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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Estonia

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The report gives an overview of the Estonian administrative system today and discusses the current administrative-territorial reform. Estonia is one of the smallest countries in the EU with a surface of approximately 45,000 km2 and population of 1.3 million. Furthermore, the structure of Estonian administrative system is also different from the ‘usual’ one, as Estonia has no regions. Local self-government is exercised only at the municipal level. However, there are fifteen maakond which can be translated as counties. Maakond are just administrative units of the central government. Legally, they are departments of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, as their budgets are also part of the state budget.

Historically, from the 13th to 16th century, Estonia was divided into 14 sections (provincia) based mainly on its cultural differences. After the administrative reform in 1780, Estonia was divided into counties which had also an administrative importance. Until the local government elections of 17 October 1993, a two-tier local government system was in operation in Estonia. The new Constitution adopted in 1992 introduced a single-tier local self-government: the county administration became a part of the central government and the county governor became the representative of the central government.

In addition to the formal governance of the county by the county government, the development of the county is also (but informally) governed by unions of local governments. Municipalities in Estonia may establish voluntary associations with the aim of mutual cooperation in the delivery of services and in the representation of the interests of local government at the county and state level. As there is no regional level, the cooperation between local authorities within a county is of great importance. However, there is an interesting dilemma between the county government and the union of municipalities. To make a political decision that limits the constitutional rights of people, the decision maker must have a mandate from the people. Local governments have that mandate, officially, unlike the county governor, who doesn’t. It leads to a situation where unions of local governments have more decision making power than county governors.

In 2015, Estonian government started with ’a new wave’ of administrative-territorial reform which is forecasted to conclude by 1 March 2018. This new wave foresees the county level as well as the local government level to be widely reformed. The reason for it is mainly that many of the existing counties are too small and are not e ective from a national point of view. Today the central government is facing a situation where the administrative system, based on county governments, has exhausted itself. With the reform the central government is trying to solve this problem. Even though the responsibilities of county governments have decreased tremendously for today and the deadline for reform is just around the corner, there is not clear view on how the counties should be governed and moreover, if there is a real need for a county government.

Today there are three scenarios offered for reforming the county government level. Firstly, the county governments could be abolished as their responsibilities have decreased and county governments are doubling the work of other central administrative o ces. Instead a regional o ce with four units will be established – North-, South-, West- and East-Estonia. What is interesting about this scenario is that the administrative borders of counties will not be deleted and will exist together with the ’new’ administrative borders of the four units.

Secondly, the two-tier administrative system could be re-established, which would allow county governments to have real governments that would govern the counties. This presumes that people would also start electing county councils, whose tasks are, among other things, to take decisions in uencing the whole county.

And finally, the amount of counties could decrease– from 15 to 6 – and the county governments could turn into the regional offices of the Ministry of Internal A airs. This solution is not much different from the situation Estonia has now. Furthermore, this solution helps to maintain the current situation where central parties have county governments as a beneficial place to train political after-growth.

For the full report on Estonia, click here.

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.

Follow AER!
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Malta

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Malta is a centralised state and the powers that have been delegated are those to the local government. Indeed today two levels of government exist at the central and local level. Though the centre retains power, Maltese people tend to identify themselves with their locality. In every locality one finds that people tend to be proud of their hometown or village, and are willing to give their time for its improvement and its welfare. In this sense, the division of Malta into localities makes sense, because it is a division along lines that the majority of people recognise, understand, identify with and accept. That makes them more supportive and appreciative of the hard work carried out by the local government.

Malta cannot afford to be fragmented. It is simply too small. It cannot afford sixty-eight planning authorities, or sixty-eight education divisions. On the other hand, nobody understands the needs of a locality more than the people who live there. The central government does not have the means to ‘micro manage’ either. This is where local councils step in. When composed of hard working people who love their locality, they will strive to develop facilities, they will strive to ensure that the area is kept clean, that the gardens are ever- green and blossoming, that the playing fields are up to standard, that the roads are in good condition. They will also work hard to resolve the residents’ difficulties and concerns, including parking, criminality and personal safety. The Maltese central government has recognised this and tapped in to it. The results are there to be seen. In the authors’ locality for example, thanks to the local council there is a post office and a police station where before there were none, there are three public gardens where before there were only two, refuse collection works like clockwork, public talks and educational programmes are organised regularly, festivities and community events as well.

Much more would be done in all localities, if it were not for funds, or the lack of them. This is where the central government has tied the hands of local councils. They have to work within their budget, and opportunities to increase these budgets are restricted. Funds are greatly required to achieve more, in every locality. These may come, either by increasing the annual allocation, as has indeed happened year to year although money remained tight, or by changing the law to allow local councils to raise their own taxes. Ideas, dreams and aspirations are not enough, of course. Good management and discipline are a must, to counter un-bridled enthusiasm. Nor must parochialism be allowed to take root. Business plans must be well thought out, budgets adhered to, tenders awarded fairly and in a transparent manner. Mayors and councillors must be trained. The authors acknowledge the efforts in this regard on Central Government’s part, and such efforts must be sustained.

