BSR INTERREG III B Content

Partner Search Forum 1 - Riga, Latvia

Date: 25 October 2001
Place: Riga, Latvia

Contents

Spatial Development Projects at the first Partner Search

Forum in Riga, October 25, 2001

On 25 October 2001, Riga was the venue for the first BALTIC SEA REGION INTERREG III B Partner Search Forum for bringing together prospective project idea and professionals in regional policy and spatial planning. Mr Esben Poulsen, European Commission, Head of INTERREG Unit, Directorate General for Regional Policy, set out the Commission's views on key aspects of regional and spatial policy: the programming for INTERREG III of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006.

In analysing the importance of maintaining cohesion policy at Community level and in the Baltic Sea Region, Mr Poulsen encouraged the innovative approach taken to gather prospective project partners from the EU BSR as well as the non EU BSR in Riga the 25 October 2001. In his view, "good projects" in the frame of INTERREG could back the less wealthy States of the assets they need to reduce regional imbalances and would lend a hand to the wealthier Member States to introduce new mechanisms for joint planning and development, which would straighten companionship.

In order to contest an increase of regional disparities deriving from enlargement, he reviewing the Commissions examination to reinforcing genuine convergence, "the only relevant criterion" on which cohesion policy should be based, because it is "useful not only to regions which are catching up, but also to the others, which are benefiting from expanding markets".

Mr Poulsen pointed out the importance of the INTERREG III by stating the increased budget of available funds for the present period, from 3.6 (1994-1999) to 4.9 billion Euro (2000-2006). Without prejudging the presentation of a deeper financial analyse and about the strands of INTERREG A and C (cross border and interregional co-operation) that lie ahead, Mr Poulsen repeated that the rate of assistance provided for the INTERREG III B strand (trans-national co-operation) has proportionally in a comparative perspective increased even more, from 440 million Euro(1997-1999) to 1.300 million Euro ( 2000-2006).

In his view, such credibility also means "concentrating Community project support on measures with high added value". Although - stated later during the Info Day by Mr Harry Ekestam, Finnish Ministry of Interior, on the whole, everyone agreed that things have gone better than in the previous programming period (1994-99) - Mr Poulsen, in analysing the assessment of "best project practices", identified certain aspects requiring a more sustained effort. Emphasising the central role played by partnerships in shaping regional and spatial policy, he call for Member States to provide more weight on the nature of the partners' involvement in preparing projects.

He also expressed the significance of those projects in the present period " moving towards concreteness, setting up clear objectives and outcome targets and strengthening the "trans-national dimension". In the search for the "ideal" projects having a great impact and taking into account all Community policy level objectives, are essential to the smooth operation of a policy based decentralisation.

Mr Poulsen pointed out that the credibility of the implementation of good projects depends on sound and efficient management and the real "use" of the outputs, in which the regions themselves play a part. Finishing his speech by saying he was convinced that such a day as the Partner Search Forum in Riga could serve project owners with new ideas and whished all participants' good luck in their rummage around for accurate partners and added value projects.

The one day long Partner Search Forum attracted successfully 260 participants and was divided into one morning- and one afternoon session. The morning session with all the assembly comprised a number of key programme presentations and the afternoon slit up into five workshops.

Please go to presentations, held in the morning session, and the main outputs from the four workshops in Contents.