Challenges and opportunities in Territorial Cross Border Cooperation at the EU Eastern borders Case

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Challenges and opportunities in Territorial
Cross Border Cooperation at the EU Eastern
bordersCase of Romania
Cross-border Cooperation and Needs for
Territorial Information
2-3 June, 2008 Portoro, Slovenia ESPON
SEMINAR Narciza Adela NICA Director, General
Directorate of Strategies and Policies for
Territorial Cohesion
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Content a policy makers perspective

• ROMANIA WITHIN THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY
  CONTEXT
• BUILDING TERRITORIAL COHESION THROUGH
  INTEGRATING STRATEGIES AT EUROPEAN, NATIONAL AND
  LOCAL LEVELS
• EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY AND ROMANIAN
  POSITION
• ESPON 2006 RESULTS IN SUPPORT OF CBC PROGRAMS
  SUBSTANTIATION
• 5. FINDINGS FOR ESPON 2013

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• 1. ROMANIA
• WITHIN THE ENP CONTEXT

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Romania in a changing and challenging context
as EU MS situated at the European eastern border

• New context EU member state
• New perspective upon the borders of the enlarged
  EU European Territorial CBC under the Cohesion
  policy 2007-2013
• 3. New principles and concepts economic, social
  and territorial cohesion and competitiveness
• 4. New strategic framework EU strategic
  guidelines and approaches (renewed Lisbon and
  Gothenburg agenda, EU Territorial Agenda, Leipzig
  Charter)
• 5. New financial instruments and rules - ERDF,
  ENPI, IPA
• 6. New challenges strategic approach for
  cohesion aim and integrated development planning
  (multi-sectoral, economic, social, territorial,
  financial)
• 7. New roles and ambitions cooperation engine at
  the EU external borders

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Romania under the external and internal
structuring driving forces Strategic concepts
in territorial development, impact on CBC
programs from EU to local level
COMMUNITY STRATEGIC GUIDELINES
EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL AGENDA
ESPON STUDIES SPATIAL INFORMATION
LEIPZIG CHARTER FOR URBAN SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
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Territorial Cross Border Cooperation -
Oportunities for Romania

• Romania as part of EU Eastern border
• 1/4 of the EU Eastern border
• 1/3 of the Baltic Sea-Black Sea border
• the longest national border in the Eastern side
  of the EU
• combined border terrestrial, river, Black Sea
• Role of Romania according with its geo-strategic
  position
• Pillar of ENP and the EU Eastern cross-border
  cooperation
• Hub (terrestrial and maritime) for trans-national
  relationships, between West (EU) and East, access
  to the Black Sea basin
• potential of developing cross-border and
  trans-national cooperation due to the balanced
  localities network and polycentric development
  potential

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Rationale and responsability

• Romania is involved in 4 CBC programmes
  concerning relationships with non-EU states
• Romania-Ukraine-Rep of Moldova (MA)
• Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine
• Black Sea Basin (multilateral cbc programme) (MA)
• Romania-Serbia (MA)
• Romania manages 3 CBC programmes as Managing
  Authority
• Romania is highly interested in ensuring the CBC
  approaching, preparation and implementation with
  a credible and coherent methodological base
• The acquired experience and results of the
  ongoing management of CBC activities are parts of
  programme continuous improvement process

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HU- SLVK-RO-UKR
HU - RO
RO-UKR-MO
BLACK SEA
RO-BG
Eligible Area for Romanian Cross-border
Cooperation
RO-SE
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• 2. BUILDING TERRITORIAL COHESION THROUGH
• INTEGRATING STRATEGIES
• AT EUROPEAN, NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS

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Developing the cross-border cooperation programs
and ensuring their territorial dimension
2020
2004
2013
2014
2006
2007
TERRITORIAL COHESION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIC CONCEPT OF TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT
ROMANIA 2030
CBC Programs 2007-2013
CBC Programs post 2013
2004- 2006
Programming
Programming
Implementation
Implementation
Implementation
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Building and implementing the CBC programs use
of territorial information
NATIONAL LEVEL ROMANIA
EU LEVEL
INFORMATION
INFORMATION NDP LOCAL PLANS OFFICIAL
STATISTICS (NATIONAL EU) WORKING GROUPS
EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION PROGRAM / CBC
EU EXTERNAL BORDERS CROSS BORDER COOPERATON
ROMANIA
CBC PROGRAMMING
ESPON STUDIES, ANALYSIS AND SPATIAL INFORMATION
STRATEGIC CONCEPT FOR TERITORIAL DEVELOPMENT
ROMANIA 2030
TERRITORIAL INFO. PLANS (National, Regional,
Local) INTERSECT. INFORMATION
CBC IMPLEMENTING
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ESPON Comparing scenarios Spatial structure and
urban hierarchy in 2030
The interaction of territorial driving forces,
among EU, national, cross-borders and local
levels
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Romanias interests in the region National
Strategic Concept of territorial development
Romania 2030