On the other hand, local councils have suffered as a result of political interference at local level. Malta’s local councillors are divided along political party lines. Although on the day-to-day level they normally get along well, when push comes to shove they will tow the party line, though this is not always the case. This may not be in the best interest of the locality, or of the residents, or possibly of the country as a whole.

Allegations are also made in the press from time to time, that the central government discriminates in favour or against certain localities, depending on the local council’s political leanings. This problem was built into the system of local councils in Malta from the very first elections. Partisan priorities, coupled with strong central government control, can present serious threats to good local governance and to the extent to which the intentions, the real meaning behind the European Charter of Local Self Governance, are respected and achieved.

Regionalism in terms of governance on Malta simply does not exist, whether in the law or in actual fact. The only reference to regional committees is in the Local Councils Act. Nor does the special attention given to Gozo make it a ‘region’. It is submitted that, Malta being so small, there is indeed no need for regionalism. The Maltese Islands, Gozo included, are small enough to be managed by the central government. Having said this, regional variations in terms of socio-economic, historical, cultural and environmental factors have long existed on the islands of Malta and Gozo. This reality is reflected in the NUTS and LAUs nomenclature identified for Malta. Though these regional variations may decline with rapid economic growth, they are as yet still present as the cases of Gozo and the Southern Harbor illustrate. This being so, regional responses of a sort are required, and are present in the Maltese setup, as has been illustrated, in order to address and alleviate regional disparities.

For the full report on Malta, click here.

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.

Follow AER!
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Brexit

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The Brexit dilemma: redrawing the map

The vote to leave the European Union after over 40 years membership threw up some major challenges for the United Kingdom, not least for the regions. Whilst England and Wales voted out, Scotland and Northern Ireland supported “Remain”. The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly said, “Scotland will not be taken out of the EU against its will”, but how that should come about is unclear. In the last year Scotland has been given even more autonomy especially on tax rates and welfare and has a special status amongst the four regions making up the UK which include England.

In all the population of the UK is around 65 million with just five million in Scotland, 1.8 million in Northern Ireland and just over three million in Wales. But also in England there are regional differences with London and major cities more pro-European than the urban North where job losses have ensued as a result of declining industries. With the direct election of Mayors large cities such as London, Bristol and Manchester assume greater political weight and promote their own agendas. Strong personalities characterise many of these mayoral politicians who have a chance to build up their own power base separate from that of their party. In all the United Kingdom is far more diverse than it was twenty years ago before the establishment of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.

Click here for the full study by Melanie Sully.

 

You can learn more about the experts on regionalisation here.

 

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.

Follow AER!
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Regions in Finland

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The article describes the Finnish regions from a number of different viewpoints. It delineates the overall politico-administrative architecture of Finland in order to place the regional councils in context. Thereafter it follows a delineation of the basic characteristics of the regions, and the tasks of the Finnish regions, emphasising both their formal characteristics as well as the dynamism of conducting the tasks. Then, the endings and conclusions with challenges facing the regions in the current socio-economic development are discussed.

The political structure of Finland is formally two-fold consisting of the national and the local level of governments. Regions, however, play a role in the Finnish politico-administrative system too; they refer to geographical entities with a long historical background. Secondly, there are regional councils, which have specific tasks, but lack the independence of a political actor more involved with local governance.

The regional councils play different roles in the Finnish politico-administrative system. They deal with technical issues of land use planning, and administer the EU Structural Fund appropriations. They also represent the municipalities and coordinate, more or less, the economic and social development in the regions.

In history, there have been a number of proposals put forward on how to conduct necessary reforms in the regions. A common feature in these proposals is the strengthening of regional councils, and a shift of tasks from the national government regional agencies to the regional councils. A recent proposal, based on discussions of the regional directors, puts forward four scenarios for the future.

In scenario one, regions become a new kind of service province that gather the existing municipal federations and the government’s Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment under the control of direct democracy. The mechanism to introduce this would be general election.

In scenario two, municipalities are essentially larger than they are now and are capable of providing most of their services. Large regional councils under democratic control are responsible for regional development and the most advanced special health care and polytechnic training.

Scenario three is based on large municipalities being controlled by a strong national government. Scenario four focuses on regional councils in 2010 in a situation where no structural reforms have been achieved. Municipalities and regions just drift along, and public nance is in a state of crisis. As it was referred to at the beginning of the paper, the number of inhabitants in the northern and eastern regions is decreasing, and hence the question of balanced territorial development and the best means to achieve it are at stake as well.

