The Zealand Agreement

As agreed at the STRING Political Forum in Maribo, 7 September 2011

The Lübeck Declaration of 2009 and the Action Plan of 2010 constitute the basis for the regional cooperation of the STRING partners: The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Land Schleswig- Holstein, Region Zealand, The Capital Region of Denmark and Region Skåne. The STRING partners have now agreed to take a new step in order to define the overall ambition of STRING and its position in Europe and the World:

Our vision is that the STRING region will be the driver behind a North European green growth corridor consisting of the STRING region in a functional partnership with our neighbouring regions. The corridor will be a green European powerhouse; a strong strategic axis contributing to knowledge, growth, welfare and sustainability in Northern Europe, including the Baltic Sea Region.

Our vision of a strong green growth corridor should be seen both within a European and a global perspective.

Our culture, democratic values, welfare societies, research, education, sustainable conscience and skilled labour forces constitute the strengths of the corridor and serve as a model for many societies across the world. By focusing on sustainable growth based on these core values and strengths, we can further develop and integrate our societies in order to ensure the future welfare of our citizens and at the same time create a strong commercial and economic position in Europe that also can be recognised globally.

We aim to become global leaders through strong private-public partnerships within the most competitive sectors of the corridor:

 Material Science

 Life Science

 Cleantech

 Transportation and logistics

 Food Industry

 Media Industry

 Tourism

1 The next steps

In order to achieve this, the partners behind STRING have agreed to strengthen the political focus on the partnership and to establish a permanent organisation to maintain and promote their ambitions.

Based on strong cooperation within the STRING region, initiatives for partnerships with neighbouring regions and cities will be taken in order to strengthen the growth potential for all stakeholders.

We support and encourage the cooperation between the industries both at the organisational and business-to-business level within the extended STRING geography.

We encourage research institutions and universities across the region to establish closer ties in order to improve efficiency and create world leading research. The cooperation between Lund/Copenhagen and Hamburg within the field of Material Science is a good example to be followed by others.

A pre-condition for development and growth is a well-functioning transport system that unites the region and offers easy access to other growth centres in Europe and around the world. Bottlenecks in the transport system should be identified and eliminated. Rail and sea transport must be given priority in a green transport corridor. Fast train connections across the region and linked to the European high-speed network are a pre-requisite for climate-friendly transport and growth. Energy-friendly techniques for road and air transport must be developed at our research centres and industries.

This vision cannot be realised without the support of the national governments of Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The European Council, The European Parliament and the European Commission all play a key role in this strategic endeavour and will be closely involved in the process. Active support from EU programmes such as TEN T and the INTERREG programmes are necessary in order to obtain the desired results.

We will provide research, facts and ideas that can support our vision and form a basis for dialogue and development both within and outside our region, at regional, national and European levels. We strongly believe that open-minded co-operation between all public and private parties involved is crucial for fulfilling the vision.

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