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Debating the Role of Regions in the Digital Era

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During the AER Bureau Meeting which took place in Brussels on 5 December 2019, the AER Taskforce on Digitalisation hosted a panel debate on Regions in the Digital Era at the BIP – the House of the Capital Region.

The event was organised under the leadership of the Taskforce Chair, the Region of Lower Austria.

The shift towards an information society has profoundly changed our way of living and thinking. Information society, with the help of ICT, offers great opportunities to local and regional authorities to enhance the democratic participation of citizens and increasing the quality and efficiency of public services and local administration.

Likewise, regions plan and pursue their own digital strategies in order to enhance economic growth and to promote their citizens’ wellbeing.

During the debate, experts from European Institutions, academia and the private sector had the opportunity to reflect on the challenges that regions face to foster an ecosystem that is conducive to the uptake and usage of digital applications to benefit its citizens. Concurrently, debate attendees seized the opportunity to pose questions to the panel to learn how to better harness digitalization and empower citizens in their regions.

Kerstin Koren from the Lower Austrian Regional Government moderated the debate, which was opened by Martin Eichtinger – Minister of Housing, Labour, and International Relations of the Government of Lower Austria, Chair of the AER Task Force on Digitalisation

Mr. Eichtinger showcased the work that Lower Austria is doing in promoting digitalisation by establishing different projects and initiatives, such as Digi Contest, a competition for employees to come up with innovative project ideas, alongside other citizens’ participation programmes, which can be used as examples by other European regions.

Anne-Marie Sassen, Deputy Head of Unit at the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission gave insights into the Commission’s Digital Europe programme with a detailed presentation.

You can revisit the presentation by accessing the slides here.

She stated that there are some European organisations that have already implemented new technologies, but not all of them are making the most of things when it comes to digital competences. The same applies to regions, are implementing a lot of technologies, whereas others are not. With the Digital Europe Programme, the European Commission hopes to encourage European public services, companies and citizens to be more aware of the advantages of digitalisation and to enable these actors to seize the benefits that can come from digital technologies.

Ms. Koren subsequently asked the audience to feedback on the first thing that comes to mind when we discuss digitalisation.

Sli.do 5 Dec 2019

Thomas J. Lampoltshammer – Deputy Head of Center for E-Governance, Danube University Krems reflected on the outcomes of this audience poll and the situation of regions & companies active in the digital era, stating

“We have different challenges and we need to find a way to put together the main pillars in order to find solutions.” He advised that we need to bring the public and private sector together to cooperate on the digital transition and he stressed in particular that given that each region has its own profile and background which affects the development of digital literacy, there is a need to develop a programme for providing solutions to the problems, to make people aware of the digital era and to encourage them to get on board in the ways that work best for them.

Stefan Moritz, Managing Director of European Entrepreneurs (CEA-PME) gave the perspectives of SMEs and stressed that SMEs need to be more digitally literate. To do this we need to share good practices with other countries, and to cooperate. For regions and EU Member States, he advised that E-governance will be a pull factor for digital companies, as well as for citizens so it is crucial that public services keep up the pace.

Ludmilla Georgieva, Public Policy and Governmental Relations Manager, Google, shared her views as somebody who has previously worked in the public sector before joining the tech giant. She underscored the opportunities that digitalisation offers to governments, regions and citizens. She gave the example of the cloud as a means to help to reduce costs, to reduce time, and to improve overall quality of life.

She reiterated that digitalisation is an opportunity for regions to foster regional development, the grow local economies and keep citizens in their region by providing digital infrastructure and promoting connectivity through digital technologies.

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Regional Parliaments: host a debate on the future of Europe

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Regions shape Europe and, considering their proximity to citizens, regional governments are crucial actors for the achievement of effective democracy and good governance. In this context, a consortium of universities is looking for EU member regions willing to participate in a project focused at showcasing the role of regional parliaments in European democracy and at gathering their input in the future of Europe debate.

What is REGIOPARL?

REGIOPARL is a cooperation of researchers located at the Danube University Krems (Austria) and the European Democracy Lab in Berlin (Germany). This project brings together regional political actors with the aim to contribute actively to the ongoing debate on the future of Europe. 

What does REGIOPARL do?

REGIOPARL organises workshops with members of regional parliaments and assemblies in 15 European regions. The purpose of this platform is to strengthening democracy at regional level and consequently strengthening democracy in Europe. 

The workshops will address the regional perspective on:

  • The EU’s institutional structure
  • The distribution of competences
  • Territorial aspects of regions in Europe

What can you do?

