Irish Regions Office Website

November 02, 2009

'Macro-regional' approach gains Council approval

On 30 October, the meeting of Heads of State and Government endorsed the new approach to regional development proposed in the comprehensive EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. This integrated macro-regional framework has been drawn up by the Commission and the concerned Member States to identify collective needs and challenges and aspirations in fields such as fisheries, transport, research, energy and the environment and to set about matching them to available resources through co-ordination of appropriate policies, in order to enable the area to enjoy a sustainable shared future.

Noting the innovative nature of this Integrated Strategy and the potential it represents, the Council placed particular emphasis on the need to speed up the integration of infrastructure and markets between neighbouring Member States and for this process to be achieved through a well thought-out joint governance structure. It is felt that the Baltic example presents a blueprint for similar approaches in other parts of the EU.

With the future of the EU's Atlantic seaboard - a somewhat vaster and more open space - specifically in mind, as part of October's Open Days week of Regions and Cities, the Irish Regions Office partly organised a well-attended seminar for maritime stakeholders from nine nations and regions across Ireland, UK, France, Spain and Portugal to draw on the Baltic Sea model and reflect on experiences of and opportunities for mutually-beneficial cooperation across national frontiers. Among the contributors were representatives of the Marine Institute and the Dublin Regional Authority as part of the Irish Sea Platform.

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Posted by iroronan at November 2, 2009 06:00 PM