Regional councils represent municipal interests. The Finnish regions represent their area and inhabitants in a multitude of ways. Their main tasks focus on spatial planning, but development and coordination are important tasks too. During recent years their role has been grow- ing. The role of the regions has to be seen from a number of angles. In order to fulfil their tasks, they have to be able to define their role in the organisational network.

In other words, we can see regions facing different challenges in order to be successful in the current political climate. Finland has in the second decade of the 2000s experienced structural changes, which have caused turmoil. Regions in Finland are municipally based organisations. In other words, they represent the integrated voice of the member municipalities, and o er a forum for them. The membership is compulsory. Large and small municipalities may look at the regional council differently based on what extent it advocates their interests.

Regional self-government is still a goal, not a reality. One decisive step towards this direction would be popular elections. One further factor undermining the need of municipal cooperation is the trend of increasing municipal size. In addition, in the spring of 2014 the Finnish government decided to reform the health care system. According to the plans there will only be five social and health care regions; however, the details of the reforms are still open to discussion. In recent years, in 2014 in particular, there have been discussions on the social and health services and their organisation. Even now, hospitals, mentally handicapped care, and vocational education, have been inter-municipal responsibilities.

The new plan is to create regions in 2019. The regions would coordinate social and health services, and decide which services and to what extent they will be produced by the local government, private enterprises and non-governmental organisations. The regional council members would be elected by the citizens.

In this sense there is a lot of scaling and rescaling going on in Finland, which probably seems to also a elect the regions and regional councils.

For the full report on Finland, see here.

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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.

Follow AER!
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Regions in the UK

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Relative to most other European countries, the governance of the United Kingdom has tended to be characterised by a high degree of centralisation. Some areas of policy-making social security, defence have typically been managed largely or exclusively from London, with a limited degree of administrative decentralisation to regional outposts. However, this general pattern of centralised governance is complicated by asymmetric devolution to the Celtic nations in respect of some aspects of government.

For the most part, regional government in England is weakly developed. Regionally-based institutions and policy initiatives in England have been dependent on Westminster and Whitehall for their existence. In general, regional government in England has been an area of intermittent experimentation and occasional tentative interest, rather than an established feature of the political landscape.

But for the UK as a whole, reform to territorial governance, and increasing devolution of power to the Celtic nations, has emerged as potentially a profound challenge to the integrity of the UK as a hitherto largely unitary state. Indeed, the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 potentially presaged an existential crisis for the UK as currently constituted. Whilst electors voted by an unexpectedly narrow majority to reject independence, apparently limited levels of support for the status quo nevertheless prompted far reaching questions about the future of territorial governance in Britain.

The report begins by explaining in brief the broad lineaments of the constitution of the UK as it relates to regionalism, before examining the historical approach to regions in England. One way of chronicling the evolution of regionalism is in terms of its political and economic dimensions. These are typically separate, but occasionally combine as in the Blair government’s abortive regional project of the late 1990s and 2000s.

The subsequent section of the report, therefore, summarises in broad terms the historical trajectory of political regionalism, focusing in particular on policy and governance developed for the English regions, in a wider context of reform relating to the government of the four national territories of the UK as a whole. Complementing this is discussion of the experience of economic regionalism and the array of recent subnational territorial initiatives aimed at improving economic circumstances.

This provides some of the context for the subsequent part of the report, which details contemporary experience of regional governance and policy, outlining the abandonment of much of the inherited regional institutional infrastructure and its replacement after 2010 with a series of new initiatives focused principally on inducing economic growth. The report concludes by considering the prospects for the future evolution of regional governance and policy in Britain.

by Iain DEAS & Lee PUGALIS

For the full report on the UK, see here.

 

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.

Follow AER!
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Regions in Austria

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The failure of the structural reform of the federal state in 1994 has led to a standstill in reforms in Austria’s federal system. Since Austria’s accession to the EU in 1994 and its loss of competencies towards the EU, various other competencies have been transferred to the federal level, but in turn the Länder have not been compensated.

The Länder have only succeeded in improving their position with regard to the Pact of Consultation and the Pact of Stability. In addition, the restrictions concerning the competencies for civil servants of the Länder and the municipalities were lifted in 1999, paving the way for bureaucratic reform in the Länder.

Nevertheless, cooperative federalism plays an important role in Austrian federalism. Cooperation between the various levels of government takes place in the negotiations between the federal level and the conference of Land governors, sometimes including representatives of the cities and municipalities.

The procedure of regional participation in the EU decision-making works well. There are informal instruments of coordination within the executives of the Länder which allow them to react in time and to represent the Länder’s position in the working groups on the European level.

