TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITH NEIGHBOURHOOD: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

1. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITH NEIGHBOURHOOD: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR EUROPEAN SMART, SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH IN AN ENLARGED TERRITORIAL CONTEXT ESPON INTERNAL SEMINAR Paphos, Cyprus - 5 December 2012 Mathilde Konstantopoulou- MC Member Greece Special Service for Strategy, Planning and Evaluation of Development Programmes Hellenic Ministry for Development,Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport & Networks

2. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION 2007 -2013 OBJECTIVE 3: full –fledged objective of Cohesion Policy Along with Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment Budget :7.8 bn euro (ERDF) 9.4 bn euro (ENPI/CBC & IPA/CBC) 2007-2013: 75 cross-border Programmes (including external EU borders), 13 transnational Programmes, 1 interregional Programme (INTERREG IVC) and 3 networking Programmes (ESPON 2013, URBACT II, and INTERACT II)

3. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION 2014-2020 ETC Regulation COM (2011) 611 dated 6.10.2011 (Structural Funds Regulations) Budget (initial proposal at the MFF in October 2011) 11.7 bn euro for Territorial Cooperation Heading 4 MFF – “The EU as a global player” – GLOBAL EUROPE • IPA = 12.5 bn (pre-accession countries) • ENI = 16 bn (European neighbourhood) • DCI = 20.5 bn (geographic and thematic instrument) General trend for external action: projecting EU values and interests with a focus on growth, neighboring countries, crisis and emergency management, security and regulating migration flows. Using development as a tool to boost economic and foreign affairs objectives is crucial for the programming period 2014-2020

4. EU 2020 STRATEGY • Smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation • Sustainable growth: promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy • Inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion • 3% of Europe’s GDP invested in R&D • The 20/20/20 climate/energy targets should be met (including an increase to 30% of emissions'’ reduction under the appropriate conditions) • 75% of population aged 20-64 should be employed • 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty • Share of early school leavers less than 10% • More than 40% of younger generation with a tertiary degree economic crisis ?

5. KEY MESSAGES FOR COOPERATION IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EU 2020 STRATEGY The Europe 2020 strategy is not only relevant inside the EU, it can also offer considerable potential to candidate countries and our neighbourhood and better help anchor their own reform efforts. Expanding the area where EU rules are applied, will create new opportunities for both the EU and its neighbours TERRITORIAL AGENDA 2020 Territories with common potentials or challenges can collaborate in finding common solutions and utilize their territorial potential by sharing experience. Territories with complementary potentials, often neighbouring, can join forces and explore their comparative advantages together creating additional development potential

6. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION 2014-2020 • Tool to strengthen EU’s territorial, economic and social cohesion • Major contributor to European Integration across borders GOALS OF TERRITORIAL COOPERATION 2014-2020 • Find solutions to transboundary challenges • Reach economies of scale • Find effective mechanisms to generate and share knowledge • Improve governance COOPERATION PROGRAMMES MORE FOCUSED • 80% of funding of Cooperation programmes concentrated to 4 thematic objectives of the EU 2020 strategy • Separate & specific Cooperation Regulation (COM (2011) 611)

7. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITH NEIGHBORHOOD (ENI –COM (2011) 839) • Promote human rights, principles of equality, enhance good governance • Achieve progressive integration into Union integral Market, enhance sector and cross-sector cooperation • Create conditions for well managed mobility of people and promote people-to-people contacts • Promote sustainable and inclusive development, fight for poverty reduction, act for rural development, mitigate climate change and provide for disaster resilience • Promote confidence building • Enhance sub-regional, regional and Neigbourhood wide collaboration, as well as Cross-border Cooperation

8. TERRITORIAL COOPERATION WITH CANDIDATE COUNTRIES (IPA II – COM (2011) 838) • Support for political reforms (strengthening of democratic institutions, promotion and protection of human rights, promotion of gender equality & non-discrimination, reform public administration and promote good governance • Support for economic, social and territorial development with a view to a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (proceeding to economic reforms, fostering employment, promoting social and economic inclusion, developing the physical capital) • Strengthening the ability of beneficiary countries in order to fulfill their membership obligations by supporting the progressive alignment with the adoption, implementation and enforcement of rural development, cohesion, structural funds and policies of the EU • Fostering regional integration and territorial cooperation involving beneficiary countries, Member States and third countries within the scope of the Regulation establishing a European Neighborhood Instrument

9. OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH WITHIN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AREA • New development opportunities for the European Union and Neighbours • Added value and critical mass for regions and countries involved • Economies of scale to be achieved to boost competitiveness for all partners • Strategic projects of economic and political importance to be implemented (energy, security, immigration, infrastructure) • Free Trade Agreements and other forms of economic cooperation between the EU and neighbouring countries • Cooperation in the South, and in particular in the Mediterranean, requires the construction and revival of ports, strengthening the links among territories connected by sea • Barriers for flows will have to diminish and major infrastructure projects need to be implemented in the Eastern neighbourhood, an important trade area for the EU • Metropolitan regions and world cities can become global hubs and enhance cooperation and interconnections with the European Territory • Macro- regional strategies as a tool for further cooperation with the neighbouring countries, creating synergies, while facing common territorial challenges

10. CHALLENGES FOR GROWTH WITHIN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AREA • Adoption and implementation of Cooperation programmes with neighbours (which for various reasons, though drafted and approved by the Commission, were never implemented) • “New” territorial capital to be explored and discovered • Continuation of large infrastructure projects in order to increase accessibility, improve connectivity, facilitate mobility, obtain energy efficiency and reduce costs • Strategic projects of economic and political importance in energy, infrastructure and ICT to be initiated, continued, finalized and implemented in the neighbourhood • Neigbourhood as a source of human flows, students, workers and qualified labour force, while tourist flows follow opposite directions • Major gaps in quality of life, political instability and low living conditions create illegal migratory flows from the South and East to the “Western Developed World” • Energy adequacy and energy supply by ensuring stable market conditions in the East • Natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean gain strategic advantages and supply the European energy market now that market conditions allow investments in the area

11. PROPOSALS AND IDEAS FOR SUCCESSFULL COOPERATION • Focus on and learn the potential territory of cooperation • Assess and select the area of cooperation • Make use of the comparative advantages • Select a list of priority issues • Create a network of people interested, involved and include potential beneficiaries • Involve the private sector to obtain sufficient financing • Reduce barriers, diminish administrative burden, avoid supplementary costs

12. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!