Themes

Sustaining economic development and creating long-term, stable jobs, as outlined by the Lisbon Agenda, is complemented with the environmental dimension by the Gothenburg conclusions. EUSDS – Europe’s strategy on sustainable development – further outlines objectives and overarching measures needed to protect our earth, environment not only from a strictly environmental perspective but also to achieve health gains and to conserve nature’s valuable resources. However, environment protection has long been falsely seen as the prerogative of richer countries and it can be difficult to motivate economies, like the ones in Central and Eastern Europe, trying to catch-up with the economic process and structural reforms to devote sufficient resources to environment.

However, environmental protection and nature conservation is often a win-win situation and a balanced approach to economic development normally lead to long term gains. EU has exclusive competence in the field of environment and has an extensive legislative framework covering virtually every environmental field as well as a large number of judgments by the European Court of Justice.

The EU has some of the highest environment standards in the world, developed over decades to address a wide range of issues. Today the main priorities are combating climate change, preserving biodiversity, reducing health problems from pollution and using natural resources more responsibly. While aimed at protecting the environment, these goals can contribute to economic growth by fostering innovation and enterprise. The overarching principles and objectives on environmental protection, supplementing the articles enshrined in the founding treaties and secondary legislation, can be found in the Sixth Environmental Action Programme. This programme sets out environmental actions aiming at limiting climate change, preserving the natural environment and biodiversity, reducing emissions damaging to health and diminishing the use of natural resources by cutting waste and taking account of environmental considerations when implementing structural policy decisions on investments. Although there are costs to environmental protection, these are substantially outweighed by potential gains from improvements in health and job creation in the eco-industries, as well as from more sustainable development.

There are a number of EU funding programmes that finances or co-finances action in the environmental field, especially in investment intensive environmental areas, such as waste management.

Energy is an essential factor in our lives especially in our new high-tech, high-speed life style with intensive energy consumption. We rely on energy sources for transport, for heating and cooling our homes, and running our factories, farms and offices. Most of the current energy use comes from fossil fuel which is a finite resource as well as a major cause of global warming. The EU has realised that it is essential to quickly move towards an integrated energy and environment policy based on clear targets and timetables for moving to a low-carbon economy and saving energy. Such an approach will also be more effective in reaching teh 20% reduction target of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. It is imperative engage the whole society and to create clear incentives. Hence, EU funding has been extended to finance innovative approaches, especially those which are economically and technically viable in a larger scale. One of those EU funding programmes is Intelligent Energy Europe which covers both energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

There is also another important perspective of the EU energy policy – to ensure energy independency and self-sufficiency. Currently 50% of EU’s energy comes from outside the EU. EU is supporting measures and actions to reduce this reliance on external energy exports, by investing in EU derived sources and especially in RES. Also EU is investing in energy transport networks and in emergency oil supplies. The networks should be able to handle both fossil fuels and RES like wind energy. Unbundeling the supply of gas and electricity from its production is a legal request since 2007 with the main aim of giving consumer more choice while creating incentives for increased share of RES. However, more action is necessary on local and regional level especially to make this unbundeling a reality for households and industries.

EU is also calling for effective measures to boost energy efficiency – both in production processes and in built environment. Such measures are also complemented with energy labeling, which is incentive for innovative products and services, minimising the use of energy. Such labeling already exists for a wide range of household products.

On 10 November 2010, the European Commission adopted the Communication "Energy 2020 - A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy" (in short EU Energy 2020) - a comprehensive package of measures to reduce the EU’s contribution to global warming and ensure reliable and sufficient supplies of energy. This strategy and reform has the main aim to make Europe the world leader in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. It defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets the actions to be taken in order to tackle the challenges of saving energy, achieving a market with competitive prizes and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, and effectively negotiate with our international partners.

Grants Europe will help your company to turn today’s energy challenge into tomorrow’s opportunities.

Well-functioning passenger and freight links are vital for European undertakings and citizens. EU transport policies aim at fostering clean, safe and efficient travel throughout Europe, underpinning the internal market of goods and the right of citizens to travel freely throughout the EU. Access/mobility is a key factor in modern economies facilitating the movement of people, goods and information and contributing significantly to the balanced development of regions. However, there is an existing contradiction between the ever increasing demand for mobility and public opinion becoming more and more intolerant of chronic delays and the poor quality of some transport services. Transport systems therefore need to be optimised to meet the demands of sustainable development both from a socio-economic and environmental perspective in line with the Gothenburg Agenda.

