1 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Cohesion policy investments Reka Rozsavolgyi Policy Analyst Regional Policy Directorate General Innovation unit D.2. European Commission

2 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Budget for Cohesion Policy post 2013 billion EUR (2011 prices) Cohesion Fund*68.7 Less developed regions162.6 Transition regions39.0 More developed regions53.1 Territorial Cooperation11.7 Extra allocation for outermost and northern regions 0.9 TOTAL336.0 Connecting Europe facility for transport, energy and ICT 40.0 TOTAL *Cohesion Fund will ringfence 10 billion EUR for the new Connecting Europe Facility

3 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Geographical coverage of support Three categories of regions –Less developed regions (GDP per capita < 75% of EU average) –Transition regions (GDP per capita between 75% and 90%) –More developed regions (GDP per capita > 90%) The new category of transition regions replaces the current statistical phasing-out and phasing-in regions Why a new category for transition regions? –Fairer system for regions with similar level of economic development –Helps to soften the transition between less and more developed regions Safety net for regions whose GDP per capita is below 75% of the EU average in

4 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

5 Enhancing the European Added-Value of Cohesion policy

6 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Strong link to Europe 2020 Need to increase the EU added value European Council Conclusions of June 2010 All common policies, including the CAP and cohesion policy, will need to support the Europe 2020 Strategy 11 thematic objectives for the CSF Funds linked to the Europe 2020 Strategy All thematic objectives can be supported by the ERDF The regulation includes, for every thematic objective: a definitive list of investment priorities which set the aims for intervention by the Fund Thematic concentration

7 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Thematic Objectives to Deliver Europe )Strengthening research, technological development and innovation 2)Enhancing access to, and use and quality of, information and communication technologies including broadband deployment and the roll-out of high-speed networks; developing ICT products and services, e-commerce and enhancing demand for ICT; strengthening ICT applications for e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion and e-health 3)Enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, the agricultural sector (for the EAFRD) and the fisheries and aquaculture sector (for the EMFF) 4)Supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors 5)Promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management 6)Protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency which includes protecting, promoting and developing cultural heritage 7)Promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures 8)Promoting employment and supporting labour mobility 9)Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty 10) Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning 11) Enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration

8 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Less developed regions More developed & transitional regions Research & innovationEnergy efficiency & renewable energyCompetitiveness of SMEs Concentration of ERDF investments

9 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion European Territorial Cooperation (1) More resources for cooperation - Proposed budget for the period – 11.7 billion EUR (2011 prices) The division of funding between the different cooperation components: –73,24 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for cross- border cooperation –20,78 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for transnational cooperation –5,98 % (i.e., a total of EUR ) for interregional cooperation

10 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion European Territorial Cooperation (2) Under the European territorial cooperation goal, the ERDF shall support: Interregional cooperation to reinforce the effectiveness of cohesion policy by promoting: (a) exchange of experience on thematic objectives among partners throughout the Union on the identification and dissemination of good practice with a view to its transfer to operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal; (b) exchange of experience concerning the identification, transfer and dissemination of good practice on sustainable urban and rural development; (c) exchange of experience concerning the identification, transfer and dissemination of good practice and innovative approaches in relation to actions concerning territorial cooperation and to the use of EGTCs; (d) analysis of development trends in relation to the aims of territorial cohesion and harmonious development of the European territory through studies, data collection and other measures.

11 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Thematic ex-ante conditionalities Thematic objectivesEx ante conditionalityCriteria for fulfilment 1. Strengthening research, technological development and innovation (R&D target) (referred to in Article 9(1) ) 1.1. Research and innovation: The existence of a national or regional research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation in line with the National Reform Program, to leverage private research and innovation expenditure, which complies with the features of well-performing national or regional research and innovation systems. –A national or regional research and innovation strategy for smart specialisation is in place that: –is based on a SWOT analysis to concentrate resources on a limited set of research and innovation priorities; –outlines measures to stimulate private RTD investment; –contains a monitoring and review system. –A Member State has adopted a framework outlining available budgetary resources for research and innovation; –A Member State has adopted a multi-annual plan for budgeting and prioritization of investments linked to EU priorities (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures - ESFRI).

12 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation – RIS³ An economic transformation agenda based on 4Cs: (Tough) Choices: select few priorities on the basis of international specialisation and integration on international value chains – avoid duplication and fragmentation in ERA Competitive (Constructed) Advantage: mobilize talent by matching RTD + i and business needs & capacities – entrepreneurial discovery process Critical Mass/Clusters: develop world class excellence clusters and provide arenas for related variety/cross-sectorial links which drive specialised technological diversification Collaborative Leadership: efficient innovation systems as a collective endeavour based on public-private partnership (quadruple helix) – experimental platform – give voice to un-usual suspects

13 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion What is Smart Specialisation ?  ‘Knowledge for Growth’ expert group (DG RTD) launched concept in the framework of ERA;  Problem: fragmentation/imitation/duplication of public R&D investments;  Stresses role for all regions in the knowledge economy, if they can identify comparative advantages in specific R &I domains/clusters (not just winning sectors);  Challenges: Smart specialisation has to embrace the concept of open innovation, not only investment in (basic) research or manufacturing sector alone. “Most advanced regions invest in the invention of general purpose technologies, others invest in the co-invention of applications of the generic technology in one or several important domains of the regional economy” Dominique Foray 2010

14 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion RIS 3 Platform innovation/s3platform.cfm The platform is established at the Joint Research Centre (IPTS) in Seville and covers a three-year period. It will act as a facilitator in bringing together the relevant policy support activities in research, regional, enterprise, innovation, information society, education and sustainable policies. Will inform and communicate on related funding opportunities under the relevant EU funding programmes. It will include the facilities to provide direct feed-back and information to regions, Member States and its intermediate bodies. Provides methodological support, expert advice, training, information on good practice, etc.

15 European Union Regional Policy – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Thank you! On INFOREGIO … Projects examples: Future policy: