EU Regional Policy

The aims of EU cohesion policy is to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities between European regions, supporting job creation, economic growth and competitiveness in order to improve life quality and sustainable development. In order to achieve the aims of cohesion policy, EU member states must provide a proper environment for the efficient use of Community money which are financed through three main funds: European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund and Cohesion Fund "Absorption capacity is the degree to which a country is able to effectively and efficiently spend the financial resources allocated from the Structural Funds" 1 and "the absorption rate illustrates the absorption capacity and is defined as the level of spending as a percentage of the total amount of Structural Funds available". 2 Having an absorption rate closer to 100%, means that the funds which were allocated to a specific country or region, have been fully spent. In the Eastern European countries, and especially in the new member states countries there is a threat of underspending money when implementing structural funds programms. It is a common problem new member states countries the fact that available and needed funds are not fully used, and the proper terminology used most of the time is "lack of absorption capacity". Because capacity absorption is a relatively new concept, is difficult to asses the impact of structural funds on the EU convergence on the long run. In the same time is very difficult to design the measurement indicators of absorption. "A review of the literature regarding the absorption of the EU structural funds reveals a lack of adequate conceptual framework, while the topic of better ways to manage these funds is less addressed." 3 The 1 The European Institute from Romania,"The analysis of absorption capacity of Community Funds from Romania",

Abstract: Development of entrepreneurial attitudes in the society and entrepreneurship as an expression of activity of entrepreneurs and managers of companies is considered as a particularly important factor of the socio-economic development of regions, particularly in countries, which transform their economies. Entrepreneurship plays its role mostly in accelerating the economic growth, generating pulses to the structural transformation of regional economy and alleviating the consequences of structural unemployment through self-employment of the unemployed. In this context, it is important to ask about the place of entrepreneurship in regional development strategies. The subject of the article is to present the results of analysis of the Polish National Strategy of Regional Development 2010−2020: Regions, Cities, Rural Areas with respect of having provisions related to entrepreneurship as an important factor stimulating the regional development. Against the background of results of the analysis, the authors attempted to outline the concept of " entrepreneurial region ".

Streszczenie: Rozwój postaw przedsiębiorczych w społeczeństwie oraz przedsiębiorczości jako wyra-zu aktywności przedsiębiorców i menedżerów firm jest uważany za ważny czynnik rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego regionów, szczególnie w krajach transformujących swoje gospodarki. Przedsiębiorczość odgrywa rolę głównie w przyspieszeniu wzrostu gospodarczego, generowaniu impulsów do przemian strukturalnych gospodarki danego regionu oraz łagodzi skutki strukturalnego bezrobocia poprzez samozatrudnienie osób pozostających bez pracy. W tym kontekście ważne jest pytanie, jakie jest miejsce przedsiębiorczości w strategiach rozwoju regionalnego. Przedmiotem artykułu jest prezentacja wyników analizy polskiej Krajowej Strategii Rozwoju Regionalnego 2010−2020: Regiony, Miasta, Obszary wiejskie pod kątem obecności zapisów odnoszących się do przedsiębiorczości jako ważnego czynnika rozwoju regionalnego. Na tle wyników analiz podjęto próbę zarysowania koncepcji "przedsiębiorczego regionu".

Horváth Réka: A területrendezés és regionális fejlesztés céljai, dokumentumai és szereplői Romániában.
A tanulmány áttekinti a romániai területrendezés céljait, dokumentumait, a dokumentumok közötti alá és fölérendeltséget, valamint a területrendezés szereplő csoportjait. Ezzel párhuzamosan megvizsgálja a regionális fejlesztés céljait, dokumentumait és szereplőit. Ugyanakkor megvizsgálja, hogy a hazai gyakorlatban milyen összefüggés van a területrendezés és regionális fejlesztés között.
Kulcsszavak: területrendezés, regionális fejlesztés, Románia.

