NSPA continues dialogue on sustained investments in the high north of Europe

On the 8th December, the NSPA network met with director general Dirk Ahner, European Commission, to discuss and clarify what the proposals of the regulations on cohesion policy post 2013 signifies for our regions.

The aim of the meeting was to promote and discuss the extra allocation allotted to the NSPA-region, increased and accessible funding for territorial cooperation in the NSPA and thematic concentration of the cohesion policy in line with NSPA priorities. Other issues stressed by the NSPA were the need for accessibility and the possibility to use the Connecting Europe Facility near the Russian border, the importance of state aid to maintain the availability of raw materials and the importance of that also smaller cities are engines of growth but was concerned about that the 5% allocated for urban development would only apply to bigger cities.

Territorial cooperation is something that the Commission puts high value in according to Mr. Ahner because it's a factor that contributes to greater integration across national borders. He also pointed out that cooperation across national borders sometimes is easier than cooperation between different regions, which is a problem that EU has to overcome. The Commission has noticed that cross border cooperation with Russia has improved during this period of Cohesion Policy and that NSPA should keep the ball moving in this policy area.

Mr. Ahner acknowledged that there can be small cities in special areas that could be important in certain regions as engines for development and that it's up to the member states to define what a city and an urban area are.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Ahner encouraged the NSPA to continuously highlight, develop and clarify the basis for the extra allocation to the sparsely populated regions and how the regions will make use of this extra support to bring added value for the whole of Europe.

Mr. Ahner will soon retire from his work for the European Commission and the NSPA took the opportunity to thank him for good cooperation. The successor of Mr. Ahner is cordially invited to the next NSPA Forum during the spring of 2012.

23 Jan 2012