More than one hundred regional leaders from all over Europe (EU and non-EU), experts from the Assembly of European Regions (AER), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (Council of Europe), will gather in Bödo, Capital of Nordland (N), on 14th and 15th June 2002, to prepare a global political action plan for sustainable regions and towns.

In view of the upcoming Earth Summit (Johannesburg, 26th August – 4th Sept. 2002) and the 1st Conference of Regional Ministers of Spatial planning, organised by the AER for 14th and 15th Nov. 2002 in Pècs (Baranya, H), this meeting organized by the AER Regional policy Committe aims:

– to assess the regional dimension of sustainable development in the various fields (management of local natural resources, agriculture and the rural world, transport, tourism…),
– to compare innovative regional practices in favour of sustainable development,
– on this basis, to make recommendations in view of the reform of European policies such as CAP, regional and cohesion policies, and of the new transport policy,
– and finally, to find out the best issues and solutions for sustainable development at regional level.

On 15th June, the participants will attend a seminar “The Regional Level- Trends and Future Propects” organized by the authorities of Nordland which will focus on recent developments in the EU as well as in the Nordic countries such as the Swedish Pilot Regions and the Norwegian debate on the need for a pertinent regional level.

For more information: [email protected]