Horváth Réka: Obiectivele, documentele şi structura instituţională al amenajării teritoriului şi dezvoltării regionale în România.
Articolul de faţă analizează obiectivele şi actorii amenajării teritoriului şi urbanismului din România, documentaţiile  şi relaţiile dintre diferitele tipuri de documentaţii. În paralel articolul analizează şi obiectivele politicii regionale, documentele ei şi structura instituţională. În acelaşi timp se verifică relaţia dintre amenajarea teritoriului şi dezvoltarea regională în România.
Cuvinte cheie: amenajarea teritoriului, dezvoltarea regională, România.

Horváth Réka: The objectives, the documents and the institutional structure of spatial planning and regional development in Rumania.
The present article analysis the objectives, the actors and the documents of spatial planning and regional development in Rumania. We also find in the article an analysis of the link between the spatial planning and regional development documents in the country.
Key words: spatial planning, regional development, Romania.

Regional policy is a set of measures at the disposal of public institutions needed to regulate economic activity in a regional area. Regional policy is part of structural category. Structural measures are indispensable for medium and long growth. Through theoretical and descriptive analysis, we present some general elements of EU regional policy as a model for Siret-Prut-Nistru Euroregion. The Euroregion Siret-Prut-Nistru is comprised of a EU Member State and one non member, making difficult the harmonization of economic policy. However, the EU model can be valid for Siret-Prut-Nistru Euroregion Policy.

La politique régionale de l'Union européenne constitue le principal instrument d'intervention des instances communautaires au sein des États membres. L'augmentation régulière des budgets alloués à cette politique a entraîné la multiplication des positions professionnelles dédiées à sa mise en oeuvre. Situées pour la plupart d'entre elles dans l'espace local, elles sont le plus souvent investies par des agents administratifs peu familiers des problématiques européennes. Cet article éclaire les modalités de confrontation de ces cadres intermédiaires à ces nouveaux schèmes de pensée communautaires et aux processus d'apprentissage qu'implique la mise en oeuvre des politiques communautaires. Il montre notamment que les pro-blématiques de contrôle et de rationalisation des dépenses publiques représentent un enjeu central dans le quotidien des agents administratifs concernés par les fonds européens.

Abstract: The EU's regional policy is the main instrument of intervention of EU institutions within Member States. The steady increase of budgets allotted to that policy has resulted in the development of multiple positions devoted to implementing it on the ground. They are for the most part situated at the local level and held by administrative agents who tend to be unfamiliar with European matters. This paper examines how these mid-level officials assimilate these new schemes of thought and experience the learning processes required by the implementation of EU policy. It shows that the control and rationalization of public expenditure is a major concern in the everyday work of the administrative agents who manage European funds.

Problems related to the economic innovation regarding the spatial analysis create
a dynamically developing research stream and owing to their complexity constitute a significant methodological challenge. The hereby study, in line with this research stream, is divided into three basic parts: theoretical, methodological, and empirical one. Theoretical background distinguishes two logically related discussion paths the first of which is focused on innovation in economic theory, while the second refers to its measurement methods. Methodological aspects refer to the concept of integrated, multicriteria approach to innovation measurement based on the multidimensional analysis of data from a dynamic perspective. The empirical part concentrates on applying switch matrices and profile analysis in order to measure innovation of European regional space and EU NUTS 2 level regions’ classification regarding the innovation level in the dynamic analysis.

Turkey-EU relations are currently in a state of flux. Turkey and the EU have moved apart in their political aspirations after accession talks faced a stalemate due to the Republic of Cyprus’ EU accession as a divided island. The EU has been shaken to its very core by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and as a result the enlargement of the EU has dropped down the agenda. In contrast Turkey has become an economic powerhouse in an extremely volatile region. The Turkish government has been following a consistent policy of establishing itself as the leader in its region and as a result a significant part of the Turkish population no longer sees EU accession as the only option to secure long-term economic growth and political stability.

The book explores the current challenges as well as opportunities facing the Turkey-EU relations, questioning the existing models in light of recent developments. The book is interdisciplinary in nature bringing together perspectives from the disciplines of international relations, political science and law.

