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COOPERATING IN EUROPE The results of Interreg Programmes in Italy COOPERATING IN EUROPE The outcomes of the Interreg programmes in Italy edited by Luca Santarossa Publisher: Edizioni Carte Segrete Printed by Tipografica Artigiana July 2009 This handbook summarises the results of nine years of work; acknowledgments are due to all those who were engaged on that work, over such a long period. Firstly, may we thank the Directors General who made sure there was overall continuity at the strategic level: Gaetano Fontana, Renato Li Bassi, Paola Rocchini, Pietroantonio Isola, Pasquale Cialdini, Francesco Nola and Luciano Novella. Secondly, the Managers, each with his/her own professional and human capabilities, who negotiated the basic elements of the different programmes, set out the procedures, maintained contacts with external actors, and managed the numerous staff that was recruited: Cinzia Zincone, Fabio Croccolo, Loredana Campagna, Alessandro Violi and Massimo Boldrini. Thirdly, the officials who managed the complexity of the problems day to day, making possible the excellent performance of the programmes, of which this handbook is the evidence: Francesco Gaeta and Zaira Piazza (Medocc), Giuseppe Izzo, Paola Barbati, Monica Straniero and Letterio Denaro (Cadses); Giulia Toti and Rosalinda Esposito (Alpine Space), Zaira Piazza, Rita Grasso and M. Tiziana Scabardi (Archimed); Paola Boscaino and M. Gabriella Irace (IIIC). Nor must we forget to thank Claudio Gramaccioni, who for generations of Officials acted as an invaluable guide on how to manage European programmes, and Carlo Grassini, Laura Zorzi and Fabiana Conti for their precious and generous support. We must also emphasise that the original idea for this handbook came from Fabio Croccolo; then Rosalinda Esposito coordinated the publication process from an administrative point of view, i.e. monitoring the activities of the Temporary Association between Renzi & Partners and T6 Ecosystems, and Luca Santarossa acted as technical manager. We must also thank Adolfo Marino, Communication Officer for Medocc, for his useful advice at the drafting stage, and the Technical Assistance staff of all the programmes, for their willingness to make available the documentation and data included in the enclosed database, which was used as the source for developing the contents of the handbook. Finally, our thanks to the external authors who worked with us, for kindly contributing their own views, to add to the wealth of suggestions in the handbook. Our thanks also to Renzi & Partners and T6 Ecosystems, whose high quality contribution is evident through- out. Preface The Italian strategy It is 20 years the European Commission, through its Interreg programmes, began to promote the cooperation and development of the frontier areas, in line with its objective of building a common economic and social policy, not only between Member States, but also with the States bordering the EU. This handbook analyses the results achieved by Interreg, specifically for its third programming period, 2000- 2006. When the European Union first started programming Interreg in 1988, the community consisted of only a few countries. Foreseeing, with remarkable intuition, that many other countries would also join (and there are now 27), even at that time Interreg proposed that national boundaries should not get in the way of balanced development, and indeed, that the aim should be to integrate all of Europe. An effective, comprehensive way of thinking was adopted, to enable the concept of cooperation to be addressed from three different but complementary angles: “cross-border” cooperation stood for integrated regional development between border regions, and creating cross-border socio-economic areas; “transnational” cooperation meant strengthening cooperation between national, regional and local authorities, to bring about more effective integration between the EU candidate countries as well as other, third countries; and “interregional” cooperation was intended to ameliorate the effectiveness of policies and 6 instruments for regional development and cohesion, by creating networks, particularly in regions that were lagging behind in development, or that were going through a process of reconversion. Today more than ever, in a Europe that continues to expand, those objectives of the past still need to be considered in the present, particularly when we look east, or towards the Balkans. Promoting collaboration between places that are so different, in terms of their territory and also politically, culturally, and linguistically, is no simple matter; it can only be made to work when the parties and institutions within each country strongly desire it. In Italy, a key role is played in these programmes by the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport, which has been responsible for managing Interreg since 1997. Due to its responsibility for creating new infrastructure and completing that which already exists, improving transport networks and their efficiency, this Ministry looks the cooperation between the various EU countries as a useful tool for these tasks. In this effort, it is of course essential that we comply with the guidelines established by the European Commission: regulations that are intended to be applied to economic sectors closely related to one another. Any well-designed policy for cooperation must, of necessity, include measures for territorial development, for improved mobility between regions, and for actions that will protect the environment and promote the use of renewable energy. Against that background, it is also important to provide support for business and innovation, and for the conservation of cultural heritage. Indeed, it is from that local level that the path towards achieving all these objectives must begin. The future will bring new challenges in these areas, and Italy will continue to take an active part in the 2007-2013 programmes. More than merely a source of funding, Interreg must be seen as an opportunity for many territories, formerly in difficulty, to open up to cooperation, and to set off in a new direction, towards a virtuous, sustainable form of development. The first essential step is to assist the European regions to work together, sharing their knowledge and experience, as a way of implementing the cooperation between peoples who, without the slightest trace of rhetoric, we should call a Union. Senator Altero Matteoli Minister for Infrastructure and Transport 7 Contents Introduction 8 Preface 9 Presentation 10 PART I - Managing an Interreg programme 13 Interreg in brief 14 Italy and transnational cooperation 16 Management outcomes 26 PART II - Territories in the Spotlight 29 Planning 30 Competitiveness 40 Innovation 50 Mobility 60 Environment 70 Culture and Landscape 80 Energy 90 Society 100 PART III - Conclusions 111 A view from outside 112 The viewpoint of the regional governments 113 Future prospects 114 Introduction Responsibilities and objectives of the Directorate General for Programming The powers of this Directorate General are wide, and start from strategic planning of transport infrastructure to identifying the fundamental directions to be taken by large-scale territorial planning (in respect of infrastructure networks and the territorial system of cities and metropolitan areas), promoting agreements between central government and Italy’s regional governments, managing urban retraining and development programmes, and lastly, participating in national and international working groups. The DG for Programming was the Managing Authority for various European programmes in the 2000-2006 period. These included the National Operational programme (NOP) for Transport, which is the implementation tool for policies on infrastructure and transport, and operates in 6 Objective 1 Regions; the URBAN programmes for urban regeneration and economic development, and the Interreg programmes. To implement the planning objectives set out by the European Commission, which begin from the “Lisbon Strategy”, the DG has upgraded its study and research activities, to focus on the variety of contexts, and the dynamics, of some economic macro-areas in Italy. This support our effort to assess the impact of infrastructure policies, in relation to changing demands and needs. The research has been condensed into a number of “strategic regional platforms”: territories that can be understood as critical masses, each with its endogenous and relational features, making it easy to intercept and strengthen their production chains of goods and services, and thus attain levels of excellence in the category of “territorial offer”. For the period 2007-2013, this DG is responsible for three EU programmes: the “Networks and Mobility” NOP for the “Convergence Objective” regions of Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily, which is aimed primarily at the rail network and the port system; allocating funding to the “Networks and Mobility” axis of the Fund for Underutilised Areas (FUA) which applies to eight regions in southern Italy; and programming the allocation of FUA “Infrastructure” funds to central and northern Italy. This DG also acts as Italy’s national point of contact for the URBACT II programme, which is intended to foster the exchange of experiences and to promote networking between European cities, and the ESPON 2013 programme (European observation network for territorial development and cohesion), which aims for territorial cohesion and harmonious development of the European territory, by promoting studies