• Based on ESPON 2006 territorial research results,
  in Romania is in process of elaboration the
  National Strategic Concept of territorial
  development Romania 2030 which explores and
  counts on potential spatial position in Europe
• - Latin axis Romania Italy - Spain
• Western-Eastern Europe axis Pentagon Romania
  Rep of Moldova - Ukraine Russia
• Balkans area
• Baltic Sea Black Sea axis
• Black Sea area

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National and cross-border cooperation strategy
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National and cross-border cooperation strategy
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• 3.EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY
• AND ROMANIAN POSITION

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EU Strategy for Eastern border cooperation

• The 4 ENP objectives 
• Promoting sustainable economic and social
  development in cross-border areas
• Solving in common issues in domains of common
  interest environment, public health, prevention
  and fighting against crime
• Ensuring efficient and well organized borders
• Promoting the people to people type of
  activities
• Wise integration of two apparently contradictory
  needs
• building security at the EU Eastern border,
• reducing barriers at EU borders through
  facilitating the mobility of goods and people,
  increasing the economic CBC
• The border area potential should be mobilized in
  order to generate growth, networks, strengthen
  cooperation relationships
• General European duty becomes Romanian local
  duty

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Eastern Romanian cross-border areas

• Border with former soviet territory was
  considerably stronger in keeping separate the
  two sides, and the wall effect resulted in a
  low level of communication, cooperation and
  development
• The Romanias Eastern territories could be
  included in following categories
• Natural handicaped (mountaineous areas, Danube
  Delta) areas
• Areas with deficit of accessibility - internal
  roads and external natural border (Rivers of Prut
  and Dunare, and the Black Sea)
• Rural/ rustic peripheral border areas
• Low level of development
• Geographic matters influence cooperation.

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Romanian cross-border areas typology

• The cross-border cooperation areas with non EU
  states is facing with all ESPON themes
• demography population decreasing because the
  emigration for jobs
• climate change big floods affecting Romanian,
  Moldavian and Serbian sides as well
• social inequality and poverty
• Main part of Romanian Eastern border ( NUTS III)
  belong to the handicapped for integration and
  other part to the candidates for integration
  (according to the ESPON 1.1.3 project)

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Geographical - physical border typology
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Socio - economic border typology
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Metropolitan poles as actors in cbc

• Metropolitan area role bridging cross-border
  areas, building and strengthening polycentric
  networks, expanding development corridors,
• Metropolitan areas of Iasi and Constanta are
  highlighted as Functional Urban Areas in ESPON
  project 1.1.1. Polycentricity
• Metropolitan areas active in fostering and
  developing their roles
• Iasi initiate a dialogue with Kishinew regarding
  metropolitan development (could be a
  neighbour-dependent growth, Espon project
  1.1.1) strategic potential in the relationship
  with Moscow, St Petersburg
• Constanta envisages further strengthening
  position within the Black Sea (strengthen the
  relationship towards Istanbul)
• Braila and Galati (on Danube) have great
  potential to become the second metropolitan pole
  of Romania(in terms of surface and population)
  towards R. Moldova, Ukraine and Black Sea

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2004-2006 a learning to cooperate period in
the ENP context

• First cooperation programmes under the Phare CBC
  and ENPI
• Transition from sporadic cooperation towards
  systematic and sustainable links over the border
  and financial assisted
• Apprentice for genuine strategic CBC
• Working together and building the mutual trust
• Testing the programming and implementing
  capabilities, at national and local level
• Connecting and bringing together local
  authorities, communities and people

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Lessons learned from previous 2004-2006

• No clear image regarding the impact the
  financing process is not finished
• The 2004-2006 cooperation programs with R.
  Moldova and Ukraine are close to implementation
  finalizing and have a substantial harvest of
  projects
• Conclusions
• potential for cooperation of all parts involved
• domains of common interest in cross-border
  cooperation (infrastructure, environment,
  business environmet and local economy, culture)
  show that, in this period, the preconditions for
  the further developing the cross-border contacts
  are prepared
• growing together potential and optimism for the
  local communities
• programmes contributs to the public
  administration capacity development

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Local administrative capacity for cooperation