The book analyses current shifts in the dynamics of Turkey-EU relations in order to surmise what the future of this relationship might hold. The book focuses on four main themes: the effect of the Cyprus conflict; the potential for a structured Turkey-EU cooperation particularly with regard to the Middle Eastern region in the wake of the Arab Spring; the future of democratic reform in Turkey under fading EU influence; and finally, the changing role of Europe in Turkish political discourse as well as the daily lives of Turkish citizens.

Romania tried through public policies to follow the steps of Poland but, unfortunately, few results have been achieved. Despite the cultural, historical and political differences, the Polish model is an enviable one, when it comes to the absorption of the European Structural Funds. This article is a general comparative analysis of the corruption in the area of European financing. This topic is a delicate one in both countries and people seem to be aware that the fraud with European money is a reality, both press and media discussing this subject. Even though in both Poland and Romania there continues to be a need of tangible and quantifiable data, reports and analysis on the number of projects for each operational programme (OP), which have been believed to be irregular and fraudulent due to corruption, what is undeniable is that Poland handled the absorption of the European Structural Funds much better than Romania. How did they proceed in order to fight and prevent corruption and increase the efficiency of their funds' management? Below, I will put forward an answer concerning three issues: the public administration approach, the efficiency of the control over the European funds' management and the specific measures on the absorption within one of the problematic operational programmes.

This chapter entitled 'About Independence (with independence)' will be included in a book edition called 'The Right to Decide, Power & Sovereignty'. The chapter aims to address ten strategic drivers to understand and update the quest for self-determination in particular in the Basque democracy and in general in any European regional context.

To cite this chapter/kapitulu hau zitatzeko:
Calzada, I. (2017), Independentziaz (independentziarekin),
Chapter in the Book Uranga, M. (Ed.)
Erabakitzeko eskubidea, botere eragilea, burujabetasuna.
Bilbao: Sorzain argitaletxea.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24508.54404. ISBN: 978-84-946721-8.

Even if 2016 is the first ‘normal’ year in delivering all ESIF programmes 2014-2020, the Mid-Term EU Budget review and the new Juncker Commission are
bringing forward the future Cohesion discussions. Commissioner Cretu is clear that post-2020 Cohesion policy should move beyond the status quo. This
chapter is the result of a series of roundtables with local government cohesion experts to assess the potential of reform and resistance to change in core
elements of cohesion policy (partnership, multi-annual programming, five separate funds and shared management) to examine the prevalence of policy
communities, path dependency, rent seeking and elite capture.
This is a book chapter in:
Dotti, N.F., (ed.), 2016. Learning from implementation and evaluation of the EU Cohesion Policy: Lessons from a research-policy dialogue. RSA Research Network on Cohesion Policy, Brussels. pp286-303.
Full Book available in: bit.ly/Lessons4CP

Since the turn of the century, music industry has undergone major structural changes due to an unstoppable process of digitization. Despite the initial enthusiasm of web utopians, such shift has so far been unable to produce alternative sustainable models: the old music industry gatekeepers have been substituted with new ones, including, it will be argued, public administration. This dynamic has in particular affected those fringes of the music industry operating aside of corporate structures, generating the need for the development of new strategies to promote sustainability and diversification within such scene. At the same time, the rise of the creative city paradigm has brought within the institutional discourse even those form of musical production that used to be dismissed from the political and administrative discourse, further legitimized by processes of “historicizing” and “museification” of still relatively young music genres. In the present research it will be shown how this process unfold in the case of the post Wall Berlin, analyzing as case study the no profit music consultancy company Music Pool Berlin, in order to understand if such endeavor could provide some best practices to be inspirational for music sustainability policies applicable in different urban contexts. The thesis that will be supported is that professionalization is the key to sustainability in non- corporate music scenes, and that its development becomes a viable strategy of artist focused support via context improvement.

