EU:s trepartskontrakt intressanta för Norra Sverige
- Norra Sverige har ett stort intresse av att diskutera och arbeta med den typ av trepartskontrakt mellan EU, Sveriges regering och de svenska regionerna som föreslagits av kommissionen. Det sade Jens Nilsson, ordförande i rapportörsgruppen för Europaforum Norra Sverige, när han tillsammans med Eva Back, kommunalråd i Sundsvall, hälsade de 115 deltagarna välkomna till ett soligt Sundsvall.Europaforum är ett partnerskap som syftar till att påverka sammanhållningspolitiken genom samverkan mellan politiker i Norra Sverige.
Den grupp av politiker (12 rapportörer) som har Europaforums uppdrag att arbeta med dessa frågor har under det senaste halvåret genomfört en rad aktiviteter. Ett konkret och mycket lyckat exempel är den konferens som genomfördes i samverkan med en rad andra regioner i Bryssel den 25 april.
Background
On 25 April 2002, a group of regions concerned by depopulation, with the support of the European Parliament, took the initiative to arrange a seminar in Brussels entitled “Structural Funds as a Tool for Tackling Depopulation”. The regions of Mid and North Sweden, Northern Finland, Castilla y León, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Wales organised the event as a contribution to the debate on the future of EU cohesion policy.
The seminar provided the opportunity to learn practical lessons about the shared problems of such regions, and how they have actively used structural funds to tackle these issues.
Lycksele Conference br> The event was a follow-up to the depopulation seminar organised by the Swedish EU Presidency in Lycksele in northern Sweden 12-13 June 2001, which triggered off a debate on the issue of depopulation, involving all affected regions.
The presentations made in Lycksele by the participating regions confirmed that:
- there are a large number of regions facing depopulation;
- there are many similarities between these regions, but also significant differences;
- their population structure is similar - young people move out, and there are often imbalances between the sexes - and
- the economic and social consequences are negative, thus undermining the basis for economic activity.
- there is a need for a common European policy since depopulation is a European-wide problem
- More indicators are required. GDP should not be the only criterion to define areas eligible for structural fund support. Population density, climate and geographical location could be criteria for structural fund support
- There is a need for an integrated approach. Cohesion and co-ordination is needed between all community and domestic policies having an influence on regional development, and this must be augmented by integration at the national level, between “wide” regional policy (covering all policy areas or measures having direct effect on regions) and “narrow” regional policy (with regional development programmes and targeted policies)
Depopulation
The reasons for and the impact of depopulation are many and varied. Changes in economic activity such as the decline of agriculture and other primary industries, the clustering of the financial, IT and service sectors, not to mention the centralisation of company headquarters in major metropolitan areas have all radically altered the map of Europe, giving rise to a Europe divided into affluent ‘core’ areas and their hinterlands, and those left out in the cold (often those physically on the periphery of Europe).
Depopulation threatens the maintenance of welfare services, leads to the closure and concentration of private services and causes severe adjustment problems on local labour markets due to increasing imbalances in demographic structures - especially health care and elderly care.
Disparities between the level of development from one area to another damage not only the prosperity of that region, but also the competitiveness and sustainable development of the entire country, and of the EU as a whole. Depopulation is often self-perpetuating and can drain individual and community aspirations and confidence, so we need to find a way out of this downward spiral.
Practical lessons for territorial cohesion policy
One of the significant findings of the Second Cohesion Report presented in January 2001 was that depopulation would be an issue of particular importance in the context of an enlarged Union. In future, demographic perspectives and their consequences such as the decrease in active population will only make the problem of depopulation more acute. In 2025, some 90 European regions spread across all Member States will face demographic decline.
However, intervention from the structural funds can contribute to helping regions suffering from natural or economic handicaps, thereby complementing national public aid and the work of local authorities. Today, depopulation is targeted through concrete focused actions, for example through mainstream structural funds programmes like Objective 1 and 2, Community Initiatives and Innovative Actions.
Integrated strategies which tackle a range of needs are required, where diverse policies from the environment to housing, infrastructure, education and training and business development are mutually supportive. The experience of all the participating regions illustrates that economic, social and cultural measures are necessary to make a difference. There is need for rural areas to exploit their strengths and opportunities to generate new economic activity. Gwynedd in Wales (UK) has identified methods of optimising the quality of the environment and natural resources to diversify the economic base and create employment opportunities, particularly for young people. For example, one of the means of achieving this aim through the use of Structural Funds has been the development of an Events Commission, which will maximise the economic benefits of staging outdoor events within Gwynedd.
We need to ensure that we are able to take advantage of and exploit the assets of each region, as well as the opportunities provided by the revolution in Information and Communication Technologies. As the Nordic countries have demonstrated, low population density is not an insurmountable obstacle to the widespread use of high quality telecoms. For example Northern Sweden contributes to the added Community value in both innovative areas with its full IT infrastructure and space research whilst being a producer of raw materials such as the wood and pulp industry and mining.
These regions contain, and are in themselves, valuable assets. For the future, these regions provide a key leisure resource for the whole of Europe with their accessible, high quality, and unique cultural environments. These resources need to be nurtured and exploited in a sustainable manner. For example, the depopulated areas of mid and north Wales, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (UK) and Nordic Countries are the heartlands of distinct and valuable minority languages and cultures. These have provided a basic resource for regional revival.
In many regional development programmes supported by the Structural Funds the use of information technology is promoted in order to reverse demographic decline and economic marginalisation. The use of new information and communication technologies (ICT) can be of a crucial importance. With the help of ICT the range of services offered to citizens in rural areas can be extended, for example via distance training, telemedicine etc., but ICTs are not a panacea for the problems of such regions. Real resources on the ground are necessary, and no community must be denied essential services, education or opportunity because of location.
The development and mobilisation of human resources are essential if we are to tackle depopulation. The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) brings together further and higher education and is harnessing electronic means to break down ‘the tyranny of geography’ for those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to education. But whilst ICTs provide many useful tools, social interaction through the real presence of peers and lecturers is essential. Social and psychological remoteness is a bigger barrier than geography.
In areas of sparse population, workers in all fields need to be multi-skilled. We must work to break down barriers and boundaries and increase the level of cooperation between specialists in both the private and public sectors.
Improving the competitiveness of these regions is a key factor. The promotion of entrepreneurship and the provision of top class business services are as important in depopulated regions as anywhere else. But such provision is often poor, because of the constraints imposed by sparse or declining population. The development of regional research centres in the depopulated regions of Finland and Sweden illustrate the impact that good service provision can have. Additionally, the region of Castilla y León has made efforts to promote activities related to research, development and innovation involving local authorities and local action groups. The development of clusters is highly dependant on a strong partnership between the public, the private and the R&D sectors together with the development of human resources and support for regional research centres.
An integrated policy also needs to address social policy issues, in particular measures for the reconciliation of working and family life. The regional government of Castilla y León has created a programme including support for early childhood centres, aid for career breaks related to child care and allowances for childbirth and adoption.
Depopulated regions also suffer from significant deficits in infrastructure which still need to be addressed. Investment is required in provincial road networks and accessibility to rural areas and especially for the extension of telecommunications networks as demonstrated in Castilla y León.
The experience of these regions shows that depopulation is not necessarily a cause for despair. Depopulation can be turned around by concerted and co-ordinated action. The Llwybro-Routes project in rural Wales shows that such areas remain attractive places to live and work if we understand and work with people’s attitudes and aspirations. Young people often feel that migration is the only option, but this can be tackled by action to increase opportunities for learning, employment, and entrepreneurship in their communities. At the same time, many leavers can be attracted back to the communities if they are provided with targeted information on the opportunities and choices available in these areas.
But this turnaround requires the successful mobilisation of local actors in a wide local partnership involving both public and private actors. This often requires initial and continuing investment in the capacity of local actors to participate in developing and managing their own actions. Creativity at the local level must be encouraged and this must not be stifled by overly bureaucratic procedures. For local action to succeed, procedures must be simple and transparent; more democratic and less bureaucratic.
These partnerships must be enabled to decide their own priorities. The diversity of depopulated regions illustrates that a one-size policy cannot fit all.
Finally, it is clear that these problems will not disappear overnight. The geographical disadvantages faced by these regions are permanent, or very long lasting. There is thus a need for long-term solutions based on long-term investment and consistent policies. This will clearly be the case for many regions in the accession countries, but will also remain true for such regions in the current member states. Transnational working is a vital component of European initiatives and programmes. Europe is currently being developed through transnational working and as such the recommendations outlined in this document demonstrate the added value of diverse regions from across Europe discussing a commonality of issues and unique strategies for tackling depopulation.
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