- Committee on Regional Development - The Secretariat

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN EUROPÄISCHES PARLAMENT

COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT THE SECRETARIAT

May 2008

REPORT of the Committee on Regional Development's Delegation to from 28 to 30 April 2008 European Parliament - Committee on Regional Development - The Secretariat

SUMMARY

Visit to Estonia to see on the ground and through specific projects the Subject way the cohesion policy is implemented in Objective 1 Estonian regions

The field mission had the following main objectives:

- to see how the regional policy is being implemented in Estonia and what are the absorption capacities for the EU structural funds in the Estonian regions;

- to acquaint members of the delegation with the specific problems Main of Estonia, in effect of the economic and social transformations of objectives the last decades after the fall of the communist system and the creation of the independent Republic of Estonia;

- to have a deeper inside on the transnational and cross-border cooperation developed by Estonia with the neighbour regions;

- to have exchanges of views with national, regional and local authorities on these matters.

Date 28 to 30 April 2008

Places Tallinn, Tartu, Värska and Valga-Valka towns

Chairman Evgeni KIRILOV (PSE), Vice Chair of the REGI-Committee

The list of participants is attached in the annex. 3 of 11 European Parliament - Committee on Regional Development - The Secretariat

BACKGROUND

On the initiative of the Estonian Members of the Committee on Regional Development, Mr Tunne-Väldo KELAM (PPE-DE) and Mr Toomas SAVI (ALDE) the Committee on Regional Development decided to send a delegation to Slovakia.

It was the first out of three delegation trips of the REGI Committee scheduled for 2008.

Estonia is of particular interest to the Members of the Regional Development Committee for a number of reasons:

 Estonia had to face in the last two decades the effects of the economic and social transformations following the fall of the communist system and the creation of the independent Republic of Estonia;

 Estonia is considered to have a successful economic restructuring and a very positive economic growth, which make it interesting to learn from its experiences;

 Estonia is a new Member State who has rather short experience in implementing EU cohesion policy while it benefits from an allocation of €3,4 billion from the Structural Funds for the period 2007-2013;

 The cross-border cooperation of Estonian regions and local entities with the Latvian and Russian counterparts is an interesting example of cooperation within the EU, as well as with a neighbouring country.

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28 April

9h30 - Tallinn - Meeting with Estonian MPs and central authorities

The meeting took place in the Estonian Parliament , with the participation of Estonian Members of the Parliament: Olga Sõtnik, Jüri Tamm, Aivar Riisalu and Taavi Veskimägi (Economic Affairs Committee); Jürgen Ligi, Helle Kalda and Tiit Kuusmik (Finance Committee); Rein Aidma (Rural Affairs Committee).

Members had the opportunity to visit the Parliament guided by Mr Tunne Kelam who made also an overview of historical and more recent events in which the Riigikogu has played an important role.

The representatives of Estonian national authorities presented to Members the issues linked with regional development and policy in Estonia (Mr. Priidu Ristkok, Head of Regional Development Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs), an overview of the implementation of EU funds (Mr. Kalle Killar, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Finance) and more specifically the implementation of structural funds in the field of entrepreneurship, innovation, tourism, transport and information society (Mr. Ahti Kuningas, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Economics and Communication).

The meeting was followed by a working lunch.

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14h30 - Visit to "EAS Enterprise Estonia"

Enterprise Estonia was founded in 2000 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs with the aim of promoting the competitiveness of the Estonian entrepreneurial environment and Estonian businesses.

It is one of the largest institutions within the national support system for entrepreneurship in Estonia, providing financing products, advice, partnership opportunities and training for entrepreneurs, research and development institutions and the public and third sectors.

programmes targeted towards entrepreneurs.

Members met with Mr. Ülari Alamets, Head of the Supervisory Board who presented the organisational structure and objectives of Entreprise Estonia.

Members were particularly interested in the structure of Entreprise Estonia which is a non-profit organisation realising the strategic national objectives under the control of public entities and the way Enterprise Estonia is also one of the funds are allocated to specific projects. institutions responsible for the implementation of EU structural funds in After this meeting, the delegation left for Estonia, as well as being the primary the city of Tartu. provider of support and development

19h00 - Dinner in Tartu

Members participated in a dinner offered by Mr Tunne-Väldo KELAM with the participation of the Major of Tartu, Mr. Urmas Kruuse, the County Governor, Mrs. Esta Tamm and the Tartu University Rector, Mr. Alar Karis.

29 APRIL

10.00 - Visit to Estonian-Russian border

During the trip from Tartu to the Russian border, Ms Krista Kampus from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who accompanied the delegation on 28 and 29 April, spoke to Members about the specificities of the border region of Setomaa and gave an overview of the challenges for the socio-economic development of this region.

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At the Russian border, Members have been welcomed by the local priest, Father Afrat, who gave them an insight into the trans-border cooperation from the perspective of the local population.

Further on, Members arrived to Setu Tsäinaja where they visited the museum of Setomaa handicraft and listened to a local folklore singer group.

11.00 - Presentation of the cross-border cooperation with Russia

Mrs. Krista Kampus (Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs) presented to Members the state of the cross-border cooperation (CBC) with Russia and the challenges linked to it.

Cross-border co-operation seems to be a matter of great importance for both countries, thus the Estonian authorities consider it is vital to create efficient conditions for this cooperation on both sides of the border.

In this context, EU programmes are perceived as a real tool for initiating and enhancing the joint CBC activities and projects.

