This tag is for all posts relating to the Baltic Sea.

AER President stresses the importance of regional authorities during Strategov Forum

12 November, 2019 By Anne Henk Bloemhoff

The President of the Assembly of European Regions, Mr Magnus Berntsson, recently participated in the 18^th Strategic Planning Leaders Forum of Regions & Cities of Russia (Strategov Forum) that took place in St Petersburg from 28-29 October. The forum focused on topics such as international & interregional cooperation, digital economy, green technology and sustainable development. Mr Berntsson took part in the welcome and two roundtables, one dedicated to International Cooperation for Regional Development and the second on International and Cross Border Intermunicipal Cooperation.

During the Strategov Forum, Mr Berntsson stressed the importance of regions and cities as being instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals. This involvement of the subnational level is of utmost importance if we are to bring about this societal change. Next year marks the decade of delivery, and while steps have been made to tackle poverty, inequality and climate change, it is not where it should be. In order to achieve these goals by 2030, there needs to be localization, regionalization and implementation of the 2030 agenda at local, regional, continental and global level – at all levels and involve all stakeholders. These societal challenges are something that unites actors all over the world. The topic of climate change was of big interest to the Russians actors present as Russia ratified the Paris Agreement earlier this year. This has initiated a process where new laws will be implemented in line with the agreement.

The European Committee of Regions noted that 65% of the 169 targets included in the SDGs require the engagement of regions & cities to be achieved. 2020 will, therefore, be a crucial opportunity to reflect on how we are doing in Europe and beyond. We have just one decade to shift the world into a sustainable and resilient path. The only way to successfully navigate this journey is to work together, ensuring the full and effective participation of local and regional authorities as well as other stakeholders in the sustainable development and climate processes.

Furthermore, Mr Berntsson stressed the importance of youth participation in society. Providing and giving opportunities for citizens and especially young people the possibility to engage in society and actively participate in decision making can be used to not only spread the seeds of peace but to lay the foundation of their future. Indeed, Mr Berntsson met with Anton Vakulenko, a young activist, in the promotion of the SDGs.

During the forum, AER met with different actors from the regional and local level and discussed areas of collaboration including:

Elissan Shandalovich, Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Karelia
Dmitry Puliaevsky, Vice Chairman of the Leningrad Region Legislative Assembly
Alexey Nikitenko, Vice-Governor of the Region of Arkhangelsk
Igor Kapyrin, Deputy Director of the Department of the Russian Ministry of International Affairs
Maira Mora, General Director of the Council of the Baltic Sea States
Alexandra Ignatieva, General Director of the Union of Russian Cities
Viatcheslav Kalganov, Deputy Head of the Committee for External Relations for the Government of Sankt-Petersburg
Toni Vanhala, Head of International Affairs from the Regional Council of Kymenlaasko
Laurent Bardon, Head of the Economics and Trade Section from the EU representation to Russia
Vera Meshko, Director of Swedish (Vasterbotten) Karelian Business and Information Centre

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Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities

10 September, 2019 By Norina Haubold

This year’s AER Autumn Committee Plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI), will start off with a conference on Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities.

Disparities within regions can hamper sustainable regional development by generating tensions and leading to difficult choices between for instance innovation on the one hand and equal provision of services on the other hand.

A holistic approach to regional development is therefore needed. Place-based strategies, participatory approaches, and multilevel governance are of major interest in this context. At the same time, international cooperation provides opportunities for mutual learning and knowledge flow.

A shift towards inclusive growth policies

According to the OECD, the GDP per capita dispersion is now greater within countries than between countries which means that the different national economies have converged but within countries, regions have diverged.

The European Union counters regional disparities in particular through cohesion policy and next to strengthening economic and social cohesion, the European Commission introduced a new dimension which is territorial cohesion. With each new country joining the EU, territorial cohesion received more and more importance focussing on different issues:

Ensure having the same quality of life in all the territories.
Capitalise on the strengths of each territory to contribute sustainably to the whole of Europe.
Manage the positive and negative impacts of cities and regions. An example of positive and negative impacts would be that cities would like to intensify innovation and productivity but, at the same time, cities increase pollution and social exclusion.
Develop cooperation over administrative borders between regions and countries, or even between urban and rural territories, to tackle transversal challenges such as climate change or traffic congestion.

