Pilot Project: “Measuring what matters to EU Citizens: Social progress in European Regions” Case study: Bratislava Region Disclaimer The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 5 2 KEY SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE REGION 5 2.1 MAIN INSIGHTS ON THE RESULTS OF THE EU-SPI IN THE BRATISLAVA REGION ____________ 9 2.2 FUNDING ALLOCATED TO THE REGION UNDER THE COHESION POLICY ____________________ 10 3 THE THEMATIC FOCUS OF THE BRATISLAVA REGION: THE EU-SPI AS A TOOL TO ADDRESS SOCIAL INCLUSION 11 3.1 POLICIES/INITIATIVES RELATED TO THE THEMATIC FOCUS AND BEYOND _________________ 14 3.2 USEFULNESS OF THE EU-SPI TO IMPROVE POLICYMAKING ____________________________ 16 3.2.1 Applications (or potential) of the EU-SPI __________________________________ 16 3.2.2 Assessment of the EU-SPI’s data (related to thematic area and beyond) _________ 17 3.2.3 Other sources of information on the theme and beyond ______________________ 18 4 SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS OF THE EU-SPI 19 5 MAIN LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE CASE STUDY 22 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 23 ANNEX 25 2 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 Geographical position of the Bratislava Region in relation to Slovakia ............................................... 5 Figure 2 The Bratislava Region ................................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 3 Population and area of regions (2017) ..................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4 Net migration in regions (2017) ................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 5 Life expectancy at birth 2017 (years) ....................................................................................................... 7 Figure 6 Unemployment rate in regions (2017) ...................................................................................................... 8 Figure 7 GDP development in regions..................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 8 The EU regional Social Progress Index (EU-SPI) for the Bratislava Region, 2016, 2011 ............. 10 INDEX OF TABLES Table 1 EU funding (excl. national co-financing) allocated to Slovakia (2014) ............................................... 11 Table 2 Issues of the ‘social inclusion’ concept.................................................................................................... 12 Table 3 Suggestions for new indicators ................................................................................................................. 21 3 Regional/national symbols in figures: BL Bratislava Region TA Trnava Region TC Trenčín Region NI Nitra Region ZI Žilina Region PV Prešov Region BC Banská Bystrica Region KI Košice Region SR Slovak Republic 4 Introduction The case study visit to the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (hereafter Bratislava Region) was organised between 28 and 30 May 2019. All in all, 11 experts, mainly representing public authorities or the research sector, were available for in-depth interviews. A list of interview partners is provided in the annex. The interviews were conducted by Berenike Ecker (representing the “Pilot Project: Measuring what matters to EU Citizens: Social progress in European Regions” — hereafter the EU-SPI project). She was accompanied by Tomáš Teleky and Martin Hakel, representatives of the Bratislava Region. The Bratislava Region is one of the 10 pilot regions of the EU-SPI project. In fact, the region is interested in: applying the “EU regional Social Progress Index” (hereafter the EU-SPI) in the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) implementation at regional level; using the EU-SPI as a comparative/benchmarking tool for the performance of the regions; prioritising of investments according to the needs of the citizens of the region; and actively contributing to the “beyond GDP” debate. In this case study, an explicit focus was laid on the issue of ‘social inclusion’ and the related social inclusion concept that is currently in preparation on behalf of the Bratislava Region and the connections of this topic to the EU-SPI. Key socioeconomic aspects of the region Basic indicators about the region The Bratislava Region lies in the south-western margin of Slovakia and consists of 5 Bratislava districts (LAU I level), 3 rural districts (Pezinok, Malacky and Senec), and 73 municipalities. See Figure 2 below. With the capital Bratislava, the region has seven towns. It is both a NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 region. Following the NUTS 2 categorisation, the whole country is divided in four regions: Bratislava Region, Western Slovakia, Central Slovakia and Eastern Slovakia. However, statistical information about the country and its regions is very often provided by following the NUTS 3 categorisation on the basis of which Slovakia is divided in eight regions. See Figure 1 below. Comparisons of the Bratislava Region with other Slovakian regions in this section are also provided by following the NUTS 3 categorisation (Haasová & Špilka, 2018; The Bratislava Self-Governing Region in figures, 2018). In 2017, around 80 % of the regional population lived in urban areas, around 66 % (429 564 people) in the City of Bratislava (The Bratislava Self-Governing Region in figures, 2018). Figure 1 Geographical position of the Bratislava Region in relation to Slovakia 5 Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislavsk%C3%BD_kraj Figure 2 The Bratislava Region Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislavsk%C3%BD_kraj The population in all of the regions of Slovakia was stable or slightly decreased between 2013 and 2017. Only the Bratislava Region is an exception to this development. Its population has increased by 5.2 % in the time frame 2013-2017. This means that nearly 12 % of the overall population in Slovakia lived in Bratislava in 2017. So, the region with the smallest area had the highest population density (317 persons per km2) in that year. (Our regions 2018, 2019; The Bratislava Self-Governing Region in figures, 2018). Figure 3 Population and area of regions (2017) Source: Our regions 2018, 2019 Population structure, migration and demography Compared to 2013, the total increase of the population in Slovakia went up by 2 664 inhabitants until 2017. The natural increase was most significant in the Bratislava Region (+54.7 %) and in the Žilina Region (+64.8 %). The net migration has increased by 1 343 persons in the same time frame. The Bratislava Region was the most active region when it comes to migration (an increase by 2 444 persons) (Our regions 2018, 2019). See Figure 4 below. 6 Figure 4 Net migration in regions (2017) Source: Our regions 2018, 2019 In 2017, 89.87 % of the inhabitants of the Bratislava Region were Slovaks, while 10.13 % (65 917) of people had other nationalities; 3.85 % were Hungarians and 1.37 % Czechs. The number of people who declared themselves as citizens/members of the following states/ethnic groups were less than 1 % in relation to the overall number of inhabitants of the region: Germans (0.31 %/2 025), Ukrainians (0.22 %/1 404), Poles (0.17 %/1 107), Ruthenian people (0.14 %/919) and Roma people (0.11 %/745). The citizenship of 3.95 %/25 723 inhabitants was statistically not recorded (Regional Statistical Yearbook of Slovakia 2018, 2019). The Bratislava Region’s life expectancy in 2017 was 75.4 years/men and 81.7 years/women, above the national average (73.8 years/men and 80.3 years/women). The life expectancy of male and female inhabitants is also higher in comparison to the other seven regions of Slovakia (Haasová & Špilka, 2018). See Figure 5 below. Figure 5 Life expectancy at birth 2017 (years) Source: Our regions 2018, 2019 The median age in 2017 was 40.9 years. Of the inhabitants of the Bratislava Region, 47.57 % were men and 52.43 % were women (The Bratislava Self-Governing Region in figures, 2018). In the same year, 66.93 % of the region’s inhabitants were in the productive age (15 to 64 years), 16.71 % in the pre-productive age (0 to 14 years), and 16.36 % in the post-productive age (65 years and more). It is expected that the amount of people in the productive age will slightly decrease to 66.5 % in 2020 and 65 % in 2025 (The Bratislava Self-Governing Region in figures, 2018). Labour market 7 At national level, the average number of economically active persons in 2013-2017 increased by 1.5 % to 2 754 700 persons. The highest growth of economically active persons was recorded in the Bratislava Region (+4.5 %). In 2017, 24,9% of the national employment was allocated to this region. At the same time, 375 063 employers were registered in the Bratislava Region. With respect to the unemployment rate, the regional amount (4.2 %) was lower than the national average (8.1 %) and also second lowest after the Trenčín Region (Our regions 2018, 2019). See Figure 6 below. Figure 6 Unemployment rate in regions (2017) Source: Our regions 2018, 2019 Economy In 2017, the average gross nominal monthly earnings (EUR 1 449) were highest in the Bratislava Region. The national average was