Rivista "IBC" XI, 2003, 4
Dossier: L'IBC per l'Europa
musei e beni culturali, territorio e beni architettonici-ambientali, biblioteche e archivi, dossier /
In the last year European integration received great impulse with the entry of ten new Member States, the opening of a wide-ranging debate on the reform of European institutions and the establishment of the European Convention in charge of discussing the new European Constitution. In this new perspective Italian regions represent institutional actors which, through their policies, can express their commitment to participate in European integration and propose a fair and sustainable model for development. However Italian regions participate in the process of European integration not only as institutional interlocutors and actors in charge of enforcing Community policies and regulations, but also as recipients of the needs expressed by the public and private sectors and of the financial opportunities offered by the European Union to support regional policies.
Starting many years ago, Emilia-Romagna has organised its administrative and operational structures in order to effectively enforce and manage Community policies whose implementation, due to the decentralisation process, has been entrusted to regions (i.e. agricultural and fishing policy, environmental policy, territorial cohesion policy). At the end of the 1980s, after the entry into force of the Single European Act (1987) and the first reform of European Structural Funds, the first multi- annual programming on the use of such Funds was undertaken through a partnership-based decision-making process involving the European Commission, Member States and Regions. This allowed regional authorities to develop operational guidelines and procedures and to effectively plan the use and management of the Community resources assigned by the EU.
Between 2000 and 2006 the third generation of regional programmes supported by European Structural Funds was launched, in the respect of the priority lines of action identified by Agenda 2000, the EU action programme for the period 2000-2006. Over this period Emilia-Romagna planned a number of region-based initiatives for an expenditure amounting to 1,115 million Euros, funded by the Community, plus a further 1,315 million Euros, co-funded at a national level. These initiatives funnel most of the financial, bureaucratic and administrative efforts of the Region in terms of European regional policy. The initiatives have been usually developed through multi-sector and territory-based programmes which, in some cases, entrust the managing of part of the available resources to Local Authorities, particularly the Provinces (more details can be found at www.spazioeuropa.it).
In the last few years, the Regions have been ever more involved in the management and implementation of projects which are not directly funded through the Structural Funds, but through other EU budgetary resources, such as the programmes and actions managed by the European Commission through direct calls for application. The "direct actions" refer to framework programmes aiming at strengthening existing Community policies (in the fields of agriculture, research, environmental protection, transports) or at creating the basis for the adoption of new Community policies (in the fields of social policies, culture, trans-European networks, tourism, etc.).
The level of commitment of a regional authority in the different areas of the Community action can be an indicator of the intensity with which the region itself participates in the European integration process. In the last few years Emilia-Romagna has published a document (called the Eurorapporto) in which all the activities annually promoted by regional administrative authorities and supported by the European Union are presented and analysed.
The Eurorapporto helps understanding in which way the Region intends to act as a European region, through the support of European funds and the creation of a network involving other regional entities.
The VI Eurorapporto (www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/we-gest/sestoeurorapporto.pdf) analyses the activities carried out in 2002. Those developed through the structural funds refer to four main programmes: the "Objective 3" programme, which includes all the measures aimed at restructuring vocational training and promoting employment policies; the Regional Programme for Rural Development; the "Objective 2" programme, which contributes to the economic support of regions in structural difficulties, and the "Fishing" programme, covering structural actions in areas dependent of fisheries. European structural funds support other specific initiatives: the "Leader Plus" programme, which promotes rural development through an integrated approach and which has been launched thanks to the funding of four Local Action Groups (LAG), each of them implementing a local action plan limited to specific regional areas, and the "Equal" programme which funded 19 projects aimed at contrasting all forms of discrimination and inequality in the access to the labour market.
Great efforts have been devoted to transnational projects, in the context of the "Interreg III" Community initiative. Emilia-Romagna is one of the leading European Regions as regards the number of projects selected for funding (21) to which it participates either as leading partner (4 projects) or as a partner. The projects concern the following domains: transports, tourism, cultural heritage, environment, social policies. The participation in transnational projects highlights the will of the Region to strengthen relationships with public and private organisations of other Member States, thus responding to a number of requests from local actors.
The entry of ten new countries in the EU allows Emilia-Romagna to experiment different forms of international co-operation financed by European funds, through the participation in "Twinning Projects" aiming at supporting Hungary central and local administrative authorities in the planning and use of Structural Funds. Such forms of co-operation represent an interesting field of action for the regions which can transfer their technical and administrative know-how to the new Member States presently committed to implement the wide and complex Community legislation and to participate in European programmes.
In compliance with European environmental policies expressed by the "Life" programme, Emilia-Romagna participated in seven projects, four of which aimed at the protection of endangered natural habitats. Within the framework of Community programmes for technological research and development, the Region participated in six research projects in the field of meteorology.
Other activities carried out in 2002 concern specific European programmes: within the "Culture 2000" programme, which encourages the dissemination of European cultures through co-operation between different cultural actors and Member States' institutions, the region of Emilia-Romagna participated in three specific projects. Other initiatives were developed with reference to the following programmes: "Leonardo Da Vinci" (3 projects), "Socrates" (3 projects), "Raphael", "Youth", "Stop", and "URB-AL" (1 project each). Five specific projects were financed within five priority sectors classified as such by the Commission, namely in the field of social policies: assisting elderly people, promoting equal opportunities in the job market, contrasting racism and xenophobia, promoting the integration of immigrants.
To affirm that a "European mentality" has been acquired at institutional level may be premature. However it cannot be denied that ever more increasing attention is being paid by the Region to European policies as well as to international co-operation.
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