The Financial Constitution and the Fiscal Equalisation between Federation, Länder and Municipalities are lacking a bottom-up reform. Presently the Länder are reliant on transfer payments on the federal level, but it would be better to strengthen the responsibility of the Länder for their expenditures and income. Fiscal federalism could be an option, but this would need a far-reaching reform of the financial constitution, bringing more autonomy for the Land jurisdictions and more differences into Austrian federalism. Until then we cannot recognise any real drive for reforms in this direction.

For the full report on Austria, visit this page.

by Peter BUSSJÄGER

 

The story behind the report

Early 2014, as the new programming period started, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) decided to look into the role regional authorities play in European politics and in Europe in general. To what extent is the subsidiarity principle implemented in European countries? Have Regions seen their competences and influence developed in the last years? How does multilevel governance look like in the various European states? If we consider the case of EU regional policy, to what extent has the partnership principle been respected for the setting up and implementation of this key policy for European regions?

These questions have been at the heart of a first study run in 2014-2016. More than 40 academic experts accepted to give their contribution 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.

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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.

 

Follow AER!
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AER launches its report on Regionalisation

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Today, during AER’s General Assembly, our outgoing President launched AER’s Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

The story behind the report

Early 2014, as the new programming period started, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) decided to look into the role regional authorities play in European politics and in Europe in general. To what extent is the subsidiarity principle implemented in European countries? Have Regions seen their competences and influence developed in the last years? How does multilevel governance look like in the various European states? If we consider the case of EU regional policy, to what extent has the partnership principle been respected for the setting up and implementation of this key policy for European regions?

These questions have been at the heart of a first study run in 2014-2016. More than 40 academic experts accepted to give their contribution 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.

[maxbutton id=”28″]

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.

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

EEA and Norway Grants: tackle “hard-to-reach” youth unemployment

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Youth employment is a top priority not only for the European Union. AER is fully engaged since years to support the implementation of concrete and effective actions. The AER Summer Academy 2016 was especially focused on entrepreneurship and the workshop “EU Regions – Partners forYouth” was the successful try to build a bridge between young adult and European Institutions. The first AER programme, Eurodyssey was the opportunity to improve skills and experience for more than 13.000 young adults since 1985.

EEA Grants and Norway Grants focus also on that emergency. AER is in direct contact with the department in charge of the programme, to bring the insight of AER regions point of view. At the end of April, AER was the only European network taking part to a consultation as stakeholder among the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions and other European institutions to give its point of view on a new programme of the EEA and Norway Fund on regionalisation.

EEA Grants and Norway Grants

The Grant is the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reduce economic and social disparities. The other overall objective of the grant is to strength cooperation, both transnational and bilateral with the donor countries.

The Grant is in line with the priorities set up by the Europe 2020 strategy and the EU cohesion policy, stressing the crucial role of regions and cross-border cooperation for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The call for Active Youth

Youth employment issues are the core of the call. Transnational partnerships are the tool to tackle them. Transnational partnership is crucial to boost the mutual benefit of the close cooperation of different organisations characterised by their own skills, knowledge and experiences.

Projects can foresee activities in three areas:

  • Innovation and exploration
  • Transfer of know-how and good practice
  • Analysis and research

The call supports pioneering solutions and unconventional practices that especially combine the three areas. The Call for Proposals presents some of the successful projects funded in the past.

Eligible organisations and target groups

The call is quite flexible in terms of types of eligible organisations. Public authorities of different institutional level, civic society organisations along with social partners, and business entities are part of the large spectrum of organisations that can take part of applications. Regions, associations of regions or organisations owned by regions are among the eligible organisations.

Those organisations need to involve young people, from 15 to 29 years old, with a special focus on the NEET group with more than 25 years old. Attention is given to vulnerable personal background or young coming from minorities.

Eligible countries

EEA and the Norway Grants focuses on countries whit considerable rate of youth employment, with rates up to 44%.

Eligible organisations that can lead the consortia have to be from one of those countries:

  • Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
  • Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
  • Portugal, Malta and Cyprus.

Organisations from Ireland, Italy and Spain can be part of the consortium. Expertise organisations from the other EU countries can join the consortia but not be funded by the grant.

How to apply and insights on finance

The transnational spirit should emerge since the design of the project. The application process is a two-step evaluation procedure. First the submission of a concept note then only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a full application.

The minimum budget for projects is € 1 million. The grant will finance maximum the 85% of the total budget of the project.

The call has some peculiarities. Applicants can decide on the duration of the project. There is no limit on the maximum number of beneficiary partners and non-governmental organisations can cover part of the contribution in the form of voluntary work.

Save the date: the deadline to submit electronically concept notes is 1st August 2017 (12:00 noon CET).

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with AER Secretariat  to take part to this funding opportunity.