A policy shift towards inclusive growth policies constructed through an appropriate governance system could counter the development of diverging regions. Inclusive growth policies would integrate policy packages that address both physical/environmental capital and human/social capital to foster equity and cohesion in cities and regions. Key actors involved in such policies would be partnerships across levels of government, as well as partnerships between public and private spheres, and civil society.

Sharing experiences

The conference will explore the topic of regional development in the face of contrasting regional realities and take the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, in particular:

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The following speakers will share their experience:

Lilijana Madjar, President, Development council of Cohesion, region Zahodna (West-Slovenia)
Ivan Žagar, President, Development council of Cohesion, Host region Vzhodna (East-Slovenia)
Luc Paque, Director, European Union External Relations, Wallonia, BE
Ronan Mac Con Iomaire, Director of Community Development and Language, Udaras na Gaeltachta, (IE) tbc

Join the conference to learn from our speakers’ experiences and get various insights on the topic of regional development and territorial cohesion.

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.

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Routes4U Calls for Proposals

13 August, 2019 By Editor

Explore and boost Europe’s cultural heritage is a topic of high interest for AER and its member regions, which has been strongly approached on occasion of the 2018 Summer Academy in Maramures (Romania) where young people from various regions across Europe gathered to discuss and share experiences on cultural heritage for regional attractiveness.

Therefore, AER is pleased to share with its member regions this grant opportunity aimed to put in value the cultural heritage of the European macro-regions’ Cultural Routes.

Cultural Routes

Launched by the Council of Europe in 1987, the Cultural Routes demonstrate, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries and cultures of Europe contributes to a shared and living cultural heritage.

European Cultural Route, is a certification awarded by the Council of Europe to networks promoting the European shared culture, history and memory.

A Cultural Route of the Council of Europe is not necessarily a physical path to be walked through and can be made up of cultural stakeholders such as museums, municipalities or local governments clustered into one umbrella association. Being awarded the title Cultural Route of the Council of Europe opens the way to larger visibility, a network of cultural stakeholders or even funding.

Routes4U Project

Routes4U Project aims to enhance regional development in the Adriatic-Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube regions through the Cultural Routes. The 30-month project (2017-2020) has been launched in the framework of the joint programme between the Council of Europe (DGII – EPA on Cultural Routes) and the European Union (European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy).

The four EU macro-regions, covering 27 countries (19 EU Member States and 8 non-EU countries), are crossed by 25 transnational networks certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” such as the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes, the Phoenicians’ Routes, the Hansa and the Olive Tree Routes. The Routes4U Project contributes to cultural cooperation and provides a transnational platform for regional and national stakeholders.

7 Calls for proposals for tourism products, services and Cultural Routes cards

The 7 Routes4U Project proposals with a maximum 10 000 euros per grant aim to produce an added value to the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Routes4U programme and to the macro-regional strategies.

Calls for proposals for tourism products and services

The Routes4U grant will co-fund projects that aims at creating tourism products and services in the following macro-region: Adriatic-Ionian, Alpine, Baltic Sea or Danube Region. These products and services should display the heritage along the priority Cultural Routes and promote the macro-regional identity. The creation of specific tourism products must address the priorities of the macro-regional strategy concerned.

Calls for proposals for Cultural Routes cards

The Routes4U Grant will co-fund the creation of a Cultural Route card in the following macro-regions Alpine, Baltic Sea or Danube Region. This card should provide discounts and advantages to the card-holder. It should be an incentive to travel along the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe/priority cultural route project in the macro-region concerned. The creation of a Cultural Route card must address the priorities of the macro-regional strategy concerned.

Apply now!

If you wish to apply, please complete carefully the application form and budget table.

The application form needs to contain as an annexe a visibility and marketing plan and a table of indicators.

Deadline for application: 09 September 2019 (6 pm CET)
The application must be submitted to [email protected]

Online information session

An online information session will take place on Wednesday 28 August at 10 am (UTC+2).

The Routes4U Joint Programme will provide background information on the grant and answer questions on the call for proposals. Networks eligible for the grant (Cultural Routes certified by the Council of Europe and priority projects identified within the framework of Routes4U) will be invited via e-mail and are strongly recommended to take part in this information session.