Cooperation between European territorial authorities is a developing phenomenon resulting from the overlap and convergence of International, European and National law, which requires scholars interested in multi-level governance dynamics to be constantly updated. Therefore, this paper focuses on the latest developments in European territorial cooperation introduced by Protocol n. 3 to the European outline convention on transfrontier Cooperation between territorial communities or authorities concerning Euroregional cooperation groupings (ECGs) and regulation (EU) n. 1302/2013 amending regulation (EC) n. 1082/2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC). These instruments foster European territorial collaboration marking a further step toward the convergence of the legal instruments provided by both the Council of Europe and the EU. The paper then analyzes the trends which characterize the phenomenon from the International and European point of view as well as from the Italian legal system

The chapter offers a critical revision of smart specialisation and place-based policy concepts. Focusing on empirically strengthened measurement of agglomeration and concentration in regions, the chapter also draws attention to the deficits of investigating regional specialisation and uses a broad perspective to facilitate a better understanding of its use towards smart specialisation and place-based policy. The chapter explores the methodological implications of a new approach to thinking about regional policy in the perspective of European Union’s future.

Finančný manažment pre samosprávy a jeho využitie v rámci vzdelávacieho procesu na vysokých školách [elektronický zdroj]. -Poproč : Európske centrum manažmentu, 2014. -ISBN 978-80-9171582-1-7. -S. 52-58 [CD-ROM] Využívanie finančných prostriedkov z fondov Európskej únie pre potreby rozvoja regiónov v Slovenskej republike -príklady dobrej praxe

This paper seeks to determine the share of Polish regional centres in the absorption of European funds as compared with their regional surroundings. The analysis covered the years 2004-2013 and embraced 18 cities functioning as regional capitals and 16 voivodeships. The research proceeded in three stages. In the first one, the position of the regional capitals was determined against the level of socio-economic development of the country’s poviats. Stage two was devoted to the magnitude and absorption structure of European means in the regional centres. The third part of the procedure covered identification of the place of the regional centres in the process of absorption of EU funds in voivodeships.

This interpretive article relies on insights from three critical literatures -world-systems analysis, postcolonial studies and, to the extent of an extended simile, the economic sociology of flexible global production -to propose a geopolitical understanding of what the European Union (EU) is. The authors begin by interrogating the tendency within much of the current research and commentary on the EU to treat it as a state of sorts. They then outline some mechanisms -pertaining to its internal and external linkage structuresthat have enabled the EU to perform successfully in a geopolitical context where most of the main actors are states. Finally, drawing on critical insights from the sociology of subcontracted production and distributed organization, the authors suggest ways in which the EU, in its current form, might be thought of beyond the constraints of the current theoretical language of statehood.

Il Sud è spesso etichettato come dipendente, sprecone, piagnone. Stereotipi che dominano la scena da anni, semplificazioni e scorciatoie di analisi che alimentano la narrazione di un Mezzogiorno descritto come «sistema a parte» all'interno del quale andrebbero ricercate le cause principali del suo ritardo di sviluppo e le forze endogene sulle quali puntare per risollevarne le sorti. Uno storytelling riproposto da molti osservatori nel dibattito estivo seguito alla pubblicazione delle anticipazioni dell'ultimo Rapporto SVIMEZ (30 luglio 2015). Una «visione» avallata dal policy maker nazionale nel «Masterplan per il Mezzogiorno» (4 novembre 2015).

Pohjois-ja Itä-Suomen alueellisen kehityksen turvaaminen oli yksi keskeinen kysymys Suomen neuvotellessa liittymisestä Euroopan unioniin. Suomen ja Ruotsin jäsenyysratkaisussa Unioni sai uuden alueulottuvuuden, jonka erityispiirteitä olivat erittäin harva asutus, syrjäisyys, pohjoiset ilmasto-olot ja Unionin ulkoraja Venäjän kanssa.

Το 2011 γιορτάσαμε την επέτειο τον 30 χρόνων από την ένταξη της Ελλάδας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση το 1981. Για την επέτειο αυτή, η «Ομάδα Ευρώπη» της Ελλάδας προσφέρθηκε να συντάξει επιστημονικές μελέτες για επί μέρους πολιτικές της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.

Αυτή η έκδοση περιέχει μελέτες σχετικά με την πολιτική της Ε.Ε. για τη Νεολαία, το κεκτημένο Σένγκεν, την Κοινή Αγροτική Πολιτική, την Ευρωπαϊκή γεωργία και Περιβάλλον, την Περιφερειακή Πολιτική της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και τη Συνθήκη της Λισαβόνας.