Ms Kampus underlined however the difficulties encountered in developing the CBC projects after the shift from EU cohesion policy into EU Neighbourhood policy, which implied a change in the focus and in the implementation procedures in TACIS, different from the ones applied for the Interreg projects.

Following this general presentation, Members have been informed in more detail about two specific projects:

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1. Emajŏgi-Peipsi-Velikaja Waterway - presented by Mr. Viktor Nukka from the Tartu Local Government Union) and Mrs. Maria Bulatova representing the administration of the Pskov Region State Committee of Pskov Region for Culture and Tourism (Russia).

With a total budget of 332 735 EUR (ERDF: 168 034 EUR and TACIS: 95 204 EUR) this project developed cross-border tourism cooperation between Tartu county (EE) and Pskov region (RU) based on common vision and synchronization of activities.

The cooperation and knowledge exchange results in greater tourism attractiveness of both regions and in greater welfare of the local population. The activities include the development of commonly functioning and unique Emajõgi-Peipsi-Velikaja waterway.

The project produces a row of technical documents for construction of landing places on the banks of the Emajõgi River, elaborates development concepts for the Velikaja River, carries out tourism surveys both in Estonia and Russia, and tightens the links between two regions, municipalities and companies active in the field.

2. Business Meets Culture in Setomaa has been presented by Mr. Margus Timmo (Setomaa Local Governments Union) the traditional lifestyle and cultural heritage at risk.

The project, with a total budget of 242 860 EUR (ERDF: 182 145 EUR, TACIS: 102 621 EUR), supports development of entrepreneurship in Setomaa based on local cultural traditions, which strengthens the cultural identity in Setomaa, saving the traditional handicraft skills and The historical area of Setomaa lies on offering more job opportunities to the both sides of Estonian-Russian border. local population. The region has succeeded to maintain its specific culture and traditional way The expected outcome of the project is of living. At the same time the also to motivate young people to stay population of Setomaa is constantly in Setomaa and become active decreasing, which puts continuity of members of the local community.

The meeting has been followed by a traditional Setomaa lunch.

15:30 - Bus tour on Valga - Valka towns (Estonian-Latvian border towns)

The Members have been welcomed by Mr. Rainer Kuutma from Valga County Government who made a historical overview of the development of the cities of Valga - Valka and explained the present situation while driving through the cities and seeing their main point.

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16:00 - Presentation of projects of cross-border cooperation with Latvia

Members arrived to the Cultural Center of Valga, where a meeting with representatives of local authorities and stakeholders have been organised. They were welcomed by Mr. Kalev Härk, the Valga County Governor.

Two projects developed in the region of Valga - Valka have been presented:

1. Valga-Valka: 1 city 2 states presented by Mr. Meelis Linnamägi from the Valga Town Government.

Valga-Valka is the only twin-town on Estonian-Latvian border.

The project establishes strong cross-border cooperation network between Valga and Valka Town Governments in the areas of spatial planning, tourism, education, healthcare, culture and sports.

The project blueprints mutual city-planning principles such as healthcare development plan, culture, education and sports conception, tourism-strategy and working out tourism signposts, maps and promotion materials. In addition the banks of the River Pedeli flowing from Latvia to Estonia is transformed into large cross-border recreation area.

2. Virtual Community of the Valga-Valka region presented by Mr. Kalev Härk, the Valga County Governor.

The project focuses on setting up a broadband internet network, which would reach majority of inhabitants in sparsely populated hilly counties of Valga (EE) and Valka (LV).

The project increases life quality of local inhabitants and entrepreneurs by providing broadband internet connection and creates new opportunities like e-services, e-learning, distance work, new business and personal contacts for cross-border co-operation in different areas. The functioning Internet connection even in the remotest areas makes Valga-Valka region also more attractive for entrepreneurs and investors.

19:00 - Walking tour in Tartu

The walking tour with a guide allowed Members to make an overview of the monuments and specificities of this university town.

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30 APRIL

9:30 - Visit to the Tartu University Institute of Technology

In the Tartu University Institute of Technology Members met its Director, Mr. Erik Puura, who gave Members and insight into the innovation concepts and links between research and economy.

10:30 - Return to Tallinn

Return to the airport of Tallinn and end of the delegation trip.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The trip to Estonia gave Members the opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives of national, regional and local authorities, both during formal as well as informal meetings.

The visit to less developed and more remote regions of Estonia and the presentation of concrete projects of regional development by the persons directly involved in their realisation allowed Members to have a better insight on the problems and difficulties encountered by the main actors of economic and regional development and on the role and importance of the EU cohesion policy in supporting the development of the visited regions.

In general, the objectives set by the delegation are considered to be achieved.

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ANNEX

MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Mr Evgeni KIRILOV Chair of the delegation Vice Chair of the REGI Committee - PSE (Bulgaria)

Mr Rolf BEREND Vice Chair of the REGI Committee - EPP-ED (Germany)

Ms Rumiana JELEVA EPP-ED (Bulgaria)

Mr Tunne-Väldo KELAM EPP-ED (Estonia)

Mr Oldřich VLASÁK EPP-ED (Czech Republic)

Ms. Brigitte DOUAY PES (France)

Mr Miloš KOTEREC PES (Slovakia)

Mr Francesco FERRARI ALDE (Italy)

Mr Toomas SAVI ALDE (Estonia)

Mr Wojciech ROSZKOWSKI UEN (Poland)

Mr. Dimitar STOYANOV NI (Bulgaria)

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