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We’re hiring the perfect promoter of regionalisation ! (now closed)

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Interested in advocating for the interests of the regions of Europe?

We are looking for a colleague to help us advertise the regional dimension in Europe, create magic links with the European institutions and fight for regional policy. We offer a Belgian full-time employment contract (initially 6 months contract, with possibility of converting it to a permanent position).

This is who we are

Do you want to be our new colleague? Here are the things that are great about this workplace:

  • We’re a small team, so everybody is really important
  • We’re also a very great team, with awesome people on board
  • The thing we work for is super cool: who could be against helping people across Europe to work together?
  • It is a place for personal growth, as you get to work with so many very different people with different backgrounds your horizon widens and you change
  • We use cloud-based team collaboration tools, which allows us to keep in close contact. despite frequent travels and different locations – and, it helps us for community building.

To put it simple: we’re the coolest network in Europe.

If this is you…

We need someone who is open-minded, respectful and responsive – in other words, communicative. In this position, you will be expected to keep yourself up to date and well informed and to use your insights in a proactive manner, delivering results in a smart, politically sensitive way.

Our new colleague should speak and write fluently in English, have a work experience in a European/international environment, be fond of the regional dimension in Europe,  and have a good working knowledge of all modern channels of communication (Office suite, Mailchimp, WordPress, Slack, social networks…). Expertise in all EU policies relevant for the regions is an asset for the perfect candidate.

As you may gather from this, “dynamic”, “energetic” and “inspiring” are key words when we look for a new team member. And, it doesn’t hurt if you’re cool and fun to be with.

Your professional profile should fit the responsibilities below.

Managing the AER advocacy work 

As Institutional Relations Coordinator in our Brussels office, you will assist our team on creating strong links with all the relevant institutions (European Commission, European Parliament, Committee of the Regions, Council of Europe, OECD, UN…) and advocating for the interests of the regions of Europe by defending the key principles of subsidiarity, decentralisation and regionalisation, and make sure that the voice of regions is heard loudly by the institutional stakeholders and decision-makers.

Some examples of this:

  • Anticipate the EU legislation and always stay one step ahead
  • Draft positions in a clear, simple and to-the-point language
  • Follow the state of regionalisation in the European countries
  • Manage the Observatory on Regionalisation and a pool of 50 experts
  • Have an innovative stance towards lobbying activities
  • Build and maintain close relations with and within all institutions, DGs, cabinets…
  • Ensure the participation of the best speakers and stakeholders to AER events
  • Prepare high level meetings for AER members, in and outside Brussels
  • Take part in the various consultative and stakeholder work of the EU (Public consultations, EIPs, High Level Groups…)

In short: make AER visible on the European stage to promote its interests and inspire Europe with the regions’ realities and needs.

On top of these tasks, you will also be responsible for managing the Youth Regional Network, a forum for youth regional organisations giving young people from diverse regions a collective voice on the European stage while introducing a European dimension to youth policy in those regions.

Apply

If you like the idea and wish to be part of an international and motivated team with interesting and challenging field of activities, do not hesitate and apply now!

Please send a short cover letter with your CV in English in a single PDF to [email protected] with “AER Institutional Relations Coordinator“ as subject line.

Deadline for application: Friday 17 March 2017.
Starting date: 1 May the latest (only apply if available)

Connecting regions – inspiring Europe

Set up in 1985, The Assembly of European Regions is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe, bringing together regions from 35 countries – from Norway to Turkey and from Russia to Portugal.

AER is present everywhere on the European continent, inside and outside the European Union. It is the political voice of its members, as well as a forum for interregional cooperation. AER has offices in Strasbourg (FR) and Brussels (BE) as well as representations in Alba (RO) and Dnipropetrovsk (UA).

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UrbanizeHub, the new platform for cities!

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A new web platform, UrbanizeHub, was born this week, after months and months of development. One of his founder, Gratian Mihailescu, who is also an acknowledged expert from the AER’s Observatory on Regionalisation, tells us more about this brand new initiative and its main goals and purposes:

UrbanizeHub (UHub) is a global online start-up, an aggregator of ideas, opinions, projects and news about smart cities and sustainable urban development. Our purpose is that of creating a global community of responsible individuals, experts and specialists in various fields (designers, architects, scientists, etc.), all interested and involved in discussions around the evolution of cities. The platform is written in the English language, it has contributors from all over the world and is part of several global networks: the Erasmus Mundus Association, the Assembly of European Regions, and the Hive Global Leaders Program. What unites all the members and readers of this platform is a common belief that together, dedicated people are able to shape the design of cities.

Our platform is for dreamers, believers and achievers, and for all of those who think they can live in a better world. It is for smart people who like to think outside the box and believe in the future of sustainable urban development and technology.