Η «Ομάδα Ευρώπη» είναι ένα δίκτυο ομιλητών και εμπειρογνωμόνων, ειδικευμένων στα ευρωπαϊκά θέματα, το οποίο τυγχάνει στήριξης από τη Γενική Διεύθυνση Επικοινωνίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής. Τα μέλη του δικτύου επιλέγονται από τις Αντιπροσωπείες της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής στα κράτη μέλη.

Ιστοσελίδα: http://ec.europa.eu/ellada Αντιπροσωπεία της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής στην Ελλάδα

- Carmona, Ana; Köelling, Mario; Ródriguez-Izquierdo, Myriam; and Tuñón, Jorge. (2013): El lugar de las Macro-regiones en el marco de la Cooperación Territorial Europea: Presente y Futuro. Fundación del Centro de Estudios Andaluces, Sevilla.

AB Bölgesel Politikası’nın, 1990’lı yılların sonuna kadar somut ve geniş çaplı bir mekansal planlama anlayışını içermediği görülmektedir. Ancak 1999 yılında Yapısal Fonların dağıtımında mekansal bir bir strateji öngören Avrupa Mekansal Gelişme Perspektifi (AMGP) belgesinin kabul edilmesinin ardından, başta çeşitli programlar yoluyla, mekansal planlama bölgesel gelişme anlayışında yer edinmeye başlamıştır. Bölgelerarası farklılıkların mekansal olarak sergilediği dengesiz görünümün orta vadede giderilebilmesi için uygulanması önerilen AMGP’nin ilan edilmesinin ardından, bu mekansal planlama girişimiyle organize edilen programlardan günümüze gelmiş iki program öne çıkmaktadır: Interreg ve Espon. Varlıklarını sürdürmekte ve kapsamları genişletilmiş olmaları itibariyle önemli gördüğümüz bu iki programın gelişimi ve işleyişlerinin tanınması, önemlidir. Bu çalışmada, öncelikle programların mekansal anlayış temelini oluşturan AMGP hakkında bilgi verilecek, ardından Interreg Programı ve geniş şekilde Espon Programı’nın gelişim, içerik ve somut sonuçları değerlendirilecektir.

The paper aims to examine the changes in the rural waste management sector at regional scale since the Romania adhesion to the EU in 2007. The traditional waste management based on the mixed waste collection and waste disposal often on improper sites prevailed in municipal waste
management options of transitional economies across the globe. The lack of formal waste collection services in rural areas has encouraged the open dumping or backyard burning. The paper analyzes the improvements and challenges of local authorities to fulfill the new EU requirements in this sector supported by data analysis at local administrative unit levels and field observations. Geographical analysis is compulsory to reveal the local disparities. The paper performs
an assessment of waste collection issues across 78 rural municipalities within Neamt County. This sector is emerging in rural areas of Eastern Europe, but is far from an efficient municipal waste management system based on the waste hierarchy concept.

2018 wordt een cruciaal jaar in de geschiedenis van de Europese Unie. Geconfronteerd met interne veiligheidsproblemen, met een onstabiele internationale context, met migratiegolven en de brexit, wordt de opmaak van het EU-budget post 2020 een echt huzarenstukje.

Niet toevallig wordt deze delicate budgettaire oefening gecombineerd met de lancering van een breed debat over het Europa van morgen (witboek maart 2017, 2017d). De toon
wordt hierbij onmiddellijk gezet: ‘meer doen met minder middelen’.

Daartegenover staat dat de keuze tussen een versterkt buitenlands beleid en een doeltreffende cohesiepolitiek een ‘valse’ keuze vormt. Het zijn immers twee zijden van een en
dezelfde medaille.