• European Neighborhood Policy - implemented by
  the local governments and individuals
• European policy goals achievement depends on
• public administrations capability for
  cooperation programming skills and implementing
  capacity
• economic actors capability to react under a new
  market economy
• There is a willingness of the neighbour
  communities to cooperate
• good absorption capacity, through a large amount
  of projects
• local authorities well involved in the 2004-2006
  CBC projects (main part of the applicants/stakehol
  ders )
• The cooperation is still facing birocratic
  barriers (quite centralised system in the Eastern
  countries) that burdens the CB cooperation

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2007- 2013 programmes -shift in cooperation
paradigm

• The EU strategy shifts from the cooperation based
  on face to face geographical criteria
  (bilateral programs Ro-Ua,Ro-Mo) towards
  strategic based cooperation
• The complexity of new cooperation relationships
  and programmes
• Polyvalency Romania is involved in multiple
  programs on EU Eastern border, according to the
  areas specific and the functional relationships
  (Romania-Ukraine, Romania-Rep of Moldova,
  Romania/ Black Sea Basin)
• Multilateral Romania has multiple partners to
  cooperate in the same program
• Maturity requires greater managerial abilities
  and capacity and specific statistic tools
• The new ENP changes the cross-borders
  relationships pattern and creates conditions for
  joint development, described as the growing
  together (1.1.3 ESPON project)

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ENP CBC Programs Objectives on Ro borders

• Each programmes joint strategy
• are in line with the ENP aims
• reflect local needs and development level
  improving infrastructure, joint economic
  activities, harmonising environment protection,
  cultural education cooperation, economic growth
  and job creation
• are in accordance with the specific of borders
  areas specificity (economic and geographyc)
• The main measures of the programmes concentrate
  on two complementary directions
• facilitating convergence , integration
  (infrastructure)
• boosting regional competitiveness within European
  context and decreasing the internal disparities
• Programmes strategies for the cooperation area -
  coherent with each partner national strategies
  and other programmes envisaging the area

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Black Sea Basin a special challenge for Eastern
CBC

• EU Black Sea area brings two crucial issues
  energy and hard security
• Cooperation among Black Sea area countries
  articulates the regional territorial cohesion
  issue and European level
• Within the CBC program, the Black Sea area is
  approached as a region with its diversity of
  features, cultural and economic relationships,
  level of understanding and involvement in
  cooperation, institutional frameworks etc
• A large diversity of cooperation initiatives and
  associations rise in the Black Sea area (between
  countries, between public and private
  institutions etc.), aiming to create awareness
  regarding the advantages of cooperation in the
  area (headquarters of various associations are
  established all over the area Bucharest,
  Istanbul, Thessaloniki etc.)
• The CBC programme focuses on the civil society as
  the main engine able to boost cooperation in the
  Black Sea area
• The actors in the Black Sea region need deep
  understanding of the environmental issues,
  economic and social dynamics and trends in the
  area, in order to approach a long and delicate
  process of structuring cooperation, mutually
  beneficial

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CONCLUSIONS (3.1.)

• Weakness of cbc programmes - territorial
  dimension insufficiently explored
• Difficulty in analysing the whole eligible area
  of a CBC programme in a coherent manner because
  of the lack of ESPON studies on the non EU
  countries
• Lack of more detailed studies regarding the
  territorial development vectors in cross-border
  regions, significant for larger development
  scenarios (ex the territorial vectors acting on
  the EU Eastern borders , approaching polycentric
  development at a larger scale than the CB areas
  etc)
• Lack of other liable studies on territorial
  dynamics and trends information to substantiate
  the CBC programmes strategy
• Poor involvement in the programming process of
  the relevant specialists that may lead to
  projects for money type of applications instead
  of money for addressing real territorial needs
  for strategic projects with impact on integration
  of the area

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CONCLUSIONS (3.2.)

• Weakness of the data and tools
• Missing the regional delineation similar to NUTS
  on the outside of the border
• Lack of statistically coherent comparable data
  and information (for NUTS II, III) regarding the
  territories on the two sides of the border
• Modest structuring and collection of statistic
  data neded in the analysis phaze (information for
  the non EU countries from non EU sources World
  Bank, IMF, UNO, etc.)
• Lack of tools for coherent mapping of the
  eligible areas features
• Difficulties in ensuring a coherent joint
  approach in CBC programmes and projects

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CONCLUSIONS (3.3.)

