Participants at the ESPON Open Seminar on “Territorial co-operation for growth and jobs”, organised in cooperation with the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will discuss in Dublin on 13 and 14 June 2013 new approaches for recovery and resilience and hear the experiences of Territorial Co-operation Programmes in responding to the effects of the economic crisis. 

With its workshop “Stepping into the Sea – New evidence on territorial development and the opportunities and risks for European seas and maritime regions” ESPON offered a crossing through the six European seas, thereby revealing their crucial role for growth and jobs and for the achievement of territorial cohesion. The workshop aimed at highlighting the usability of the ESPON ESaTDOR project results and at discussing related topics that are relevant for the EU political agenda.

In addition to a series of presentations by representatives of DG Mare, national and transnational stakeholders as well as the Lead Partner of the ESaTDOR project, the workshop featured two rounds of open discussions that were kicked-off by short statements of different stakeholders. During the open discussions, policy-makers and stakeholders exchanged their views about the necessary synergies to be achieved between land and sea management, maritime spatial planning, and the need of conciliating the economic potential and the environmental protection of the European seas. More reading 

On 12 March, at the inauguration of ESPON’s new premises, Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn and the delegated Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure of Luxembourg, Marco Schank responsible as Managing Authority for the ESPON Programme, underlined the importance and usefulness of ESPON, the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion. 

As recent ESPON evidence on globalisation shows, to strengthen competitiveness and to enhance Europe’s strategic linkages, it is of great relevance to better understand the territorial development of the EU neighbouring regions.

ESPON’s contribution to the formulation of adequate policy strategies to enhance Europe’s competitiveness in the global context is in focus at the Internal Seminar on 5 and 6 December 2012 “Territorial Development Opportunities in Europe and its Neighbourhood to Foster Global Competitiveness”, organised in cooperation with the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

Latvijas lauku teritorijas, līdzīgi kā Lielā Mančestera Lielbritānijā, Jitlande Dānijā un Baleāru salas Spānijā, ir guvušas vērtīgu pieredzi, kā attīstīt reģionālo ekonomiku, balstoties uz inovācijām un zināšanām. Šo valstu atšķirīgie risinājumi tika prezentēti 13. un 14. jūnijā Eiropas teritoriālās attīstības un kohēzijas novērošanas tīkla (ESPON) atvērtajā seminārā Olborgā, Dānijā. Seminārs tika organizēts sadarbībā ar Dānijas prezidentūru Eiropas Savienības Padomē.