Within the framework of accessibility, urban mobility plays a crucial role, with over 60% of the EU population living in urban areas. It is recognised as an important facilitator of growth and employment with strong impact on sustainable development. To be effective, urban mobility policies need to be based on integrated approaches, combining technological innovation, the development of clean, safe and intelligent transport systems, economic incentives and improvements of the legislation.

Transport policy is a complex area. On the one hand, it is necessary for realising the free movement of people, goods and to have efficient transport means and road networks. Efficient road infrstructure is often also a prerequisite for economic development and foreign investment. The Trans-European Transport Network, allowing goods and people to circulate quickly and assuring international connections aims at bringing harmonsiation to nationally oriented building structures to establish a single, multimodal network that integrates land, sea and air transport networks throughout the Community.

On the other hand, it is important to move towards a form of mobility that is sustainable, energy-efficient and respectful of the environment. One main is to disconnect mobility from its adverse effects. This means, above all, promoting co-modality, i.e. optimally combining various modes of transport within the same transport chain, which is the solution for the future in the case of freight. Technical innovation and a shift towards the least polluting and most energy efficient , modes of transport — especially in the case of long distance and urban travel — will also contribute to a more sustainable mobility.

There are several EU funding programmes that increasingly focus on the quest to create sustainable transport systems, enhancing accessibility, reducing our dependence on the car, realising the modal split with preference for railway, inland and sea transportation. New concepts completing existing transport systems have to be conceived taking an integrated, system-oriented approach. Incentives for research and innovation are provided through programmes such as TREN,  FP7 (mainly Civitas) and Marco Polo. In addition, funding for transnational and cross-border cooperation in the fields of urban mobility and sustainable transport is available in programmes such as Interreg IVC, Interreg IVB, South East, Central. Grants under TREN supports both transport and urban mobility projects.  Grants Europe will help you understand the opportunities given for public and private entities in this very complex policy area.

Reference projects: IMITS, DaHar

Since 2007 increasing attention is being given to the fact that a healthy population is vital for a thriving economy. This has been recognised both in the Cohesion Policy and in the White Paper of 2007 setting out a new Community health strategy until 2013, which is designed to confront the growing challenges to the health of Europe's citizens, such as population ageing, cross-border health threats or illnesses linked to unhealthy lifestyles. This strategy is also intended to strengthen, in a single strategic framework, Community cooperation in the areas in which the Member States cannot act alone, ensure that health is better understood at European level and worldwide, and secure a bigger role for health in all policies. The three objectives set out are:

• Objective I: fostering good health in an ageing Europe
• Objective II: protecting citizens from health threats
• Objective III: supporting dynamic health systems and new technologies

The importance of health in regional development should not be underestimated in regional development.  Hence, this greater clarity on the importance of health in regional development encourages more comprehensive funding for a wide range of actions. Europe is facing challenges that health investment can help tackle. Maintaining a healthy labour force, as outlined in the Community Strategic Guidelines, is a fundamental component of the cohesion policy in support of the Lisbon Agenda. A healthy labour force is a productive labour force, and helps to improve regional economic performance.

European economies facing slowing - or even declining - population growth cannot afford to lose potential labour resources due to preventable diseases and disability. In addition, population ageing will put increasing pressure on pension and healthcare budgets. There is a need to keep as many people in employment for as long as possible. Healthy ageing could reduce the negative effects of population ageing and so support economic prosperity. To respond to the increasing pressure of an ageing population with chronic diseases it is necessary to invent innovative, cost-efficient approaches while ensuring high quality healthcare products and services such as investements into telehealth and telemedicine and invest in the human capital in healthcare institutions.

Reference: RECAP (Interreg IVB on innovation and demonstration of telehealth services), 2Health (Interreg IV on employability strategies to increase attractiveness of healthcare sector)

In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, innovation holds the key to regional competitiveness. Innovation is even more a necessity to cope with the new economy in the after math of the financial crisis. Challenges have to be turned into opportunities and Europe has a strong track-record in bringing innovations to the global arena.

Innovation is a complex process through which knowledge is translated into new products, services or processes, involving various different stakeholders from the public, private and knowledge sectors. It is not just related to high-tech industries but can be attributed to any industry or economic sector. There is a growing consensus about the importance of good governance, meaning efficient institutions, effective relationships and free flow of information across the various actors involved in the development process and positive attitudes towards business and enterprise. EU industry has been seriously affected by the recent economic crisis, revealing a number of structural weaknesses. Industries, together with public authorities, have to undertake the necessary structural adjustments in a politically and socially acceptable way. Innovation should also respond to other longer-term challenges such as globalisation, demographic change and climate change and energy.