E-learning platform

The Routes4U e-learning course addresses key issues for the Cultural Routes and for the stakeholders from the EU macro-regions working in the cultural heritage and tourism fields. Different modules on the Cultural Routes, regional development, cultural cooperation and social cohesion will be developed. The course will be made available on the Council of Europe platform and will be promoted also by selected universities and on the websites of different stakeholders of Routes4U Project.

You can access the modules through the Routes4U e-learning course.

The course is hosted by the HELP Council of Europe platform: the access is free and unlimited, but registration is compulsory.

photo by Unsplash

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52 E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu Skype ID: agnesepanta Languages: it, en, pt Articles by Agnese

EU funding
Calls for projects and tenders
Partner search

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EuroAccess Macro-Regions: funding now available

1 August, 2018 By Editor

Are you interested in funding opportunities but have trouble finding information on open calls? EuroAccess Macro-Regions might be the tool you need.

What is EuroAccess Macro-Regions?

EuroAccess Macro-Regions in an online platform and search tool for EU-funding available in four EU Macro-Regions, namely:

Danube Region (EUSDR)
Alpine Region (EUSALP)
Baltic Sea Region (EUSBR)
Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR)

This platform provides information on all Interreg programmes available for these Macro-Regions. It also gives information on open calls for proposals for other European programmes; such as Europe for Citizens, COSME, Creative Europe as well as national programmes which concern these Macro-Regions.

A (short) history of EuroAccess

What started as a pilot initiative in the Danube Region, EuroAccess expanded in 2018 to cover the additional EU Macro-Regions listed above.

We encourage you to use this tool and to keep in mind that the AER Secretariat is always eager to provide you with information regarding new calls for proposals and to answer your questions you may have.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese

EU funding
Calls for projects and tenders
Partner search

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Sport and Eco-Labelled Green Tourism: partners wanted for two different project proposals

25 March, 2017 By Editor

The Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality (Turkey) is currently working on two projects and is looking for partners that could join the consortia.

AER is pleased to share this research with member regions and the entire network, being this a good opportunity to be involved on projects in line with AER priorities and topics.

1) The first project targeting teenagers and refugees will be submitted within Erasmus+ Sport Programme. The project objectives are to foster intercultural dialogue among teenagers, to set up teams together and to encourage them towards sports by offering them opportunities for shared-learning and discover their individual skills.

The activities foresee within this project are the followings:

informing and raising awareness about a healthy life
disseminating ethical behaviour among sportsmen and sportswomen
organising conferences where teenagers will meet their idol athletes (basketball players) like streetball tournaments to provide equal opportunities for the teenagers
during these tournaments and events, providing the opportunity for local sports organisations to build stronger dialogue with each other.

The partners searched are:

municipalities
sports clubs
federations
local public bodies, etc.

2) The second project, mainly addressed to cities with rivers, will be submitted within the first call of Black Sea Basin Cross Border Cooperation Programme – Priority 1.1 of the first thematic objective: Promote business and entrepreneurship within the Black Sea Basin – Jointly promote business and entrepreneurship in the tourism and cultural sectors.

The project titled “EU Eco-Labelled Green Tourism Project with Sustainable Tourism and Eco-Friendly Virtual Reality Applications”, is targeting stakeholders in the tourism sectors such as local entrepreneurs, hotels, art crafters and tourism agencies as well as local farmers, boat owners, etc.

The short-term objectives are:

contributing to the development of jointly promoting business and entrepreneurship in the tourism and cultural sectors through partnership with region, by developing innovative eco-friendly virtual reality applications to sustain joint touristic services and cultural actions both during the project itself and afterwards
implementing symmetrical activities within the project together with the regions partner in the consortia

The long-term objectives are:

sustaining the joint eco-focused touristic and cultural visible impacts among project partners in the Black Sea Basin with EU Eco-Labelled green tourism criteria
establishing joint periodic events (joint festivals, virtual fair, etc.) within the partners’ regions

The expected results are stronger cross-border business opportunities in the tourism and cultural sectors in the Black Sea Basin, and tourism routes having green tourism criteria in partners’ regions.

The final beneficiaries are:

local people
local public authorities
local municipalities
nature parks and protected areas management bodies
farmers’ associations
national public bodies
cross-border and EU countries tour operators

If you are interested in any of these 2 projects, please get in touch with AER Secretariat by 31st March.