If you are interested in getting involved, REGIOPARL is looking for regions wishing to host one of the workshops. But there is more: the workshops’ results will be collected for the comparative study on which REGIOPARL is working on and, secondarily, the outputs will be disseminated among policy-makers at the regional, national and European level. 

Regional realities are the core of this project, your experience and the transfer of this knowledge is fundamental for the realisation of this initiative, for this reason, AER invites its member regions to join this project and foster this exchange of perspectives. 

If you are interested in taking part of this project and sharing your regional realities, please contact Annalena Rehkaemper, Research Associate REGIOPARL, via phone (+ 49 30 20 61 62 58) or e-mail ([email protected]).

More useful information can be found on REGIOPARL webpage.

Photo credits: REGIOPARL 

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Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities

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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

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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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What will the future of local and regional news look like? CIRCOM Regional has the answer!

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Headway/Unsplash

The 37th CIRCOM Regional Annual Conference will take place in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia, on May 30th and 31st, 2019. Placing regional broadcasting at the centre, the annual event gathers experts, thinkers and observers of the media world.

This year’s theme, The Future of Regional Media (FoRM), reflects the numerous challenges and recent developments of the news industry. As advanced technologies are the driving force in media, striving for attractive content and excellent quality becomes more important than ever before. Particularly challenging for the industry are changing workflows due to the digitalisation of news consumption nowadays. Across Europe, local and regional news outlets see their business models coming under pressure: When social media and newsfeeds become more popular than the local newspaper, ensuring the future of regional journalism becomes a key priority.

In response to the challenges, investments in a technology-driven future of news are increasing. Robot reporter-machines, automated posting and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – these technologies represent a change for newsrooms. As such, real-time analytics detect trending topics and content consumption to better know what a certain regional audience is interested in. Introducing innovative approaches to targeting audiences and bringing big data on board aims to provide content with impact for people in the regions. This is related to maintaining and regaining trust in quality journalism which remains the key issue against the background of fake news. But are digital technologies really beneficial to creating meaningful content and better bonds with locals?

How are digital technologies affecting the future of regional news? Image: Hal Gatewood/Unsplash

To discuss the aforementioned questions between news outlets, stakeholders and decision-makers, AER welcomes CIRCOM’s Annual Conference on The Future of Regional Media. Interested professionals can now register on the website.

Since 1983, CIRCOM Regional has held yearly Annual Conferences in various regions across Europe. The aim is to share ideas between colleagues  – everyone should leave the conference with at least two good ideas which they can adapt in their respective local news outlet. Centring around strategic issues such as content, technology, audience, online production and other broadcasting topics, each conference focuses on a theme being topical for the regional host.

The 37th Annual Conference coincides with another special occasion: The 2019 European Youth Capital Novi Sad (OPENS). The hosting organisation is RTV – Radio Television of Vojvodina and is based in the capital of AER member region Vojvodina. Novi Sad is situated on the banks of the Danube River and home to 350.000 inhabitants while being the political, administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of the autonomous province. AER welcomes the choice of location and hosting organization, not least because the AER Summer Academy will also take place in Novi Sad this July.

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Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border regional cooperation: successes, challenges, and the way forward

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The Assembly of European Regions counts among its members four Romanian counties that share a border with Bulgaria. The Danube River winds along the southern edge of Mehendenti, Dolj, Olt, and Calarasi. For these regions, as with border regions across Europe, collaborations with neighbours across the border was not historically always the rule.

With the beginning of the EU accession process for Romania and Bulgaria in the mid-2000s, however, came new legal and financial capacities for a deeper interaction between border regions. Two major EU contributions to a reimagining of territorial cooperation in the region are the Romania-Bulgaria Cross-Border Cooperation Programme, currently in the form of Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria and the Danube Region Strategy. Nonetheless, several obstacles to coordination and collaboration between Romanian and Bulgarian border regions remain in place and new challenges emerge on the horizon.

On 7 Nov, AER attended  a workshop in the Euractiv offices in Brussels to discuss Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border regional cooperation. The event was co-organised by the Cross-Border Cooperation Regional Office Calarsi, an organisation that works closely with AER member Calarasi County Council (RO) among other stakeholders. Participants with a wide variety of perspectives sat down for an animated discussion about the value of coordinated actions and projects along the border as well as how partners can address challenges and improve upon past successes going into the future.

What do regions gain from cross-border cooperation?

