Speech, General Affairs and External Relations
21 Nov 2006, 12:01 en
Informal meeting of Ministers for Regional Policy Brussels, 21 November 2006 Hannes Manninen, Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs Dear colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, This meeting of Ministers for Regional Policy will discuss how innovation and competitiveness can be promoted through EU Cohesion Policy programmes. I am planning to focus on three topics which are the synergy between EU Cohesion Policy and Lisbon Strategy, regional policies in support of innovations and the exchange of experience between regions. The preparations for the reform of EU Cohesion Policy reached an intensive phase in summer 2004 after the Commission adopted its proposals for the new regulations on Cohesion Policy. The Interinstitutional Agreement on the Financial Perspective was adopted this spring, and the legal framework for the next programming period came into force in late summer. Member States are currently finalising their national strategies and programmes. So everything indicates that we are right on schedule to start a new programming period. Three out of the five regulations governing Cohesion Policy were subject to the codecision procedure, and in fact, the whole process was carried out in close cooperation between the institutions. A broad consensus was reached on the regulations, and the outcome was a joint decision made by the institutions. Thanks to in-depth discussions, the regulations are now probably clearer for those implementing the programmes than during the previous programming periods. Before I go any further, I would like to thank all those who were involved in this constructive cooperation. I would especially like to thank the representatives of the European Commission, the Council’s Working Party on Structural Actions and the Committee on Regional Development of the European Parliament as they have assumed the main responsibility for the success of the reform and for its implementation as scheduled. Special thanks are also due to the previous Presidencies Austria, the United Kingdom, Luxemburg and the Netherlands for their significant contribution to this joint project. Ladies and gentlemen, In the forthcoming programming period, EU Cohesion Policy resources will be allocated more directly to promoting competitiveness, growth and employment in the Community as set out in the renewed Lisbon strategy. This link should be evident in the strategic priorities for the forthcoming programming period. Strengthening European competitiveness through innovation policy is a key priority for Finland during its Presidency. For this reason, we have invited you here today to discuss what promoting innovation and competitiveness through Cohesion Policy programmes means in practice. At our request, the Commission has produced an analysis for this meeting of how the promotion of innovation is reflected in the National Strategic Reference Frameworks which guide the preparation of the new generation of programmes. The Commission’s observations are encouraging. The promotion of innovation plays a stronger role in the Member States’ objectives when compared to the previous periods. The challenge now is to translate these strategic objectives into effective practical measures. As you all know, the resources of Cohesion Policy account for one third of the EU budget for the new financing period. Cohesion Policy programmes are thus the principal instrument for realising the Lisbon objectives in terms of their financial volume. Reports will be made on Cohesion Policy measures as part of monitoring progress on the Lisbon strategy, and this will raise a wider political interest in the use of these resources. The regulations on Cohesion Policy lay down provisions on the categorisation of measures taken to implement programmes. The categorisation is based on the type of measures. I would encourage you to make sure that your government contributes to producing this information. The categorisation of expenditure sounds like an administrative routine. Nevertheless, I want to draw attention to this fact because reliable monitoring information is important particularly to us political decision makers. We must have an EU-wide picture of how Cohesion Policy is implemented so that we can engage in a serious discussion on how EU resources could best be used to achieve the Lisbon strategy objectives. Ladies and gentlemen, We speak a lot about how important it is to promote innovation. But what is essential to the development of regions is to be able to transform new innovations into commercial products – products which are the best in their field with a large part of their value chain in the EU. Investing in research and development is simply not enough; there is also a clear need for close cooperation between enterprises, research and development organisations, and public sector actors. To illustrate my point, I would like to give you an example from my home region in northern Finland. In 1976, Seppo Säynäjäkangas, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Oulu, ran into a sportsman while out cross-country skiing. This man was worried whether he was training too hard because his heart was beating like a drum. He wondered whether it was possible to measure heart rate during exercise as easily as one looks at his watch. Professor Säynäjäkangas was fascinated by