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Lower registration fee for AER Summer Academy!

6 July, 2016 By Editor

In April 2016, Østfold County Council -host region for this year’s AER Summer Academy– applied for the Erasmus+ Key Action 3 “Support for policy reform: meetings between young people and decision-makers in the field of youth” specifically fulfilling one of the main priorities in the framework of this project: National meetings and transnational/international seminars that offer space for information, debate and active participation of young people – in dialogue with youth decision-makers -on issues which are relevant to Structured Dialogue or to the EU Youth Strategy.

Well, we have great news: the project application has been approved! This not only allows to further develop the dialogue between youth and regional politicians -which is already a highlight of the Summer Academy- but also represents an opportunity for partner regions to lower the costs of the participation of their youth representatives and contribute to their own efforts.

To check the new prices of the registration fee that we offer youth participants thanks to the Erasmus+ support, please go to the event’s Practical Information document.

You can find the program of the event in the 2016 Summer Academy webpage, where you will also find the registration link. The deadline for registrations for the AER Summer Academy has been extended until 31 July.

The AER Summer Academy

The AER Summer Academy gathers 120-150 participants from across Europe for discussions and dialogue between youth and decision makers from European regions. About half of the participants are young representatives from regional youth councils/parliaments/other regional youth organisations. Through 5 days of key note speeches, interactive workshops, plenary discussions, study visits and informal learning activities, the 2016 Summer Academy “Investing in our future: Youth and Entrepreneurship in Europe’s regions”, promises to be an excellent platform to encourage youth’s participation in public life and to make youth’s voice heard.

Østfold County Council

Østfold is a county located southeast of Oslo, at the Swedish border. Østfold has an area of 4,186 km², and 265,000 inhabitants. The most important business sectors are agriculture, forestry and industry. The county council’s main task is to act as a regional developer and to be an important actor to help expand the labor market by stimulating creativity and innovation. Thus, both youth and entrepreneurship are important focus areas for the regional development work in Østfold.

The County Council has been actively involved in international projects and partnerships for many years. Østfold participates in European organizations such as AER and CPMR and in partnerships in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions (NSC and BSSSC). In addition, Østfold is heavily involved in the INTERREG programs.

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Baltic Rim Economies: special edition on the Arctic

1 July, 2016 By Editor

The Pan-European Institute publishes a discussion forum, Baltic Rim Economies (BRE), which deals with the development of the Baltic Sea region. In the BRE review, high level public and corporate decision makers, representatives of Academia, as well as several other experts contribute to the discussion.

Special issue on the future of the Arctic was published on 20.6.2016.

Expert articles:

Ola Elvestuen: 20 years of peaceful cooperation in the Arctic
Aleksi Härkönen: The role of Finland in Arctic cooperation
Hannele Pokka: Clean technology brings new prospects in the north
Marja-Leena Vuorenpää: The role of Barents cooperation in the development of the European Arctic
Fujio Ohnishi: The Arctic concert system and its challenges
Liu Xu: China-Russian Arctic cooperation: black gold and beyond
Timo Laukkanen: Action to enable more sustainable business in the Arctic
Gunn-Britt Retter: Challenges and opportunities in the development of the Arctic region from the perspective of the Saami
Satu Miettinen: Arctic design: creating innovation and competitive edge in the north
Rauno Posio: Visit Arctic Europe: making cross-border cooperation
Susan Chatwood & Greg Poelzer: Social determinants of health in Arctic regions
Ilona Mettiäinen: There is no “one-size-fits-all” in Arctic climate change adaptation
Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen: Russia’s Arctic paradoxes
Daria Gritsenko: What does the case of Sabetta tell us about the relationship between energy and regional development?
Andrey Shadurskiy: Russia’s LNG projects in the Arctic: still on track?
Tomoko Tabata: Demographic trend in the Russian High North
Masahiro Tokunaga: The Russian Arctic and environmental discourse
Shinichiro Tabata: Research on the socio-economic development of the Russian Far North
Eini Haaja & Hanna Mäkinen: Need for international research on international business in the Russian Far North

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2016 Summer Academy & Erasmus+ project

7 March, 2016 By Johanna Pacevicius

Østfold County Council is inviting AER members to join an Erasmus+ project proposal Østfold is going to lead. The idea is to develop a joint project, which will be rolled out on the occasion of the Summer Academy.