All those present expressed a belief in the value of cooperation between border regions. While harnessing the economic potential of cooperation was a major focal point, participants unanimously praised the boons for human connection across the Romanian-Bulgarian border. Nathalie Verschelde, Deputy Head of Unit Cross-Border Cooperation and Internal Borders DG REGIO, underlined the role of cross-border projects in facilitating intercultural exchange and building trust between neighbouring regions.

Strahil V. Krapchanski, the Vice Mayor of Ruse (BG), presented successes from his city’s sustained collaboration with the Romanian city of Giurgiu. Since 2007, traffic between Romania and Bulgaria has increased fourfold, with much of it crossing over the Danube Bridge connecting Giurgiu and Ruse. Krapchanski attributes much of the increased movement to effective collaboration of authorities on either side of the border. Emblematic of this collaboration is the ambitious common urban masterplan shared by the cities. In addition to facilitating the implementation of solutions to common problems, initiatives like these, with their connections to EU funding programs and regional development strategies, allow local and regional authorities to upscale their priorities and give them leverage in pressuring central administrations in their respective countries, Krapchanski argued.

What challenges do border regions face?

Primary among the obstacles to cross-border cooperation, in the case of Bulgarian and Romanian regions, is the border itself. The Danube River is currently crossed by only two bridges along its stretch between Romania and Bulgaria. Bulgarian MEP Kouroumbashev (S&D) contends this far lower density of road and rail connections than in other stretches of the Danube, puts border regions at a disadvantage, and that political commitments to further bridge construction would be necessary going forward if greater bounds in cooperation were to be made.

A reduction in financial resources is also a challenge that partners are likely to face in the next programming period. The post-Brexit decrease in funding for cohesion funds proposed by the Commission, if confirmed by the Council and the Parliament, will be felt also in a reduction of funds available for Interreg projects. Calin Chira, Coordinator of the Cohesion Policy Section of Romania’s Permanent Representation to the EU, estimated that, in total, Romania would see its cohesion funds fall by 23% under the current proposal. With increasingly limited resources, improving the absorption rate and efficient use of Interreg funds will be a major concern in the coming years.

Where does the future lie for cross-border regional cooperation?

A common theme was the need going forward for cooperation among regions outside the framework of EU funding projects. Kouroumbashev held that national governments in the two countries could not afford to wait for Europe to step in to develop strategic initiatives to connect either side of the Danube. Verschelde, for her part, saw a future in the promotion of multilingualism, non-governmental cooperation, and attempts to “erase legal borders” through neighbours’ recognition of each other’s laws in border areas.

Participants’ visions for the future of cross-border cooperation sometimes differed when it came to the issue of the scale at which cross-border cooperation projects and initiatives should be evaluated. Michaela Kauer, Director of the Brussels Liaison Office for the City of Vienna, argued that cooperation on a bilateral basis was not sufficient and that the expertise and experience of bigger cities in the wider Danube region were necessary in developing smart solutions to common problems. Kouroumbashev often spoke of the wider geopolitical implications of cross-border cooperation, especially concerning relations with Russia, Turkey, and China. Verschelde, meanwhile, voiced a concern that transport infrastructure and other cross-border projects often serve wider EU-level objectives while not adequately responding to the local needs and concerns of those residing in cross-border regions.

Both Verschelde and Krapchanski advocated for a long-term, integrated reframing of territorial cooperation. As Verschelde put it, partners should “conceive of the area as a single territory,” working together to make complementary investments for an efficient employment of available resources. A rebalancing between large-scale and small-scale projects would also likely be necessary, in her opinion, in light of the above-mentioned budget cuts. Karapchanski voiced a desire for decision-makers to build synergies between cross-border cooperation programmes and operational programmes.

Whatever the future holds, AER will be there for its members. If you are looking for funding, project partners, or projects to join, the project unit is ready to give a helping hand. As an AER member, you can also share knowledge with regions facing similar challenges and make your voice heard at the European level. Be on the lookout for an upcoming position paper on the Commission’s Cohesion Policy Proposal as well as a manifesto for the upcoming European Elections. Never hesitate to contact the Secretariat with questions or concerns, and be sure to follow our newsletter for updates like this and to stay up to speed on all of AER’s activities.

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
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7th AER Black Sea Summit focuses on opportunities the region offers for peace and prosperity in Europe

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AER, in partnership with the German Marshall Fund, organised on 5-6 of September the 7th edition of its AER Black Sea Summit, hosted by the region of Odessa (UA).

The focus this year was put on the link between the Danube and the Black Sea strategies. Following an opening address by President Nicolas Sarkozy, MEPs, European Commission officials, National and regional Parliamentarians from all across Europe and also business and civil society representatives gathered to discuss how the Danube and the Black Sea regions can contribute to establish prosperous and green foundations for a peaceful Europe. The detailed programme can be found HERE.

