On 7 – 9 September, 2011, XXI. Economic Forum in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland, provided yet again a platform for political and economic leaders of Europe to debate policies and strategies for future European development. Local and regional policy makers from all over Europe met for the fifth time at the Forum of Regions, an integral thematic part of the Economic Forum. More than 2600 people from 60 countries took part in almost 150 discussion panels, plenary sessions and special events prepared this year. Many distinguished guests, among them, for example, DonaldTusk, Prime Minister of the host country, Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, or Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia, accepted invitation and presented their messages within one of the 15 thematic areas. One of the thematic areas focused on regional development and the audience could listen to contributions from, for example, Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, or Danuta Hübner, European Parliament Chairwoman of Regional Development Committee.
Already for the second time, INTERREG IVC programme became a partner of the main organizer of the event, the Warsaw Institute for Eastern European Studies. This year the programme co-organised the plenary session of the 5th Forum of Regions on “The Future of the European Regions. The Strategy of the Regional Development 2020”. Danuta Hübner moderated the discussion among El¿bieta Bieñkowska, Polish Minister of Regional Development, Ján Hudacký, State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, Roman Ciepiela, Deputy Marshal of the Malopolska Region, Malgorzata Kolakowska, President of the ING Bank Slaski Management Board, and Michel Lamblin, INTERREG IVC Programme Director. The speakers discussed a number of current regional development issues, for example: differences among and within regions, interregional and cross-border cooperation alleviating such differences, preparation of operational programmes for future programming period, exchange and transfers of good practices, and financing regional development. Minister Bieñkowska, for example, brought up and praised an example of sub-regional cooperation in Silesia, pointing out that not only regional level is appropriate for finding good region-specific solutions offering potential for future growth and development. Danuta Hübner later remarked that good practices developed in one region should serve as an inspiration for others. She acknowledged the role of INTERREG IVC in facilitating that and noted that exchange of experience should bring tangible results.
INTERREG IVC programme also contributed to organization of a panel discussion on “Cohesion Policy - Driving Force of Regional Economic Growth”, which was a part of the Forum of Regions as well. The panellists, Tamas Szemler (moderator) from Hungarian ICEG European Center, Martin Guillermo Ramirez, Secretary General of the Association of European Border Regions, Michael Koch-Larsen, Danish Regions Executive Adviser on Regional Development, Michel Lamblin, INTERREG IVC Programme Director, Jose Antonio Ruiz de Casas, European Commission DG Regio EGTC Programme Manager, and Balazs Simo, Head of the Managing Authority for International Cooperation Programmes at the Hungarian National Development Agency, discussed various aspects of Cohesion Policyand its future development. With regard to the future of European Territorial Cooperation, the speakers exchanged their views on cooperation among some marginalised border regions and among better and less advanced regions. In that context, they particularly addressed opportunities for and effects of good practiceexchange among regions on their development. Mr. Ramirez, for example, remarked on the need for ‘positive discrimination’ of border regions in Europe and emphasised, for the sake of sustainability of various programmes, that appropriate indicators allowing for measurement and comparison of the impact of regional cooperation were really necessary. Mr. Ruiz de Casas later talked about future Cohesion Policy funds distribution and pointed out that investments must be smart and focused on strategic priorities for each specific region, often identified thanks to exchange of good practices also within the framework of INTERREG IVC programme. On the other hand, he also saw some benefit in sharing bad practices as a means of learning from mistakes of others. Two messages coming out of the debate can be highlighted: 1) tailor-made approach is the most appropriate for regions; and 2) coordinated approach to implementation of Cohesion Policy based on partnership across various interests should be adopted.
source: http://i4c.eu