UrbanizeHub was created as a result of our passion for the subjects we write about and of the need for solutions, ideas and sustainable projects for urban development. The platform is structured into several categories related to cities – Urban Regeneration, Future Cities, Waste Management, Renewable Energy, Projects and Cities. Another particularly interesting category is Community Ideas and Opinions, which will include specialist commentary on various urban issues. Global leaders and visionaries will write about cities and about what needs to be done for them to become more livable and friendly and provide the highest possible quality of life for their inhabitants.

In the medium term, UHub wants to become one of the global communication leaders when it comes to urban development, following the examples of websites like Citylab or Guardian Cities, two very well-known publications for those passionate about cities. The long-term plan for the platform is to create a global community, a Hub through which impactful actions and events can be organized in various areas around the world, as well as online.

The project has already been promoted in California (Silicon Valley), in Brussels at the European Commission level, as well as in other cities around the world, from South-East Asia to South America. Thanks to the networks it is a part of, its cosmopolitan team and contributing experts, as well as due to the way in which the information will be delivered, UHub can become a successful global start-up. UHub is a unique platform because of the complexity of the subjects it tackles and the multimedia approach to delivering all the information. The idea of a Hub and of a global community is built on the fact that the platform is open to everyone who is interested in these subjects – anyone can become a member by logging in with Facebook and contributing to the content of our platform.

For more details, follow UrbanizeHub on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UrbanizeHub/ or Twitter https://twitter.com/UrbanizeHub, or go straight to the website: www.urbanizehub.com

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AER declaration: status quo is not an option

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Political declaration
Status quo is not an option for the European regions

Adopted by the AER Bureau on 24 October 2016 in Vienna (AT)

 

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) was deeply impacted by the results of the referendum held on 23 June 2016 on the United Kingdom’s membership to the European Union. Although AER expresses major concern over the outcome, it also acknowledges the results of this democratic vote and respect the decisions of the British citizens to leave the European Union.

The outcome of this referendum embodies the numerous problems we are facing in Europe today, from which it can only recover with sound and major changes. The current politically and institutionally stagnant period, which is exacerbated by the economic crisis, has to come to an end. The consequences of the British referendum must therefore be heard, understood and exploited by the political forces to emerge strengthened.

What should be well considered as a difficulty of the European project must now be turned into an opportunity to implement true changes. We are all responsible of breathing life into a new bill for a sustainable, green and inclusive continent, recognising our diversity as a strength. European leaders must focus on policies that will ensure territorial cohesion and the concrete implementation of the principle of subsidiarity, equality for all citizens and generations, and increasingly innovative systems. Europe must bestow a bright future upon its youth.

The whole European continent needs to learn from the current difficulties of the EU and reacts swiftly. The regions of Europe call upon the European institutions, national governments and regional authorities within and outside the European Union to take the following recommendations into account:

Vision and values

We should relaunch the political reasons founding the European integration, based on common and shared values of democracy, human rights, peace, social dimension and rule of law. This should be done first at local level, entrusting citizens and giving answers at all levels, enhancing European identity. We need to improve the effectiveness and the accountability of the political leadership, we need to enhance European vision in education, media, politics. We need an effective management of public affairs, rebuilding trust on our systems, able to respond to the present questions, threats and the opportunities of an emerging future, giving confidence and sense of stability and integrity for candidates and neighbouring countries.

Patterns and institutions

Europe has different types of regions (according to their administrative division), hence it is important to understand the different cultural and administrative differences. Institutions like the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee have a greater role to play in order to represent local and regional interest at the EU level. They should have a more proactive attitude in order to represent local and regional interests at the EU level. Subsidiarity is not just a word but a concept that is really implemented. Tax authority at the local level brings the benefits and costs directly to citizens, and it makes them more responsible by deciding how to use the money, and being accountable. The institutions at national and EU levels need to be re-evaluated: they should be more accountable, transparent and more focus should be put on economic growth. To have better subsidiarity and accountability there should be more attention to local and regional governments. Growth and social care should be based on a bottom-up approach; as a result, the needs of communities would be better satisfied. AER has the power to act in this field, and to build knowledge and responsibility among its members.

Communicate and promote

In order to better promote the European project and to make it clearer to the citizens, communication should be made on the level where it belongs, therefore the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity is key. Decision-makers should explain how the political process takes place before it becomes a concrete decision, thus enforcing the idea that Europe is also a political project endorsed by political leaders. Peace and democracy are Europe’s greatest achievements and should not be taken for granted; all actors are responsible to take responsibility and to exchange with citizens. We need to involve young people in the visions and values of Europe. There is a need for stronger leadership to endorse the European project and to promote its ideas and touch the citizens’ emotions. The EU regional policy remains one of the important tools to promote the concrete outcomes of European cooperation.

