Innsbruck, November 25 (Adnkronos) – The Lombardy region calls on Europe to recognize the ‘specialness’ of the Alpine region as an ‘economically vulnerable region’, therefore worthy of greater investment and ad hoc policies, with the aim of creating favorable conditions for residents and businesses and thus reducing the phenomenon of depopulation.
Lombardy’s proposal was presented today by member of the regional council for economic development, Guido Guidesi, at the general assembly of Eusalp (European Alliance for the Alpine region) currently being held in Innsbruck, Austria.
The idea is to borrow the experience of ‘Special Economic Zones’ at European and transnational level, by providing a series of special tools (incentives, concessions and regulatory simplification) for mountainous areas common to various cross-border regions, to create an ‘Alpine economic space’ attractive for companies and especially for young entrepreneurs.
“Recognizing the ‘Mountain area’ as an ‘Area of strategic interest’ at European level – says Guidesi – means identifying and ‘combining a common system’ with measures that can be applied broadly and transversally throughout the Alps. It is important to offer new opportunities especially for young people, attract capital and talent, carry out investments in physical and digital infrastructure. The response must be structural and coordinated, as well as to rebalance the situation of territorial losses and imbalances between neighboring regions.”
To achieve this result, according to board member Guidesi, it is first important to strengthen the ‘governance’ and political weight of Eusalp, the ‘Alpine Macroregional Strategy’ active since 2013 involving 7 countries (80 million of their citizens) and 48 institutions between Regions, Landers, Cantons and Autonomous Provinces of the same geographical area. It is the only European body in which Switzerland also participates.
“There is a need – continues Guidesi – for the European Union to develop a budget policy in the Alpine Macroregion that supports projects with interregional and cross-border dimensions. Eusalp must become a sharper political platform, which can be used to intensify transnational cooperation between the Alpine region and constructive dialogue with the European Commission and all decision makers in Europe.”
Lombardy’s operational proposal considers, as a first stage, the mapping of ‘good practices’ already activated in the Eusalp region to serve as ‘common factors’; division of priority areas of action; a survey of funding sources that could be activated, including through public-private partnerships; definition of monitoring indicators to establish the impact and effectiveness of joint actions.
“Only by facilitating the birth and consolidation of a new generation of entrepreneurs living and working in the mountains – emphasizes Guidesi – can we trigger structural and positive economic development. As Lombardy we want to be supporters of a new European vision that strengthens alliances, cooperation and integration between regions similar from a social and economic point of view, which should enjoy the same conditions. The Alpine Macroregion can and must play a more significant and operational role in the continental scenario.”
“Next year’s Winter Olympics – said Guidesi – will be an extraordinary opportunity for our region, but today we ask our colleagues to play a stronger and more active role politically for Eusalp, so that all the positive impacts of this extraordinary event can also remain and be consolidated. I continue to think that only through an active and synergistic role between the regions across borders will the new Europe that they tell about in school be realized.”
