PROJECTE EUROPA EU Investments in Catalonia
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION Representation in Barcelona European Union European Regional Development Fund A way of building Europe Exhibition This exhibition was organised by the European Union Representation in Barcelona and the Economy and Finance Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya. PROJECTE © images: European Union Representation in Barcelona/Marc Llibre ([email protected]); ICFO/L.Montesdeoca; Hospital de Sant Pau/Robert Ramos and Pere Virgili; EUROPA Parc UPC; Port de Barcelona/Òscar Ferrer; Entitat del Medi Ambient de l'Àrea Metroplitana de Barcelona; PRBB/Ferran Mateo; BioRegió/Raimon Solà; Tabasa; ICRA/Anna Cornella; Lluís Marí i Sala (Albesa). UE Investments Legal deposit: B. 12.094-2010 in Cataonia Graphic design: [email protected] Printed by: NOVATESA Barcelona, February 2010 http://ec.europa.eu/spain/barcelona http://www.gencat.cat/economia/ambits/politica/europa/ PROJECTE EUROPA EU investments in Catalonia The EU is a long-term political Solidarity is at the heart of the employees. The funding of such The future project that represents common European Project projects is done through the In the current programmes values of democracy, peace and Solidarity is the essence of the regional and cohesion policies running from 2007 to 2013, prosperity. But the EU is also a European Project. In his book and a set of instruments designed ¤1,372m has been allocated, specific and material reality that For Europe, Robert Schuman, specifically for this purpose, such of which ¤763m corresponds to has an impact on the daily life of one of the fathers of the EU, as the Cohesion Fund, the the ERDF (aim: competitiveness its citizens. In Catalonia we have emphasised the need to replace European Regional Development and employment) and the rest benefitted from this reality since the attitudes that in the past had Fund, the European Social Fund to the European Social Fund we joined the EU 24 years ago. caused confrontation between and funds allocated to territorial (ESF), the European territorial Europeans with the idea of the cooperation. cooperation, and to contributions How? What have been the results solidarity. He defined solidarity from the Cohesion Funds. of European policies in our towns as “the conviction that each EUROPEAN FUNDS IN and cities? person's true interests lies in the CATALONIA The current operational recognition and acceptance, in The objective of the European programme, ERDF 2007-2013, The aim of the PROJECTE practice, of the interdependence Union Cohesion Policy is to which comprises most of the EUROPA exhibition is to provide everyone”. reduce the economic and social investment, is structured into answers to these questions, differences amongst the EU four areas: giving examples of projects Policies that promote solidarity regions whilst promoting co-funded with European Over the years, the EU's regional economic growth and INNOVATION, RESEARCH AND investment in Catalonia, more and cohesion policy has been employment. EU aid policies DEVELOPMENT specifically, investment projects that which is most representative in Catalonia began shortly after of the European Regional of this idea of solidarity. The aim Spain's accession in 1986. TRANSPORT Development Fund (ERDF) of this policy is to reduce INFRASTRUCTURES AND and the Cohesion Fund. These economic and social inequalities Achievements to date COMMUNICATION are only a sample of the amongst the different European From 1989 to 2006, Catalonia NETWORKS thousands of projects promoted regions and to enable all EU received aid to the value of all over Catalonia by European citizens to benefit from better ¤8,640m from the European ENVIRONMENT Union aid policies in areas as services and opportunities, Regional Development Fund diverse as transport infrastructure regardless of their location. (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund LOCAL AND URBAN improvement, environment and the European Social Fund. DEVELOPMENT and local and urban research and European funds development. The projects The European Union allocates The principle investments that selected for this exhibition are a third of its annual budget to the were jointly funded with the help a representative example of financing of projects aimed at of the EU structural and cohesion project types, amounts of reducing inequalities, generating policy were in rail transportation, subsidies granted and project wealth in the regions, promoting road construction, urban centre locations. business innovation and urban restoration and renovation, development, creating sewerage treatment, drinking employment and training water supply, waste treatment Unió Europea Fons Europeu and research and development. de Desenvolupament Regional Una manera de fer Europa *The cost figures for