 

The European regions take their share of responsibility and will keep on working together, within the European Union, within the Council of Europe, and other forms of cooperation. The Assembly of European Regions will pursue its missions of promoting the regional interests in Europe and fostering an increasing interregional cooperation at all relevant levels. Supporting the idea of a united Europe in diversity, we call upon the European and national bodies to provide the most effective means, such as a strengthened EU regional policy, to meet the needs and concerns of the citizens and revitalise the hope of a democratic, prosperous and peaceful Europe.

Download the declaration (pdf)
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AER Observatory on Regionalisation contribution on regional diversity

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The AER Observatory on Regionalisation (Enrico Martial and Alexandre Brecx) took part on 21 April 2016 in the first Jean Monnet seminar in Lille focusing on the heterogeneity of the regions inside the EU. French author Edith Lormel wrote about the main findings in an interesting article recently published on the website La documentation française. The article makes a review of the main conclusions of the seminar, which can be summarised in two main ideas:

a) the diversity of European regions makes it impossible to apply a general rule.
This diversity has its roots on the different situations member states were when they joined the EU, but also on the diverse reaction of these member states to the European policies that aim to promote subsidiarity and to encourage regions to take a more active role, as a level that is closer to citizens and potentially could reduce the distortions caused by the big differences existing among countries inside the EU. Some countries have as a result adopted a regional, decentralised model of state (e.g Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria) while others are zealously protecting the role of a central state (e.g Romania, Portugal) or alternate measures that go in favour and against a strong regional level in their territories (e.g. Italy, France). Finally we find countries in Europe where the existence of pro-independence forces interfere with the process of regionalisation and create a resistance in the central governments to advance (this can be the case of UK with Scotland, Spain with Euskadi and Catalunya, and Belgium). The fact that a new independent state would need to go through the complete accession process without guarantee of being accepted by all MS has been successfully used as an argument against the independence in the Scottish referendum.

b) the increasing importance of metropolitan areas create a challenge for the regions.
The last 15 years have seen the metropolitan areas claiming a role in integrating territories at expense of municipal or provincial competences, and competing with the regions in some cases. This competition should be left aside to take advantage of potential synergies that will come out of the articulation of the pairing Metropole-Region; this is already happening in some small countries such as The Netherlands.

20141020_vue_aerienne_jacques_leone_860

The seminar presented as well the result of the work of a group of students from the University of Lille 1 on the conditions which make the regional level efficient and therefore relevant in Europe:

  • Legitimacy: given by the state and confirmed by the European Union through the Committee of the Regions and European funding for projects.
  • Capacity: which depends on its competences (depending on the level of decentralisation), its economic muscle, the availability of financial resources, and the geography of the region.
  • Identity: rooted on historical traits, or acquired through economical success in a more dynamic conception of identity.
  • Representation: a parliament is the traditional channel to listen to the voice of the citizens. However, more dynamic participation tools are becoming more and more important thanks to available technologies.

The meeting in Lille that is at the origin of this article was the first of a series of activities that aim to dissect the situation of the Regions in the EU. The next activity will take place on December 2016. If you want to refer to the article that gave origin to this post (in French): Edith Lhomel, «La régionalisation en Europe. Quelques pistes de réflexion», [email protected] Europe, 1er juin 2016, La Documentation française © DILA

Learn more about AER’s Observatory on Regionalisation.

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Intern wanted: AER secretariat in Brussels (now closed)

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The Assembly of European Regions is the political organisation of the regions of Europe and a representative of their interests at the European and international levels. Its mission: to defend the interests of the regions in the political process and to develop interregional cooperation. Regions from 35 countries and 15 interregional organisations are members of the AER.

We are looking for an intern to assist us in our Brussels office on the management of our network, which is composed of around 200 regions. Under the supervision of the AER Membership and Institutional Relations’ Coordinator, as an intern you will:

  • monitor the political developments in the member regions,
  • implement strategy and actions with member regions,
  • establish a strategy towards non-member regions,
  • support the visits of the President and the SG to the regions (Membership Action Plan),
  • collect data and information to draft a guidebook of all member regions,
  • assist the organisation of the Regional Innovation Award.

Finally, you will assist the team in general office management tasks.

 

Your profile:

  • persuasive, tenacious and sociable
  • meticulous and consistent in executing tasks
  • ability to work independently and autonomously
  • a sense of organisation, initiative and responsibility
  • excellent command of English; other EU languages are a valuable asset
  • well-trained IT skills
  • good command of digital tools (news alert, social media…)
  • experience in using WordPress is preferable

 

The AER offers you the opportunity to:

  • be in contact with high ranking politicians and opinion-leaders
  • learn about regionalisation and related current European political issues
  • work in a dynamic, multinational and multicultural environment
  • develop personal responsibility and initiative
  • gain invaluable experience in a professional environment

The internship period will be between 4 and 6 months, starting in August.