However, the capacity to innovate, access knowledge and exploit it, however, varies between regions in both "old" and "new" Member States. Grants Europe works to reduce the innovation potential between the new and old Member States and to bring these different countries together in teh quest for new innovative products, services and approaches.

Reference projects: Ceramica, CEUtransPub

Tourism plays an important role in the development of the vast majority of European regions. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, and jobs are created or maintained even in areas in industrial or rural decline, or undergoing urban regeneration. The need to improve the attractiveness of the regions acts as an incentive to an increasing number of destinations and stakeholders to turn towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices and policies. Sustainable tourism plays a major role in the preservation and enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage in an ever expanding number of areas, ranging from arts to local gastronomy, crafts or the preservation of biodiversity.

Although the EU has no direct tourism competence, European policies in a number of areas have a considerable and even growing impact on tourism. Moreover, a number of actions relating to tourism are supported through EU programmes, including in the fields of education, vocational training, youth, culture, consumers and regional policy. Enhancing the competitiveness of the EU tourism industry plays an important role for the attainment of the EU's Growth and Jobs Strategy goals. Tourism should therefore address a number of challenges, including ageing society, growing global competition, sustainability concerns and evolving demand patterns for specific forms of tourism, e.g agro-tourism, social tourism, eco-tourism, sustainable tourism.

The need to enhance the understanding and visibility of tourism being a wide and multisectoral phenomenon, requires strong cooperation between organisations, public administrations, destinations, stakeholders. To provide a source of information and support on implementation of EU programmes at national and regional level the Commission Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) was set up, available to SMEs but also available to all businesses, research centres and universities across Europe,

Reference projects: Therm Inno, Seecris, Ceramica, Open Borders - Paneuropean Picnic 2009

In 1974, the European Parliament adopted an initial resolution calling for need for Community action in the cultural sphere, particularly action to protect cultural heritage. Since 1993, the Treaty establishing the European Community has provided a legal basis specifically for activities concerning the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage.

Europe has a rich and versatile cultural heritage. Language, literature, theatre, visual arts, architecture, crafts, the cinema and broadcasting may belong to a specific country or region, but they represent part of Europe's common cultural heritage. The EU aims to preserve and support this diversity and to help make it accessible to others.

The EU has taken action with regard to movable and immovable heritage (museums, collections, libraries and archives); archaeological and architectural heritage; natural heritage (landscapes and sites of natural interest); linguistic and gastronomic heritage, and traditional occupations. Community action of this kind deals with both the cultural and economic aspects of heritage. Cultural heritage is basically seen from two main perspectives:

• Cultural heritage as a vehicle of cultural identity
• Cultural heritage as a factor in economic development

There are many EU policies for the promotion of culture including subsidy programmes. EU’s portal on cultural heritage: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/portal/index_en.htm

The EU will pursue its Lisbon objectives more successfully if all regions are able to play their part. Cities are particularly important in this context. Cities are home to most jobs, firms and institutes of higher education and their action is decisive in bringing about social cohesion. Cities are home to change based on innovation, spirit of enterprise and economic growth. Economic growth is sustainable when it is accompanied by measures designed to reduce poverty, social exclusion and environmental problems. The question of the sustainable character of growth is particularly important in cities most exposed to problems of social exclusion, deterioration of the environment, wastelands and urban sprawl. The quality of the urban environment may also constitute a factor of attractiveness.

The most attractive options for sustainable rural development and the protection of biodiversity cannot be found within the traditional boundaries of agriculture and nature conservation only. They increasingly require cooperation and creative partnerships between a variety of regional and local interests and their representatives. The best opportunities for creating added value for extensive farming, nature development, regional branding, etc., are found in the vicinity of urban areas, where there is a strong demand for ‘natural’ rural open space and related products and services.

Until now urban-rural linkages have been based on rural areas conceptualised as residuals between dynamic urban growth nodes. Such linkages have strong connection to spatial planning and the Cohesion policy. However, the Commission’s communication of 2010 ‘The CAP towards 2020’  proposes improving the links between rural and urban areas as a means of contributing to the balanced territorial development of rural areas. This instrument from Spatial planning and Cohesion policy with the wider aims of regional and societal development becomes dedicated to providing benefits to rural areas. Hence, the importance and potential of rural areas is being highlighted.  A large part of the EU is rural or areas connecting rural and urban areas. The new EU orientation on urban-rural development policies will help regions realise their potential.