Many partners present in Odessa, stressed how useful they find the trusted space of dialogue that is the AER Black Sea Summit and how they have, throughout the years, found partners to work with on specific projects.

One of the key outcomes of the Summit is the announcement of the relaunch of the ARGE Donau Länder Working Community. This group gathering all the regions along the Danube will start working again on joint projects. This working community has long been a partner network of AER. Discussions are ongoing on how to further integrate the work of the two organisations. More to follow soon.

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EuroAccess Macro-Regions: funding now available

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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
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Regionalisation in Bulgaria: reducing regional disparities #RoR2017

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Bulgaria covered a surface area of 111,000.9 sq. km and has a population of 7,153,784 inhabitants at the end of 2015. Over the years, the administrative and territorial division of the country was subject to multiple changes, reflecting the geopolitical, demographic and territorial dynamics. The principles of local self-government and a three level territorial organisation were established with the Tarnovo Constitution (1879).

The introduced European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics went through several stages and took the current form in 2008 with 2 NUTS 1 regions, 6 NUTS 2 regions, 28 NUTS 3 districts, 265 LAU 1 municipalities, and 5,258 LAU 2 municipalities. The formal regions were established for planning, programming, management, supply of resources, monitoring and assessment of regional development. NUTS 1 and 2 regions are not administrative and territorial units; they have no administrative structures and are not autonomous. Regional Development Councils (RDC) are set up for all 6 NUTS 2 regions, and chaired by a district governor, designated on rotation principle for 6 months. Their operational funds are allocated from the budgets of the relevant district administrations to cover the urgent needs of the council for its main functions – consulting, approval, coordination, monitoring and control of strategic planning of regional and spatial development at the NUTS 2 and 3 levels. At the national level RDCs monitor the operational programmes with an impact on the development of the region, co- financed from the EU funds. The NUTS 3 regions are administrative and territorial units and cover the territories of 28 individual districts. District Development Councils are established in each of them, chaired by the district governor and comprised of the mayors of all municipalities within the respective district, the representatives of the municipal councils, the organisations of employers and employees. Representatives of legal entities, who have an interest in the development of the district, can attend the sessions of the council in advisory capacity.

Great disparities

There is a grave disparity in social and economic development between the centre and the periphery both within the country and at regional and local levels. The North-western region is the most scarcely populated, which is mostly affected by outgoing migration ows, with the poorest economic development, high unemployment and serious social problems. The Southwestern region is the most densely populated region due to better living and employment opportunities, offered by the capital city. Similar disparities exist at the district and municipal levels.

Informal regions

The group of “informal” regions are formed by joining districts and/or municipalities, related to the specific zoning of the country or for specialised studies or programmes. First in this group are the “targeted support areas”, which pursuant to the RD Act can be differentiated in the territory of NUTS 3 regions and cover one or more neighbouring municipalities. They form the territorial base for the concentration of resources for narrowing intra-regional disparities.

Second in the informal regions group are the areas for cross-border cooperation. The priority areas are the Danube river and the Black Sea area, which are connected to the EU regional strategy for the Danube river and the Integrated Maritime Policy. This group includes also the Euroregions, established for the preservation of common cultural values and supporting social and economic cohesion. These regions have no direct political power, but have shared history, common interests and goals, developed strategic and multi-level partnerships.

Regions’ interactions and Governance

The interaction between regions and the central and local authorities in Bulgaria complies with the principles of subsidiarity. Local cooperation could be given a higher assessment at NUTS 3 and LAU 1 levels, due to the local initiatives and civil society structures supporting the cooperation.

The advantages in the field of regional policy, after the EU accession, are associated with the enhanced role of the regions, the introduction of new principles of planning and programming of regional development, and the integration of the sectoral policy priorities, which binds them to the national territory. With the introduction of a series of important, hierarchically related statutory strategic documents, some order and rhythm was established in regional and spatial planning, however a lot of work still needs to be done for institutional and expert capacity development.