• Weakness of data management
• Centralized management of information and data in
  the non EU countries
• Not sufficient of reliable and effective
  cross-border communication system among
  specialized institutions in order to ensure the
  quality of data and information
• Information about Romania in some of ESPON
  studies was not precise because the data on
  Romanian territory was provided by a foreign
  body
• Lead-partners in ESPON projects contracted
  institutions that are not familiar with the
  specific of region / country, and to which extent
  the data and information sources are
  reliable/official
• Some regional indicators in Romania are still not
  in line with Eurostat

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• 4. ESPON 2006 RESULTS
• IN SUPPORT OF CBC PROGRAMS SUBSTANTIATION

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List of ESPON studies on which rely National
Strategic Concept of Territorial Development
Romania 2030

• ESPON Synthesis Report II, In search of
  territorial potentials
• 1.1.1. Polycentricity
• 1.1.2. Urban-Rural
• 1.1.3. Enlargement and Polycentricity
• 1.1.4. Demographic Trends
• 1.1.5. Transport Trends
• 1.3.1. Natural Hazards
• 1.3.2. Natural Heritage
• 1.3.3. Cultural Heritage
• 3.4.1. Europe in the World
• ESPON Scenarios Reports (Scenarios on the
  territorial future of Europe, Territorial futures
  - Spatial scenarios for Europe)
• ESPON Europe in the World Report
• ESPON Synthesis Report III, Territory matters for
  competitiveness and cohesion
• ESPON Atlas, Mapping the structure of the
  European territory

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• 5. FINDINGS FOR ESPON 2013

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1. Strengthening of territorial approaching in
ENP/ CBC programs

• To stress that ENP/ CBC Programmes are tools for
  the cohesion policy
• The territorial dimension is crucial in
  approaching ENP/CBC
• The need of territorial strategic approaching and
  development vision
• CBC Programmes provide the opportunity to shift
  from the sewing peripheral areas towards
  bridging territories and communities, developing
  networks, developing territorial partnerships,
  becoming rather spatial articulation than a
  strip
• The need of partnership among national, regional
  and local level in approaching and implementing
  CBC gathering territorial information,
  development and implementation of common agreed
  plans, sharing their benefit
• Local communities play core roles in implementing
  CBC they bring the local needs and potential
  within the regional, national, cross-border and
  transnational context, strategies and policies.

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2. Territorial information in CBC Programmes

• Providing CBC Programmes with territorial
  dimension develop new research projects,
  according to the CBC programmes needs
• Stimulate the development of strategic
  territorial approaches on the cbc areas
• Awareness-rising of local relevant specialists
  and stakeholders in the neighbouring countries a
  by a pro-active attitude of ESPON programme
• Providing the local policy makers, practitioners
  and other stakeholders with relevant materials,
  documents and instruments
• The need of development of national territorial
  strategy in connection to the EU territorial
  strategies
• Identifying ways to decrease the bureaucratic
  impediments in the process of programmes
  planning and implementation

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3. Ideas for EC and DG REGIO

• The CBC Programmes need a strategic conceptual
  framework at territorial level and specific
  governance, taking into account complex and
  integrated territorial dynamics of EU,
  neighboring regions and international context
• The cohesion policy envisaged for 21st century
  should rely on the EU context and aim to maximize
  the impact of investments outside the EU borders
  
• A greater cooperation among the DGs involved in
  the cross-border cooperation in order to create
  synergy of the EU CBC financing programmes
• CBC Programmes provide the basis for a coherent
  approaching of data and information structuring,
  according to the EU/EUROSTAT requirements
• Create synergy among ENP, cohesion and
  competitiveness policies, based on strategic
  projects
• Help obtaining comparable data and information on
  similar statistical area (NUTS II, III) on both
  sides of the border with CBC partners,
  cooperation with EUROSTAT in developing a
  framework for territorial data and information
  coherence (currently missing data, unreliable
  data quality, different administrative levels,
  etc.)

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4. Development diversification of ESPON
activities in support of the territorial
component of the CBC EU funded programs

• Screening at EU Institutions level on the
  existing territorial development research
  programmes and related financing sources, in
  order to ensure coordination and concentration of
  the efforts
• Develop new research projects, according to the
  CBC programmes needs
• more detailed studies regarding scenarios of CB
  cooperation at territorial level and territorial
  potential for cooperation (ex within EU, in the
  Eastern and South-Eastern areas, and also the
  territorial vectors acting on the EU Eastern
  borders)
• articulate the territorial perspectives at
  regional, national and transnational levels from
  the CBC programmes perspective
• Monitoring and territorial impact assessment
  systems of the CBC programmes

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5. ESPON studies based ideas for exploring future
territorial partnerships Seminar on
North-Central-South cooperation at the EU
Eastern borders Bucharest, Romania, September
2008

• Background
• European Neighborhood, Cohesion and
  Competitiveness policies
• Visegrad 42 initiative
• Balkans area cooperation.
• Purpose of the seminar
• Sharing of information regarding strategic
  development plans articulation aiming at
  improving territorial cooperation in the area.

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Thank you!