Bijkomend element is hier de tendens om de interne cohesiemiddelen, onder Oost-Europese druk, te heroriënteren ten voordele van de resorptie van de migratiestromen binnen
de EU. Hierdoor zal de facto nog meer geld aan een fenomeen van buitenlandse origine worden besteed en worden de middelen om de binnengrenzen weg te werken, om de sociaaleconomische uitdagingen te beantwoorden, om belangrijke onderzoeksprojecten en infrastructuurwerken te financieren en om onze kmo’s ‘future-proof’ te helpen maken, nog schaarser dan voorheen.

Nochtans ligt precies op dat terrein de sleutel tot succes, ook op het vlak van de externe uitdagingen en geopolitieke ambities. Als de kloof tussen meer en minder ontwikkelde regio’s binnen de Unie verder groeit, als de afstand tussen metropolen en het buitengebied, ook in de welvarende regio’s, zorgwekkende proporties aanneemt, dan zal het nationalisme onvermijdelijk in alle hevigheid de kop opsteken met funeste gevolgen voor
de Unie als geheel.

Vreemd genoeg wordt dit debat gekleurd door een ander zorgenkind van de Europese Commissie. Zij krijgt het immers steeds moeilijker om haar transversale macro-economische
en financiële prioriteiten in domeinen als schuldbeheer, pensioen en arbeidsmarktparticipatie op het niveau van de lidstaten door te drukken. De verleiding is dan ook groot
om deze politiek in de toekomst met EU-middelen sterker te cofinancieren, terwijl dit in essentie tot de verantwoordelijkheid van de individuele lidstaten behoort. Niet voor niets is hier immers sprake van ‘landenspecifieke aanbevelingen’ van de Commissie. Kortom, het risico is niet denkbeeldig dat de Commissie en lidstaten het hier op een akkoord gooien
en dat de schaarse EU-Cohesiemiddelen morgen zullen worden aangewend/misbruikt om noodzakelijke, binnenlandse
problemen te herfinancieren en structurele maatregelen
uit te stellen.

Het complexe debat over het Europese Cohesiebeleid verdient beter. Als we teruggaan naar de essentie van de Cohesiepolitiek zal iedereen moeten toegeven dat een Unie met liefst veertig binnengrenzen (nog abstractie makende van regionale en federatieve structuren) onhoudbaar is. Sterker nog, de afbouw van deze barrières zou in de betrokken grensregio’s goed zijn voor een toename van het bbp met 2% en goed zijn voor één miljoen bijkomende jobs.

Zonder afbreuk te doen aan een beleid tot versterking van de buitengrenzen en tot harmonisering van het macro-economische kader, moet het mogelijk zijn om een volwaardige
inspanning tot wegwerking van de binnengrenzen te doen. Daartoe zijn minstens drie voorwaarden noodzakelijk:
1. Een grotere selectiviteit bij de vaststelling van de begunstigde territoria, door beperking tot de échte grensstreken.
2. Een geïntegreerde inzet en geharmoniseerde toepassing van de EFRO-, ESF- en Cohesiefondsmiddelen in deze regio’s met volwaardige (bottom-up) betrokkenheid van provincies, lokale besturen en het maatschappelijke middenveld.
3. Het behoud van de financiële middelen op het niveau van het MFK 2014-2020.

Met het voorstel tot invoering van grensoverschrijdende GTI’s wil deze publicatie alvast een aanzet geven tot concrete uitvoering van deze beleidsvisie, bottom-up en met bijzondere
aandacht voor de innovatiekracht van kmo’s.

Geïntegreerde territoriale investeringsprojecten in Interreg-perspectief zouden het grote voordeel hebben dat:
1. zij onderbouwd worden door een coherente sociaaleconomische visie op middellange termijn, met als resultaat krachtenbundeling, complementariteit en het voorkomen van misbruik rond structurele deelprojecten;
2. zij aangestuurd worden door een beperkte, evenwichtigere samengestelde stuurgroep die onder meer instaat voor garanties inzake subsidiariteit en volwaardige participatie
van de actoren op het terrein;
3. zij een zichtbaar en tastbaar draagvlak kunnen creëren en zodoende een goede hefboom kunnen vormen voor een multiplicatie van samenwerkingsvormen in zowel de publieke als de private sfeer, met focus op SDG’s, inclusie en arbeidsvoorwaarden (onder andere op het vlak van ‘work-life balance’).

