Eurocommissaris Hübner over het effect van het regionaal beleid in Zuid-Italië (en)
Danuta Hübner i, European Commissioner for regional policy, will highlight the impact of European regional policy in the "Mezzogiorno" when she addresses a major conference in the Italian city of Reggio Calabria tomorrow. The event, focused on policy efficiency for development in Southern Italy, is hosted by the Italian Ministry for Economic Development. At the invitation of Agazio Loiero, President of Calabria region, the Commissioner will also have an opportunity to visit projects supported by the European Union's Cohesion Policy including the Gioia Tauro seaport and research and development facilities in Lamezia Terme.
Speaking ahead of her visit, Commissioner Hübner said: “The regions of Southern Italy have recently performed better than the Italian average in terms of GDP growth but they have lost ground compared to the EU average. In the current 2007-2013 budgetary period, Cohesion Policy will help them to invest more in knowledge intensive sectors, to further develop infrastructure and public services, and above all, to enhance innovation capacity.
"Calabria is a region of unexploited potential: the number of young people with secondary or higher education is amongst the highest in Italy. It produces high levels of renewable energy. But it must also tackle its weaknesses: low R&D expenditure, low exports and security problems.”
The impact of regional policy in Mezzogiorno
Commissioner Hübner, who will be joined at the conference by Claudio Scajola, the Italian Minister for economic development, and the presidents of the southern Italian regions, will underline the contribution made by European regional policy to improving the economic development in the Mezzogiorno. Across Calabria, Campania, Sicily, Puglia, Sardinia, Basilicata and Molise, 20000 enterprises (including 202 start-ups) were supported by the Cohesion Policy in 2000-06; 588 municipalities were connected to broadband; 2400 km of railways and 690 km of roads were developed; 9 million more people had access to separate household waste collections and 63 new waste treatment plants are now in operation.
During the conference, Commissioner Hübner will also present the contribution of Cohesion Policy to the European Economic Recovery Plan adopted by the Commission last week in response to the financial and economic crisis. Subject to the agreement of the Council and European Parliament, Italy will receive advance payments of €699 million in 2009 to speed up project implementation, in addition to the €1.4 billion in pre-financing that it received in 2007-08.
Visit to Calabria projects
Commissioner Hübner will hold talks with representatives of the regional government and regional council of Calabria to review its priorities for the 2007-2013 programme. Calabria will benefit from an investment of €1.5 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Around 58% of these funds are earmarked for projects in line with the EU Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas for sustainable growth and jobs: investments will be principally targeted at research and development, innovation, entrepreneurship, information society, energy efficiency and renewable energy, education, training and major infrastructure routes of European-wide importance. For instance, the railway route linking Berlin to Palermo, one of the priority axis under the trans-European networks, passes through Calabria. (See MEMO/08/596)
Danuta Hübner will also hold discussions with representatives of the employers' association (Confindustria Calabria), municipal associations, trade unions and environmental NGOs. The partnership principle and the involvement of local actors is one of the cornerstones of EU Cohesion Policy.
On Friday 5 December, the Commissioner will visit the Gioia Tauro harbour and its multimodal platform, a gateway between the EU, Asia and the southern coast of the Mediterranean. With EU support (€57 million from ERDF), it has become the top-ranking port in the Mediterranean in terms of movement of containers.
Commissioner Hübner will also meet researchers at the Centre of agro-food industry in Lamezia Terme and discover examples of R&D projects that have been supported by EU funds. The Commissioner will also see Lamezia’s airport, which received European funding for a new signalling system. In the framework of the 2007-2013 programme, the new airport station will be upgraded. These are just a few examples of the thousands of projects supported by the Cohesion Policy in Calabria.
Background
Calabria will receive a total of € 2.6 billion in support from the European Union in 2007-2013: this includes €1.5 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), €430 million from the European Social Fund (ESF), €623 million from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and €37 million from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF).
Southern Italy is a major recipient of support under European Cohesion policy. Around €45 billion of combined national and Community investment will be mobilised to implement the programmes for 2007-2013 in the Mezzogiorno.
More information on regional policy in Italy:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/italia/index_en.htm