all self-government and regional initiatives require equal involvement of many partners to make them successful. Because new, higher level of development requires common work of people of science, business and public administration sector.

Thanks to such an approach the important element of the conference in Szczecin is practice of Eastern Partnership. Voices of our guests from Georgia, Ukraine and Moldavia show how big and laborious are democratic transformations. We have our path clear, they are still entering terra incognita. There is no doubt that, as we received help from strong countries of EU, so we are obliged to share our experiences with countries of the Easter Partnership. There are many other things worth at least mentioning, as we considered extremely interesting topic of territorial consolidation, in this room we discussed � nancial economy of self-governments, we discussed a lot about foreign investments that stimulate development, but this Forum has also its time limits.

In the last sentence I would like to express my hope that for every participant of the Forum it was a valu-able and noteworthy experience. I am convinced that in one year, at the 9th Self-Government Forum the discussions will be even more inspiring. However, today – I give many thanks to all for our discussions at the 8th Self-Government Forum.Thank you for your attention. See you next year.

dr Wojciech DrożdżVice-Marshal of the Westpomeranian Region

30

CLOSING INTERVENTIONS

Ladies and Gentlemen,Dear Guests and Participants of the Forum,

our self-governance meeting has come to an end. It was the eighth time when the capital of the Westpomeranian Region hosted active exchange of opinions between politicians, self-government representatives and domestic and foreign experts, who faced challenges of changing economy and political situation in united Europe. I would like to thank all guests and participant of the Forum for this meeting, for very intensive discussions and deliberations on operations of self-governments not only on local, regional or national, but also on international level.

I give many thanks to all co-organizers of this event, without their involvement this Forum would not be possible on such a big scale. The headword of the conference this year was „Institutional and economic partnership as a chance for the sustainable development of the European regions”, and debates focused on many important topics, like European strategy Europe 2020, economic integra-tion in the Eastern Partnership, territorial consolidation of self-governments in Europe or � nancial management in self-government units.

I would like to emphasize, that it is getting more and more problematic for self-governments to act on their own because of limited � nancial capacity. In partnership it is much easier to balance e� orts and costs, that is why it is so important to meet, exchange views, solve problems and be open for dialogue. Today it is self-governments that must handle the biggest responsibility for development of territorial communities and need to strengthen and build good relations with government, whose decisions have a great impact on self-government structures. Self-Government Forum is a perfect ground for discussions and searching for constructive solutions that are bene� cial for all parties.

I give many thanks for coming and meeting to all guests, including Cornelia Pieper – Minister of State at the Federal Foreign O� ce in Germany, Joachim Bleicker – Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Embassy in Warsaw, prof. Giuli Alasania – Vice-Rector of International Black Sea University of Tbilisi, Mercedes Bresso – Leader of the Committee of the Regions, Magdalena Młochowska – Deputy Secretary of State in Ministry of Administration and Digitization of Poland, prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, Adam Szejnfeld – Member of Polish Parliament and other guests of honour who participated in this conference in Szczecin.

The form of panel discussions for sure has given to us – self government representatives – new ideas, solutions, new experiences from all over the Europe. There is no doubt that Self-Government Forum is also a great opportunity to integrate self-government, scienti� c and economic environments, to improve interregional cooperation and dialogue between partners.

I hope that also in the next meeting in Szczecin we will have the honour to welcome digni� ed guests and participants. I whole-heartedly invite you to the next editions of the Forum!

Bogdan JaroszewiczVice-Mayor of Szczecin

the institutional and economic partnership as a chance for ... · inaugural lecture will be...

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