the projects shown in this exhibition refer to the eligible cost, that is, costs that are eligible for EU subsidy according to the criteria established in the European fund regulations. Innovation, research and development Transport infrastructures and communication networks Environment Local and urban development Innovation, research and development Boost Business Activity Cost: € 150 million EU funding: 50% Status: in progress OVERALL SUBSIDY Managed by ACC1Ó This subsidy which is managed by the agency for the support of competitiveness ACC1Ó (CIDEM), allows for the allocation of more than €100 million to business innovation projects in Catalonia until 2013. The objective is to promote the competitiveness of companies and their capacity for innovation, both through their own projects and through the strengthening of networks of institutions dedicated to the promotion of research and technological transfer between research centres and companies. FUNDING FOR COMPANIES JEREMIE initiative, managed by the Institut Català de Finances (Catalan Finance Institute) JEREMIE is a financial engineering tool created by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank with the idea of providing improved access for micro companies and SMEs to credit for investment in innovation. This tool enables improvements with regard to the multiplying effect of funding and lengthens its active life. In Catalonia, the JEREMIE initiative has resources to a value of ¤50m and is implemented using five credit lines: micro-credits, co-funding, guarantees, capital-risk and fronting loans. Innovation, research and development Expansion of the Barcelona Fair New Premises Gran Via - Fira 2 Cost: € 269,3 million EU funding: 35% Status: completed The creation of the new Gran Via - Fira 2 premises was part of the Barcelona Fair's general expansion project. The work included the construction of six new buildings that were added to the two existing ones. The new infrastructure has enhanced trade promotion in Catalonia and prevented the risk of the fair losing out to its competitors. The Barcelona Fair expansion project in its entirety provides an indoor surface of 243,000 m2 for trade fairs and more than 5,000 car parking spaces which makes it one of the most important fair venues in Europe. The new fair premises were designed by the renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The architectural design is based on organic shapes and its lighting system exploits natural light for the illumination of interior spaces. Innovation, research and development Photonic Sciences Institute - ICFO (Institut de Ciències Fotòniques) Cost: € 15,8 million EU funding: 50% Status: In progress The ICFO (Photonic Sciences Institute) is a benchmark research centre working in the field of optics and lighting technology. The project comprises the construction and installation of equipment for the centre, located in the Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia, Castelldefels. It is a 9,000m2 building with 45 specialist research laboratories and several general laboratories. The centre, which was created by the Generalitat and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), will be fully operational in 2013 with a research staff of 300. Photonics is the scientific discipline dedicated to the generation, transmission, detection, control and handling of photons, the elemental particles of light. It is considered one of the key technologies of the 21st century and can be applied to a wide variety of fields, from information and communication to nanotechnologies, energy and environment, security and biomedicine. Other projects: For the period 2000-2013, 41 projects to the value € 206.8 million have been approved, including the Biomedical Research Park in Barcelona, the Chemical Investigation Institute in Tarragona, the University of Barcelona Science Park, the University of Lleida Biomedicine Centre and the Aquaculture Platform in Sant Carles de la Ràpita. ©ICFO/L.Montesdeoca ©ICFO/L.Montesdeoca ©ICFO/L.Montesdeoca Innovation, research and development Research Centre for Advanced Systems based on TIC - Building K2M at the UPC Cost: € 4,8 million EU funding: 50% Status: Completed Construction of the Research Centre for Advance Systems based on Communication and Information Technologies (CISA-TIC), for the Polytechnic University of Barcelona (UPC). The centre, which has been in operation since 2009, was set up for the development of integrated research projects which combine the knowledge of different research groups that already exist at UPC, in the field of TIC (communication and information technologies). This project is part of the K2M (Knowledge To Market) initiative, based upon the transfer of knowledge from universities to society. As such, one of the objectives is that the CISA-TIC projects enables is the development