The political life in the country is a result of the transition from one-party to multi-party system. The foundations of the electoral system were laid with the Tarnovo Constitution (1879). After 1989 different electoral systems were used in an attempt to find the most accurate expression of votes, to reduce the gap between voters and candidates, to reduce distortions and buying of votes, but the results were below expectations. No elections were held at the regional level. Reduced trust in political parties and voter turnout, and the political tensions in the country in recent years raised the issues of compulsory and electronic voting. The Direct Participation of Citizens in State Governance and Local Self-government Act provides the opportunity to express opinions on important national and local matters. Bulgaria is party to the EU Convention against Corruption since 2006. The legal framework in this field was subject to reform after the EU accession, and resulted in amendments to the legal and institutional framework. Although the legal framework is already finalised, in many areas its enforcement is unsatisfactory. This was confirmed by the Eurobarometer survey for the 2014 EU Anti-Corruption Report. More serious efforts and coordinated actions need to be made to eradicate corruption from different levels of government and from the NGO sector. A possible solution is to accelerate the introduction of e-government and to reduce the administrative burden of the regulations, which slow down development and create prerequisites for corruption practices. The 2015 report of Transparency International marks the approval of the National Strategy for Prevention and Combating Corruption in Bulgaria (2015–2020).

New efforts

Bulgaria is well known for its ethnic and religious tolerance. The National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Affairs was set up at the Council of Ministers as a consultative authority to support the implementation of the state ethnic and integration policy. Units with the same functions are set up at the district and municipal level. The National Roma Inclusion Strategy (2012–2020) was also developed. Currently the municipal administrations seek solutions to the problems of occupation, illegal construction, and undeveloped infrastructure, mainly through integrated plans for urban regeneration. Initiatives of NGOs also contribute to the improvement of education, living conditions and social inclusion of the Roma population. Additional efforts of the Bulgarian government the past few years were concentrated on reducing regional disparity and expanding integration, coordination and partnership in the overall regional policy.

by Vasselina Troeva

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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Regionalisation in Croatia: established but uncertain

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Regionalisation process

Croatia is a country that was developed on the contact of different geographical units (Adriatic – Dinaric – Pannonian area). The Croatian state, established in its first form since 7th C., consisted of two complementary regions: Littoral/Adriatic Croatia and Pannonian Croatia. Croatia entered the 20th century with consolidated administrative units: 8 counties (“županija”) and the City of Rijeka in the Hungarian part of AU Monarchy, 5 in the Austrian part. After WWII, during the communist rule, the scheme of regionalisation changed often and radically, with all the characteristics of confusion. In 1955 the number of districts diminished to 27, as well as the number of municipalities, to 299. Although this last scheme was finally acceptable and lasted seven years, in 1962 new regionalisation (about 110 municipalities in 8-9 communities of municipalities) was implemented.

After the Republic of Croatia entered the international community as an independent state, the traditional name for regional units (“županija”) was revived, and by law at the end of 1992, the restored regional structure was implemented. This included 21 regions – counties (“županija”) including the City of Zagreb. The EU integration influenced the development of a regional policy, impacted by EU integration; and positive effects, slowly but surely, can be seen.

New Government, economic crisis and cohesion

After the elections in 2011 took place, the new government, which changed previously in 2007, articulated the NUTS 2 scheme and in 2012 arranged with EU Commission two regions: Continental Croatia (2.9 million inhabitants), and Littoral Croatia (1.4). All Croatian counties have been proclaimed NUTS 3 regions, although ten of them do not satisfy not a sufficient number of residents (150 – 800 thousand). As basic territorial-administrative units they play the role of formal regions. The administrative cities and municipalities (558) were de ned as LAU 1 units, and the settlements (6756) as LAU 2 units.

In the conditions of a grave economic, financial and social crisis, Croatia did not manage to achieve social and economic cohesion, and the differences in GDP among NUTS 3 regions are strongly expressed. However, it is obvious that pre-accession and structural funds, technical and expert assistance, especially in regions that organized effective logistic teams, helped to achieve a noticeable development.

State of informal regions

The informal regions, as the second group of regions in Croatia, are formed on the basis of joining counties and/or municipalities, administrative cities, related to specific zoning of the country, for the purposes of specialized studies for certain programs. This group of territorial units accounts for the “targeted support areas”, which make up the first group of all Areas of Special State Care (ASSC) and Mountainous Areas, defined by the special Law 2008 (NN 86/2008 – 148/2013). Cross-border regions make up a second group of informal regions. These regions fall within the scope of cross-border cooperation. The geographic position of Croatia as part of the EU and an external border area of the EU stimulate cross-border and regional cooperation, coordination and planning. There are few initiatives elaborated upon in the country report: the Alps-Adriatic Working Community (1978), the Adriatic Euroregion (2006), the Adriatic-Ionian Region (2012), the IPA Adriatic Cross-border Cooperation Programme, the Danube Region (2009), the Euroregional cooperation Danube-Drava-Sava (1998), the Cross- Border Cooperation SLO-CRO: (2008), the Hungary-Croatia – IPA Cross-border Programme 2007-2013, and the South-East European Collaboration (NALAS).

