Strong-specific and Promising – a follow-up on the 2020 vision for NSPA Erik Gløersen NSPA-Forum, October 25 th, 2013

The NSPA visioning process NSPA as a product of Europe Focus on imagining a future  What could be achieved if the framework conditions are appropriate?  What can the NSPA do for Europe? Specify policy message: not ”support for lagging region”, but ”investment in Europe’s future”  Strong, Specific and Promising Meeting-point between EU-wide challenges and ”regional issues”

The NSPA visioning process DEMOGRAPHYCLIMATE CHANGE GLOBALI- SATION ENERGY European challenges EDUCA- TION INNOVA- TION ECONOMIC CHANGE QUALITY OF LIFE CONNEC- TIVITY Regional issues NSPA strategy

Taking full advantage of resources Three «pillars» to be brought into coherence

Growth and development «Towards a vision for the NSPA» Demographic stabilisation as the core objective Opposing perspectives on the viability of local communities: do the communities need to change/disappear or are the framework conditions the problem?

Evolution since 2009 Continued negative net-migration in large parts of the NSPA

Main points of the vision Demographic trends under control More balanced communities, open to foreign influences Enhanced interaction and cooperation with Russia Improved urban qualities More robust and productive local economies Coordinated actions to promote sustainable tourism World level R&D activities within selected niches Coherent regional transportation systems

Policy road map: priorities Fully exploiting NSPA resources Pro-active policies to promote more balanced and dynamic local communities Economic policies: focus on knowledge economy and creative sectors Transport: focus on bottlenecks for exports, intra-regional coherence and dependence on fossil energy Branding

Key issues for the next steps From vision to actions: how to target policies? How can a better multi-level dialogue be initiated? What difference can the NSPA make? What EU-instruments can be mobilised?

Nexus model

Evolution since 2009 Concrete effects of climate change

Evolution since 2009 Arctic issues more prominent