this idea, and the following year the first prototype of a wireless heart-rate monitor was being tested on the ski tracks of northern Finland. Nowadays, this innovation is popular among sports enthusiasts all over the world. The monitor developed by Professor Säynäjäkangas has thus become a global brand. I want to give the heads of delegations such a monitor as a present so that you can learn more about this innovation. You will find the device on the table in front of you. It will be interesting to see how high your heart rate will go during today’s debate. Distinguished audience, The example I just gave you proves that innovations arise when experts from different fields meet each other. However, new ideas alone are not enough; their development into commercial products calls for close cooperation between a large number of actors. This is the challenge in implementing innovation policy, but at the same time it is also an opportunity for us Europeans. By international standards, we have a well-educated labour force and functioning institutions. This makes it possible to carry out effective public policy measures aimed at promoting innovation. The commitment of private businesses in cooperation and funding is also necessary. National as well as EU policies related to research, education and technology define the framework for activities, but development and innovation require that actors are situated nearby and are in close interaction with each other. Regional level measures are crucial in achieving the EU’s competitiveness objectives. EU Cohesion Policy programmes can be used to support regional innovation policy measures. This way they give a significant boost to the EU’s competitiveness. In Finland, the most important instrument of regional innovation policy is the Centre of Expertise Programme, which has been implemented since the 1990s. Centres of expertise are a forum created in selected fields ofexpertise that key actors can use to build and strengthen mutual cooperation. The aim is to support, throughout the country, the development of expertise which helps us to maintain competitive advantage internationally. Relatively small public investments have made it possible to significantly promote cooperation between enterprises, research and development organisations, and the public sector. The good results are down to confidence and trust which have been borne out of close mutual cooperation between regional actors. Most enterprises participating in the Centre of Expertise Programme are primarily competing at the global markets. Thus there are no hinders for cooperation at regional level. The European Policies Research Centre has prepared a background paper for this meeting. The paper presents a series of case studies from EU Member States, illustrating how regional innovation policy is being promoted in selected countries. I hope this paper will inspire you when planning your own range of methods for the forthcoming programming period. Dear colleagues, With enlargement, the disparities within the EU have increased. There seems to be a broad consensus that all regions should be able to keep pace with development and that their competitiveness in the global economy must be supported. This requires that the exchange of knowledge and best practice between regions be further improved. The Commission has proposed that in the next programming period the new initiative called ’Regions for Economic Change’ be applied in programmes used to facilitate the exchange of experience. You received the Commission Communication on this initiative together with other meeting documents. Commissioner Hbner will later tell you more about this initiative so I will not go into any further detail. I hope that at this meeting you will express your opinion on the key principles included in the Commission’s initiative. However, we do not need to discuss technical details at this meeting as that is thetask of the Joint Programming Committee where both Member States and the Commission are represented. Ladies and gentlemen, As I have already mentioned, the theme of this meeting is the utilisation of Cohesion Policy programmes in promoting innovation and competitiveness. In my speech, I have tried to cover those themes on which I hope you focus in your contributions. These are synergy between Cohesion Policy and the Lisbon strategy, regional-level measures for promoting innovation and the exchange of experience between regions. At first, we will hear the contributions of the Commissioners responsible for Cohesion Policy, Professor Hbner and Doctor Spidla, followed by the comments of the Member States. In the afternoon, we will continue with the contributions on the same theme given by representatives of the Member States. After this we will give the floor to the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions. There will be time for open debate both in the morning and afternoon. At the end of the meeting, I will summarise our discussion. In the afternoon, you will be given draft Presidency conclusions. I would like to underline, however, that this is an informal meeting where Council decisions are not made. Thus, the conclusions represent the Presidency’s views on the discussion. Finally, I would like to thank you for accepting my invitation to come here to discuss this topical issue. I am sure that we will have a fruitful meeting. Thank you for your attention. Back