From your arrival onward, you will be considered as full team member.

 

Financial, administrative and insurance conditions

For all internships within the AER, a contract must be signed by the AER and the intern’s home University/School/Institute. Please note that this is a non-negociable condition.

You will receive a monthly financial compensation for their training period of 150 EUR. Travel and living costs must be met by yourself.

If you are not citizen of an EU country, you must make sure that you fulfil all legal requirements (residence permit, visa etc.) as specified by Belgian law for foreigners. You must also ensure that you are correctly insured during your stay in Brussels.

You are to respect the working hours, organisation and general rules of the AER Team. You will respect the confidentiality of the information brought to your attention during your training period within the AER.

 

How to apply

Please send us your CV and application letter in English to the email address info(at)aer.eu latest by July 17th, with email subject “AER Membership Intern”. We will contact applicants as soon as we start receiving their applications.

Please note that due to a large number of applications, we can only guarantee that  pre-selected candidates will receive an answer.

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AER meets EU institution leaders

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One week after the Brexit, AER President Dr Hande Özsan Bozatli and Secretary General Mathieu Mori met with Mr Timmermans, first vice President of the European Commission. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the 2017 work programme of the European Commission but also to enquire about the steps the Commission will take following the loss of one of the key EU members. After restating the key AER messages on current key topics such as renewal of cohesion policy, urban agenda while also calling for the Commission to produce a white paper on rural areas that would lead to a post-2020 rural development policy. The implementation of the European fund for strategic investment as well the future of asylum policy where also raised.
AER regretted that no strong signals in favour of a broad debate on the future of the European Union were given after the European Council that finished a few hours before our meeting with Mr Timmermans. AER is ready to take part in this needed debate, by brining forward ideas from its member regions.
Many questions still pending that will need a follow up with the European Commission over the next months.

Following this meeting, the AER President and Secretary General, accompanied by Laurent of Belgium, special adviser to the President met with Mr Markku Markkula, President of the Committee of the Regions. The meeting was the occasion to restate the good cooperation between AER and the CoR. The CoR was encouraged to make the most of the trusted partner that is AER, especially when it tries to reach out to non-EU members. Given the profile of AER membership and of AER President, there are many formal and informal links that can be put in place to work towards a more inclusive Europe.

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Sign here for the future of Cohesion policy

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The current programming period of cohesion policy is set until 2020. However, the discussions already started behind the doors of the European Commission and other institutions, especially as we are coming close to the mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will serve as a strong working base to prepare the post-2020 period. The EU Cohesion policy, as one of the biggest beneficiary of the EU budget, will obviously be discussed as well as the question whether Cohesion policy should cover all regions or only less developed regions in the future. This could be questioned as it is the only policy solely dedicated to the benefit of the regions and as such gives visibility to the regions of Europe and legitimation of regions as such.

Each decision taken in the framework of the discussions for the MFF will impact regions. Yet, the regions are not included in the decision-making process of the Multiannual Financial Framework. We do have a voice in shaping the content of EU Cohesion policy, yet no voice with regards to the MFF negotiations.

The region of Lower Austria (AT) launched an initiative to gather all regions of Europe to make their voices heard by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU, as the regions are not included in the discussions about their own future. As stated by Erwin Pröll, Governor of Lower Austria, “(as) many European regions as possible and their interregional organisations as well as the European Committee of the Regions need to make a strong commitment for EU Cohesion policy. The more regions and organisations participate in this initiative the better is our democratic justification for this demand and the higher are the chances for the continuation of the EU Cohesion policy as a policy for all regions.”

AER took at active role in the Lower Austria initiative together with regional representation offices in Brussels. On top of the technical work, AER President, Dr. Hande Özsan Bozatli, headed a delegation of member regions to meet with Commissioner Crețu in order to discuss the first outcome of this initiative. We invite you all to join the initiative by signing the declaration by and sending it back to the AER Secretariat by 15 July .

The Book with all the signed political declarations will be handed in to the Presidents of the EU institutions at the Summit of the Regions on 28 September, with the attendance of regional and international media. The Presidents of the AER member regions are invited to attend the Summit together with the AER President, to raise awareness and exercise influence as early as possible in this key process of shaping a renewed EU Cohesion Policy after 2020.

Letter from Erwin Pröll, Governor of Lower Austria, to the AER members

For your signature: Political declaration “a strong renewed cohesion policy for all regions”

English version
German version
French version
Italian version
Spanish version
Finnish version
Swedish version
Romanian version
Hungarian version

Contacts

You want more information about this initiative or wish to remain informed about the next activities of AER regarding EU Cohesion Policy? Please contact Alexandre Brecx (+32 2 400 10 50).

 

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