A specific area of regional cooperation in Croatia covers the Croatian Islands’ Insular Parliament – the Association for Development of Croatian Islands – which unites all Croatian islands as disperse, informal units, belonging to the 7 different counties of Adriatic Croatia.

Budget for regions

Currently, there are no own budgets for the NUTS 2 regions, since they function as the coordinative territorial bodies of counties. On the other hand, NUTS 3 regions (counties) have their own budgets. The budgets are controlled from within (county assembly and county government) and from above (o ces of State Administration, Ministry of Finance, Tax and Fiscal Administration etc.). Fiscal competencies are not equalized and the power of the state is more heavily articulated. The control function of the state (government, ministries) is more than significant. However, recently the EU policy regarding regionalism has slowly become part of the regional policy in Croatia; supervision and interference by the state and its bodies, especially by the ministries, agencies, offices etc. affect the regional autonomy of counties.

Regional Governance

Political parties have a major impact on regional structure and organisation. The horizontal and vertical governance between regions and the state as well as between regions and local authorities depend on the power relations of the ruling parties and the impact of capital and other stakeholders at the regional level.

Electoral areas in Croatia mostly do not follow the administrative and territorial network of counties/regions, but they have been fixed for more than two decades.

Three referendums occurred since 1991 (on Croatia’s independence in 1991, on Croatian accession to the European Union in 2012, and on the basis of collected signatures of citizens on the constitutional definition of marriage in 2013). As in many countries, in Croatia the problem of corruption has been evident. In 2013 Croatia placed 57th among 177 countries in the world according to the fight against corruption. Croatia’s regional media, depending on whom they are managed by, can play or have a corresponding role in discussing the problematic of regionalism, regional level, autonomy etc.

Local specificities

The country is regionally rich in cultural heritage. With numerous material remains that testify to continuous human presence in all Croatian regions, a large quantity of very different and rich intangible heritage has been preserved.

The degree of tolerance and minorities’ rights are pretty high. Enjoying all general civil rights, minorities have specific rights to their language, script, cultural identity, religion, customs etc, and special rights in Parliament.

NUTS 2 regions, as well as NUTS 3 regions (counties) in Croatia are characterized by pronounced economic disparities and differences.

New reform of regionalisation in sight

A new reform of the Croatian regions, formally and informally, has been announced for almost 10 years. However, a new reform, which is often discussed in recent times as necessary to give the regions the chance to act as more independent entities at last, has been cancelled. Financial relations, respectively to balance and equalize revenue between state and counties/municipalities should be improved. Better and clearer allocation of competences (education, health, the judiciary, administration, security, customs etc.) is necessary. Despite the administrative-territorial regionalisation in 21 counties and the proclaimed power dissipation, in Croatia the polarization process continued without serious implementation of the balanced polycentric development option.

Namely, without public consensus and by using insufficient and unfounded explanations, the current Croatian government in the last two years, changed or has been trying to change existing laws to reorganize the current competencies of the regions – counties. Different functions are planned to be concentrated in only 4-5 cities. They would thus become the centres of the new, larger spatial regions. This follows the old model used in the time of socialism. Thus, 15 of the current AER member regions would lose their authorities, as well as their real regional status. They would actually become a kind of sub-region.

In comparison with other regions in Europe, maybe they will not keep their formal roles in the coming years of further regionalisation in Croatia, or maybe some of them will be reshaped or even abolished.

 

If a reduction in the number of counties is considered, it is certainly necessary to define, within the Adriatic Croatia border (NUTS II region), at least three regions: Istria-Primorje-Gorski Kotar (or Rijeka), North Dalmatia-Lika (or Zadar) and Middle-South Dalmatia (or Split). In Continental Croatia, besides the regions of largest cities Zagreb (Zagreb City, Zagreb Region) and Osijek, cities such as Slavonski Brod and Varaždin should also be recognised as regional centres.

by Damir Magas

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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Apply now for a LIFE Action Grant!

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The submission deadlines for LIFE Calls for proposals is getting closer! The LIFE 2017 Info Day and Networking event,  a side session of EU Green Jobs Summit within the EU Green Week, took place between May 29th and June 2nd. Several other partner events, such as the ‘Green is the new smart. Green jobs boosting regional economy’ (organised by the Pomorskie Regional EU Office), were also held during the EU Green Week.

