VASAB Long Term Perspective for the Baltic Sea Region

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VASAB Long Term Perspective for the Baltic Sea
Region

• Transnational needs and experience for
  Territorial Information

ESPON Open Seminar, 2-3 June 2007 Alexandre
Dubois, Nordregio
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Transnational cooperation in the BSR

• VASAB
• Voluntary co-operation of national ministries in
  charge of spatial development in 11 countries
  around the Baltic Sea
• Its mission
• Develop a common framework for national spatial
  development policies
• Promote transnational co-operation between
  regions and cities
• Integrate the territorial dimension in the work
  of other pan-Baltic organisations

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Baltic Sea Region a rapidly evolving
geopolitical context

• From 1992
• Germany and Denmark members of the EU
• Recent integration of Eastern Germany
• Independence of Baltic States and Belarus
• to 2008
• 9 members of the EU or EEA
• Interface between EU and Russia

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VASAB CooperationThree key moments

• 1994 Tallinn Report
• Elaborating the basis for co-operation
• Projecting a visionary picture of the BSR
• 2001 VASAB 2010
• Analysing the territorial developments
• Promoting integrated spatial planning
• 2005 Gdansk declaration
• Towards greater spatial integration
• Integrating EU dimensions Cohesion
  Neighbourhood policies

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VASAB CooperationSome key moments

• 1994 Tallinn Report
• Elaborating the basis for co-operation
• Projecting a visionary picture of the BSR
• 2001 VASAB 2010
• Analysing the main territorial trends
• Promoting integrated spatial planning
• 2005 Gdansk declaration
• Towards greater spatial integration
• Integrating EU dimensions Cohesion
  Neighbourhood policies

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VASAB CooperationSome key moments

• 1994 Tallinn Report
• Elaborating the basis for co-operation
• Projecting a visionary picture of the BSR
• 2001 VASAB 2010
• Analysing the territorial developments
• Promoting integrated spatial planning
• 2005 Gdansk declaration
• Towards greater spatial integration
• Focus on EU policies Cohesion Neighbourhood
  policies

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Moving forwardLong Term Perspective

• Work on the LTP
• 4-year process (2006-2010)
• Both a process and a document
• Less visionary and more action oriented
• Main stages
• Political motivation and policy objectives
• Building the evidence base
• Elements of the vision up to 2030
• Drafting an Action plan

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Moving forwardLong Term Perspective

• Work on the LTP
• 4-year process (2006-2010)
• Both a process and a document
• Less visionary and more action oriented
• Main stages
• Political motivation
• Building the evidence base
• Elements of the Vision in 2030
• Action plan

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Territorial informationthree focal themes

• Analytical work divided into 3 working groups
• Urban networks
• Accessibility (Transport, energy and ICT)
• Integrated maritime planning

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Territorial information5 main challenges

• Identifying the data relevant to the political
  objectives
• Collecting data beyond EU borders
• Addressing the full diversity of territories
• Tight collaboration between researchers and
  policymakers
• Addressing the challenges at multiple territorial
  scales

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Identifying the data

• How to operationalise spatial integration?
• How do cities and regions interact with each
  other?
• 2 main dimensions
• Incentives (why?) trade, tourism, labour-market
• Means (how?) infrastructure, networks of actors,
  integration of systems
• 2 main territorial outlooks
• Inward integration within
• Outward integration with its surroundings

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Collecting the data

• How to gather the envisaged data?
• - 11 countries, 9 in EU/EEA, Russia and Belarus
• Key challenges Availability and comparability of
  data
• Eurostat and ESPON do not provide data for Russia
  and Belarus
• Other international bodies compiling data OECD,
  World Bank, International Energy Agency, UNECE
• National statistics one (or more!) expert per
  country
• Resource and time consuming, but data quality and
  relevance is secured

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Addressing a diverse territory

• Beyond the NUTS
• Most data from Eurostat are still compiled at
  NUTS 2 level
• In the BSR, 4 countries are NUTS 2 units
• Use of traditional administrative units not
  adapted to embrace the full scale of the
  territorial challenges
• Islands
• Mountains
• Sparsely populated areas
• SMESTOS
• Municipal data, network data, point data

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Collaboration between researchers and
policymakers on data issues

• An incremental process
• Ensure the scientific soundness and political
  relevance
• Not about delivering data, maps or tables
• Mutual learning
• step-by-step process leading to the
  identification of the main challenges hampering
  spatial integration
• Enabling policymakers and stakeholders to react
  and elaborate the potential policy responses with
  their own knowledge of the situation on the
  ground

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Grasping the multi-scalar dimension of the
challenges

• Territories belong to multiple layers
• Address issues from the local to the global
• Territorial challenges are often connected
• ? case of seaports and airports between global
  connectivity and local accessibility
• Special focus on cross-border and transnational
  issues
• Border interface for transnational interactions
• Border as an obstacle for mobility and exchanges
• Internal and external borders poses distinct
  challenges

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Grasping the multi-scalar dimension of the
challenges

• Territories belong to multiple layers
• Address issues from the local to the global
• Territorial challenges are often connected
• ? case of seaports and airports between global
  connectivity and local accessibility
• Special focus on cross-border and transnational
  issues
• Border interface for transnational interactions
• Border as an obstacle for mobility and exchanges
• Internal and external borders poses distinct
  challenges

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How can ESPON contribute?
1. New Priority 2 of ESPON 2013 is a positive
action taken ? gives the possibility to conduct
scientific analyses in the context of a defined
co-operation area 2. What happens in the
surrounding of the ESPON space influences its
endogenous development ? expand the analysis of
territorial developments to neighbouring and
border regions 3. Territorial challenges are
complex and evolving and require innovative
approaches, both methodological and collaborative