Meetings between young people and decision-makers:

The project Østfold County Council plans to apply for is the Erasmus + Key Action 3 “Support for policy reform: meetings between young people and decision-makers in the field of youth”, specifically fulfilling the following priority:

National meetings and transnational/international seminars that offer space for information, debate and active participation of young people – in dialogue with youth decision-makers -on issues which are relevant to Structured Dialogue or to the EU Youth Strategy

Deadline: April 26th 2016

The project will allow to further develop the dialogue between youth and regional politicians, which is already a highlight of this event. For partner regions this will also be an opportunity to lower the costs of the participation of their youth representatives and contribute to their own efforts.

The AER Summer Academy

The AER Summer Academy gathers 120-150 participants from across Europe for discussions and dialogue between youth and decision makers from European regions.
About half of the participants are young representatives from regional youth councils/parliaments/other regional youth organisations. Through 5 days of key note speeches, interactive workshops, plenary discussions, study visits and informal learning activities, the Summer Academy encourages dialogue between youth and decision makers and experts in all activities.

The topic for the AER Summer Academy 2016 is youth and entrepreneurship.

Østfold County Council

Østfold is a county located southeast of Oslo, at the Swedish border. Østfold has an area of 4,186 km², and 265,000 inhabitants. The most important business sectors are agriculture, forestry and industry. The county council’s main task is to act as a regional developer. It is our responsibility to help expand the labor market by stimulating creativity and innovation. Youth and entrepreneurship are important focus areas for the regional development work in Østfold.

Interested? Please contact Line Helene Nilsen before 10 April 2015

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From regional cooperation to macro-regions: Words find some meaning at AER political bureau

18 September, 2009 By Editor

Göteborg, Västra Götaland (S), 18 September 2009

As European ministers from the Baltic Sea countries convene in Stockholm, Sweden, to adopt a declaration to undertake the measures contained in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, the Assembly of European Regions’ (AER) political bureau met in nearby Göteborg to discuss the implications for the regions of emerging macro-regions.“

“The macro-region concept is certainly an opportunity to focus on challenges that are important to us,” said Hans Aronsson, president of the Västra Götaland (S) regional council, which hosted the meeting. “We have been involved in the creation of the Baltic Sea Strategy and we also think that a North Sea strategy could be helpful. But the concept also raises important questions about governance.”

These important questions, and their related uncertainties, were at the heart of the debate among regional politicians during AER’s bureau session.

Professor Esko Antola from the Centrum Balticum in Turku, Finland attempted to define macro-regions as areas “covering a number of administrative regions but with sufficient issues in common to justify a single strategic approach.” He also warned AER’s bureau that any new type of governance requires strict regulation to avoid alienating citizens.

Despite these potential obstacles, Olivier Baudelet, Administrator at the European Commission’s DG REGIO, explained during the debate that: “For the regions, there is a lot to gain in cooperating better at the level of a macro-region between countries who share common challenges and opportunities.”

What, then, can the regions gain from macro-regions? As the European Commission searches for an optimal approach to macro-regions, AER is already putting words into actions.

AER president Michèle Sabban said: “Macro-regions are not only a powerful tool to reinforce citizen participation and understanding of EU issues; they can also serve a purpose outside EU borders. And that is why, early next year, AER is bringing together the 33 regions surrounding the Black Sea to address common issues in water management and tourism development.”

For more information: [email protected]

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AER President stresses the importance of regional authorities during Strategov Forum

Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities

A shift towards inclusive growth policies

Sharing experiences

Routes4U Calls for Proposals

Cultural Routes

Routes4U Project

7 Calls for proposals for tourism products, services and Cultural Routes cards

Apply now!

Online information session

E-learning platform

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

EuroAccess Macro-Regions: funding now available

What is EuroAccess Macro-Regions?

A (short) history of EuroAccess

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Sport and Eco-Labelled Green Tourism: partners wanted for two different project proposals

Lower registration fee for AER Summer Academy!

Baltic Rim Economies: special edition on the Arctic

2016 Summer Academy & Erasmus+ project

Meetings between young people and decision-makers:

The AER Summer Academy

Østfold County Council

From regional cooperation to macro-regions: Words find some meaning at AER political bureau

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