AER is pleased to share some useful information and tips with you to succeed in the application process.

Why important?

Since circular economy and green jobs are a core topic of these events, AER got deeper insight on May 31st and June 1st. Both events referred to the opportunity for Europe having a leading role in paving the way for a transition to circular economy as well as pushing for more ambitious standards. For instance, Montpellier’s Master Degree Programme in Water Sciences contributes effectively to a more environmental friendly society by raising awareness about the challenges and opportunities that this green transition can bring.

3 projects as good examples were introduced during the event:

The Life 2017 Info Day and Networking Event, organised by the European Commission, was aimed at providing both information and the opportunity of networking for your project. On the other hand, the event of Pomorskie Regional EU Office took place to highlight the importance of green jobs in boosting regional economy, presenting business opportunities for local and regional economies and creating cleantech jobs.

How to get involved?

Firstly, you can apply for several calls for proposals which are already open as well as other funding opportunities such as Horizon 2020, COSME, InnovFin and EFSI. Secondly, AER has already published a partner search of E-Vai project which will be submitted for one of the LIFE Calls. If you are interested in this project, please contact the AER Secretariat for more information. Thirdly, two competitions were promoted during the EU Green Week: the 2020 European Green Capital and 2019 European Green Leaf Awards (the application is still open for both of them).

To get inspiration for designing a LIFE project, please check out the LIFE Project database. Or you can also contact the AER Secretariat and our partner network, ACR+, working on linking local and regional stakeholders in the field of circular economy. You can check out also the Circular economy industry platform launched by Business Europe for innovative solutions contributing to circular economy in Europe.

The Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform will have a coordination group in order to provide guidance, reinforce interaction between stakeholders on exchanges of good practices regarding the transition to circular economy. A call for expressions of interest to become a member of of this coordination group is open until August 31st. In addition to this, you can also share your best practices and/or learn more about smart specialisation boosting interregional collaboration. Therefore, please do not hesitate to register for the 2nd edition of the ‘Grow your region’ conference which will take place in Valencia (Spain) on November 8th and 9th.

The next EU Green Week Conference on ‘Green Cities for a Greener Future’ will be held in Brussels between May 22nd and May 24th 2018. More details on the programme will be announced soon.

What is new in LIFE Calls 2017?

After the introduction of the Climate Action Policy Priorities and the responsibilities of EASME, funding opportunities for traditional projects were explained.

Encouraging the delivery of results from research projects such as Horizon2020 is an additional point to get more scores. In this sense, some new elements were introduced to these new LIFE Calls, such as:

  • Defining and welcoming ‘close-to-market’ projects
  • More specifications regarding quantifiable impacts/benefits
  • Transferability and Replication Plan is mandatory deliverable for certain Calls
  • Sustainability: Exploitation Plan as part of the After-Life Plan as well as Business Plan for ‘close-to-market’ projects are mandatory deliverables for certain Calls
  • Focus on more concrete activities developing new tools to put into practice
  • Control on double-funding and value-added vs previously funded programs.

Within the framework of the LIFE Programme, the European Commission launched the 2nd Call for preparatory project proposals to support the European Solidarity Corps.

More tips for the application?

If so, please just click on this link to find key information.

Photo credits: @2017 Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/hohenschwangau-alps-alpsee-munich-532864/

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#ShineBright Vojvodina

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On the occasion of the 2017 AER MYFER Award, the Jury elected the Region of Vojvodina, Serbia as its grand winner on a project on Health and sexual education for high school students.

This project started in 2013, after a survey of high school students returned alarming results indicating poor knowledge among sexually active teenagers. As regular school curricula in the country do not include sex education the region took action and implemented an extra-curricular programme for students.

This comprehensive sex and relationship education programme includes 14 one and a half hour workshops, a trainer’s guide and a book for students. Classes discuss sexuality, attraction vs. love, communication, gender roles, equality, sexual and reproductive rights, anatomy, AIDS and STIs, contraception and family planning, access to gynecology and urology health services etc. Gender-based violence and sexual abuse are also specifically addressed.

Young people are not mere beneficiaries: they are engaged and empowered to be actors of change: 30% of trainers are indeed peer trainers, enabling young people to be both recipients and providers of support.

This highly transferable initiative started with a pilot project for 10 schools. 2 years later 77 schools were already involved across the region. In total we count 150 trainers who took benefit from Vojvodina’s, ensuring sustainability and long term impact.  After 3 years, the project empowered 11865 young people from all over the region, for healthy sex and relationships.

