Message from the ESPON Coordination Unit

Economic Performance of European Regions

The European Union has since 2000 implemented the Lisbon Strategy aiming at boosting European competitiveness and making Europe the world´s leading knowledge-economy by 2010. In following a sustainable development path, R&D expenditure, education levels and replies to climate change have been high on the political agenda in EU Member States and their regions.

The global economic downturn starting in 2007 emphasized the focus on growth and employment in European strategies as part of economic recovery. In addition, responses to Europe´s major challenges – the accelerating globalisation, climate change and ageing European population – became even more crucial.

The new global Europe 2020 Strategy for the period beyond 2010 opts for “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”. Member States, and in particular their regions and cities, are here key players in making the strategy a success. Due to the strategy, In recovering from the crisis, the EU shall achieve high levels of employment and productivity as well as social and territorial cohesion, with knowledge and innovation as key factors.

The new “ESPON Territorial Observation No.3 - Trends in Economic Performance of European regions 2000-2006” intends to support policy makers engaged with competitiveness and territorial cohesion at regional/local, national and/or European level.

It shows the diversity of European regions in terms of unemployment and R&D expenditure, and it combines the economic indicators of the European strategies into an index displaying the Lisbon economic performance in 2006 and trends 2000-2006. In addition, first appetizers on further relevant indicators for the Europe 2020 strategy are included, such as regional levels of population with tertiary education.

Member States and regions are invited to study their strengths and weaknesses in the maps displayed and use the evidence as part of their strategic efforts creating development and contributing to the Lisbon/EU 2020 policy aims.

Seen from a European perspective the results reveal in general the emergence of territorial patterns with strengthened positions of regions in the West and North compared to the East and South of Europe, and with better potentials in core regions than in more peripheral ones. At the level of cities, in particular the capital city regions have made gains in economic performance in relation to smaller cities, in the period before the economic downturn starting in 2007.

Unfortunately, European statistics are not yet sufficient to fully analyse regional effects from the start of the economic downturn until today. Such evidence is understandably in high demand, and as soon as it becomes an opportunity, ESPON will complement the current knowledge on the economic performance of European Regions.

Peter Mehlbye
Director ESPON Coordination Unit

Please find below the Newsletter No 16