Territorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007 Peter Schön, BBR Bonn

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007 Recent discussion on Territorial Cohesion … Structural Funds Community strategic guidelines on cohesion and the National Strategic Reference Frameworks EU constitution / EU treaty Territorial Agenda adopted at the Ministerial Meeting 2007 in Leipzig based on scientific background documents: Territorial State and Perspective of the European Union Fourth report on economic and social cohesion Priorities, themes and results of the ESPON 2006 and ESPON 2013 Programmes

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007 … identify important challenges for territorial cohesion globalisation, competitiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge society, research and innovation capacities, creating more and better jobs, increasing investment in human capital, growth and jobs agenda – Lisbon strategy demographic change, ageing, depopulation, ensuring adequate quality and level of services cultural diversity, social integration, exclusion climate change, sustainability, natural hazards, energy efficiency, preserving their environmental potential improving attractiveness and accessibility of Member States, regions and cities economic convergence between states and regions socio-economic polarisation within member states

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007 … and sometimes conflicting goals The Guidelines seek to provide a balance between the twin objectives of the growth and jobs agenda and territorial cohesion. (Inforegio website)

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October European economic convergence economic disparities between member states and regions in Europe are still strong economic convergence between EU member states has taken place in recent years: Economic growth rates in CEE are much higher than in EU-15, some new member states already have reached 75% level of EU-GDP but even a simple extrapolation of current growth rates would suggest that equivalent economic living conditions will not exist before 20 to 40 years from now. however, the convergence process is accompanied by growing intra-state disparities and polarisation between capital and metropolitan regions and the (national) peripheries the high growth rates, esp. in CEE / EU-12 countries, stem from the capital metropolitan regions the pentagon is enlarging along corridors

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

Unemployment rate 2003

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

Growing polarisation between metropolitan regions and periphery

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

GDP per cap: 1995 – 2000 – 2004

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

Source: Growing Regions, growing Europe Fourth report on economic and social cohesion

Dr. Karl Peter Schön, BBR BonnTerritorial cohesion, its opportunities and challenges, Open Days Brussels, 10 October 2007

thank you for your attention !