Hopelijk kan deze publicatie de lezer inspireren.

Entrepreneurship is one of core social and economic development factor in spatial systems, particularly at regional scale. This article presents results of analyses focused on the place and role of entrepreneurship in the regional development policy in the light of the National Strategy of Regional Development 2010–2020: Regions, Cities, and Rural Areas for Poland (the NSRD 2010-2020). Furthermore, key concepts of the Strategy were contrasted with entrepreneurship-related concepts presented in the regional development strategies of two other countries – Finland i.e.: Finland’s Regional Development Strategy 2020 (FRDS 2020) and Bulgaria: The National Regional Development Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2005-2015 (NRDS 2005-2015). The analysis leads to a conclusion that the role of entrepreneurship in the Polish regional development strategy is underestimated compared to the position it has in the Finnish and Bulgarian strategies; thus, it is necessary to increase its importance not only in the key assumptions of the strategy but also when implementing these  principles of the regional development policy in practice.

The goal of this concluding chapter is to shed light on the conceptual value of the book. We discuss the chapters within the framework of the overall conceptual approach linking territorial cohesion and socio-spatial polarisation with the notion of spatial justice and also connect analytical findings with essential policy recommendations, both of which complement each other. Growing social polarisation and economic inequalities unfolding in new forms across various places brought about academic and policy debates on the meanings of 'development', the ways its dimensions (economic, social, cultural, political) are interrelated , and, moreover, on how macro-structural changes are entangled

In the initial part of the article its author presents basic information about Polish special economic zones. Next there are discussed variants of obtaining regional assistance by entrepreneurs investing in SEZs. Particular emphasis is put on detailed analysis related to specific variants as well as conditions indispensable for carrying them out. Theoretical discussion is supported by detailed simulations of different investment variants and potential public assistance related to them. The article is supplemented by information regarding costs of entering and functioning in special economic zones.

PG27245 Resumo O relatório em questão incide sobre o tema "A União Europeia e a Política de Coesão -A Europa das regiões: desigualdade e convergência entre as regiões da UE", no qual se destaca uma breve explicação do que se trata da Política de Coesão para o período 2014-2020, salientando a sua principal definição, a sua importância no seio da UE com uma breve referência para o Livro Verde sobre a Coesão Territorial Europeia, o "alinhamento" da Política de Coesão com os objectivos da Estratégia Europa 2020, os Fundos que constitui a Política de Coesão e a distribuição dos mesmos consoante a qualificação das regiões de União Europeia, no qual o relatório irá mostrar uma leitura concisa e aprofundada acerca dessa mesma distribuição considerando que actualmente vivemos num período complicado devido aos efeitos da crise. Tendo em consideração que o relatório é no âmbito da unidade curricular de Bases Estruturais da Euro-região Galiza/Norte de Portugal, o mesmo terá uma forte incidência acerca do caso das regiões da Galiza e do Norte de Portugal no âmbito da Política de Coesão, em que os Programas operacionais ("individuais"/regionais, POCTEP, Espaço Atlântico, Sudoeste Europeu) no qual as regiões em questão estão envolvidas vão ter o seu destaque.

One of the ways with which it is used to define the economic profile of today society reports to the concept of Information Society (IS). The definition leaves from the proposition that information and knowledge (collection, production, accumulation, distribution, etc.) represent the base of the value for which the modern societies are competing and for which they develop their economies. A workshop on this field  was carried out to show a fund logical framework aimed to achieve this strategic objective by Structural Funds (ERDF), detecting various  actions spread in the Regional Strategic Plannning for  Programming  Period of E.C 2007-2013

This Study links competitiveness of economy of the Vojvodina Province in Serbia and evolution of the energy system within its territory. It talks about energy security, energy efficiency and sustainable development. The Study was part of the wider exercise to support spatial plan of Vojvodina Province .  It comprises partial understanding of the impacts of the largest hydro power complex in Europe: the Iron Gates at the Danube River.