The ‘Sustainable
European Regions Network’
has finalised its first working phase, funded
under the European Commission’s Innovative
Actions programme, at the end of December 2004.
A co-operation of European regions will be continued
on the basis of the network’s past experiences.
The regions are currently in the process of
developing a new structure and future work programme.
We will present our new design, aim and proposed
outcomes, and opportunities for interested parties
to work with us within the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime please don’t hesitate
to contact the network’s secretariat at
sustainable-euregions@wales.gsi.gov.uk.
Want to look at sustainable development but
don’t know where to start? Coming up with
lots of questions but no answers? Want to share
information on approaches to sustainable development
and learn from others? Want to integrate your
policies but don’t’ know how to
do it? Join the Sustainable European Regions
Network!
The network’s
aim is to establish a pan-European team of inter-linked
regional administrations, experts and organisations,
operating at the cutting edge of sustainable
development & regional innovation.
The network enables regions
to come together, pool knowledge and understanding
and think together about the key issues that
regions must address in order to create sustainable
regions. Although in Europe the roots of sustainable
development lie largely in environmental policy,
the network looks at it in its true sense, tackling
sustainable development as a theme that cuts
through all policy areas looking at the social,
environmental and economic implications –
people, planet and profit. This means that integration,
good governance, cohesion and planning are all
central to the work.
What does the network
do?
The network:
addresses practical issues of making innovation
through SD a reality at a regional scale;
assists accession countries to apply SD thinking
to their problems;
helps to inform the future shape of the structural
funds;
looks at proposals for delivering existing
and emerging European Union initiatives in an
integrated and holistic way;
boost holistic approaches to regional decision-making,
within the EU’s emerging proposals on
governance.
How does the network operate?
The network :
compares approaches and informs the development
of policy through policy studies, seminars and
workshops;
organises inter-regional best-practice exchange
visits;
looks at the potential for collaborative
projects under other European programmes e.g.
INTERREG.
What Regions are involved?
10 full members
are currently involved in the work of the network.
These are complemented by Shadow Partner regions
from the Accession Countries and Associate Members
from other regions.
What are the
benefits of the network?
Access to best practice from Europe which
can help to shape policy making;
Driving forward the debate about sustainable
development across Europe at a time when the
European SD Strategy has just emerged;
Helping to inform the new Structural Fund
arrangements, so that sustainable development
is integral to the new programmes;
The ability to use the combined knowledge
of the network to further understanding and
help the policy making process;
The ability to use the combined knowledge
and power of the network to further understanding
and the policy making process;
In anticipation of EU enlargement: forging
extra links with regions from Accession Countries
should be particularly useful in this regard;
If you would like to know more about the network,
please contact:
sustainable-euregions@wales.gsi.gov.uk
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