Linked article: Serbian Province launches sex education classes

 

Photo credits: Marijana Petrovic @Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@danuberiverchild

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Launch of a trilateral Interreg Cooperation in the Balkans

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The official launch of the trilateral Programme of Crossborder Cooperation between Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina marked by the Interreg Conference, has been launched on March the 10th at the Croatian city of Split.
The Programme foresees funding of 67 milion €, for crossborder projects (with €57 million coming from the European Regional Development Fund and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance/IPA) in an area covering 87,000 square kilometres with a population of 5.5 million. EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu said:

“Our cross-border programmes provide concrete measures to improve the quality of life and offer new economic opportunities and jobs to people living in the border regions of the European Union and its neighbours. These programmes are an opportunity for regions to find common solutions to shared challenges.”

The programme will also help reach the objectives of the South East Europe 2020 Strategy, of the EU macro-regional Strategy for the Danube Region and of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region.

The “Interreg-IPA CBC Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro” programme includes 12 NUTS III regions in Croatia, 10 municipalities in Montenegro, and the Brčko District of BiH alongside 109 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The five main priorities of the programme are:

  1. Improving the quality of services in public health and social care in the programme area;
  2. Protecting the environment, improving risk prevention, flood and fire prevention,and promoting energy efficiency;
  3. Contributing to the development of tourism and to the preservation of the region’s cultural and natural heritage;
  4. Enhancing the economic competitiveness of the region;
  5.  Providing technical assistance to increase the efficiency of the management and implementation of the Programme.

Olja Georis of the Croatian Regional Development Agency (also Head of Managing Authority) called on the Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin representatives at the conference to submit joint cross-border cooperation projects for EU financing, saying cooperation was necessary to use the funds as well as possible. She recalled that a call was published on 9th of March  for the submission of draft projects that would receive €25 million of the €67 million envisaged by the programme. She said contracting is planned to begin early next year.

Assistant Regional Development and EU Funds Minister (HR) Marija Vuckovic said the ministry’s role was to back the partners in the realisation of this cross-border project, notably in Croatian border areas. The representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Coordination Board (from the Direcorate of European Integration of Council of Ministers of BiH) Mrs. Nada Bojanić emphasized that BiH stakeholders are prepared for the implementation of the Programme and that it will hopefuly lead to the spreading of the crossborder impact and also highlited excellent cooperation with all counterparts especially with Croatian who offered to share their recent experience in negotiations with EU, which is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina since it is on its European integration path.

The conference was attended by more than 200 national, regional, local and other relevant stakeholders from all three countries participating in the Programme.

Download the presentations delivered at the conference:


The 1st Call for Proposal can be also downloaded here:

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An integrated approach to regional development

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Gratian Mihailescu, expert from the AER’s Observatory on Regionalisation, was invited to speak at the Danube Conference about multi-level governance on 16 October 2015.

The roundtable discussion was organized in Cluj Napoca, with the occasion of 100 years celebration of Junior Chamber International. JCI is a is a international NGO of young people between 18 and 40 years old It has members in about 124 countries, and regional or national organizations in many of them and it encourages young people to become responsible citizens and to participate in efforts towards social and economic development, and international co-operation, good-will and understanding.

Gratian Mihailescu participated in a roundtable about Smart Cities and Innovation, together with various stakeholders including the mayor, vice-president of Cluj county, academia from Babes Bolyay University, Business sector and local NGO’s.

Learn more about the AER’s Observatory on Regionalisation and our pool of experts.
You can find and read his presentation here below.

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Success stories from Vojvodina (RS)

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With the support of AP Vojvodina Secretariat for inter-regional co-operation and local self-government Local Democracy Agency Subotica has prepared a collection of good local practice – an overview of EU funded projects implemented by 45 municipalities in Vojvodina in the course of the IPA Programming period 2007-2013.

This publication aims to promote internationally the success stories and good local practice in different priority measures within the Programmes for which the local
authorities acted either as applicants or partners: IPA Cross-border Co-operation Programmes Hungary-Serbia, Croatia-Serbia, Romania-Serbia, IPA National Programme
for Serbia – EXCHANGE, Socio Economic Development of the Danube Serbia Region, Municipal Infrastructure Support Programme, Civil Society Development, Transnational
Co-operation Programmes and within the Europe for Citizens Programme. This catalogue includes data and general project description of all together 122 projects with the EU
financial support in the amount of over 72.000.000 €, thus to serve both as a tool for promoting the “Vojvodina Standard” of responsive performances of local governments
and even more as a learning tool for IPA 2 Programming Period.

The publication is available here.

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