Focus on the Economic Development in South-Eastern Europe
(2007 04 12 18:50)
Promoting region-specific development, whether in the framework of economic development or by strengthening administrative structures, is one of the most important themes of Development Cooperation. Its importance is a result, on the one hand, of globalization and the need to increase the competitiveness of economic areas; on the other hand, the topic has gained new momentum through renewed efforts by the international community to reduce poverty.
In addition to development policy considerations, our work in South-Eastern Europe is also driven by the political will to help integrate the region into a unified Europe.
Regional policy is a constituent element of the European Union (EU). The Europe of regions must complement the level of Europe as a whole and that of the various countries. This requires that comparable living standards be created in order to strengthen internal peace and European unity after the traumatic experiences of the Second World War, the end of the “iron curtain” division of Europe, and the Balkan wars. With the already agreed expansion of the EU to include Bulgaria and Romania, this challenge becomes even greater: the large remaining gap between average income in the EU and that in South- Eastern Europe must be closed as quickly as possible.
In order to achieve these goals (comparable standards of living, peace and social stability), the EU is looking to cross-border cooperation. Governments, administrations, non-governmental organizations and above all the citizens of Europe are working together to achieve common goals.
Many of our projects are taking up this fundamental European idea and are thereby making use of proven development policy approaches: for the promotion of manufacturing and industry, the food industry, rural areas, the service sector and sustainable tourism.
Economic development is also a task of municipal and regional administrations, which shape the optimal framework conditions for a local economy in global competition for investment. In addition to highly sought foreign investment, this particularly concerns investment from the region for the region: a marketable profile of regional and municipal competitiveness results primarily through the mobilization of local monetary and human resources and through the sustainable strengthening of strategic capacities and competencies.
Creating a functioning cadastre, or land register, increases legal security for investors; well-founded, strategic planning at the local and regional levels provides planning and thus investment security. The development of cities (or the restoration of historical city centers, such as in Sibiu, Romania) proceeds hand in hand with the creation of jobs.
Proven instruments such as the promotion of business start-ups find a place here and make crucial contributions to regional economic development. Development policy experience and European experience complement each other; development policy approaches that do not take into account the European aspect cannot succeed.
Experience in promoting economic areas and regions is as varied as the economic areas themselves: people, policies, geographic and cultural conditions all influence the projects to different degrees. It is this wide range of experience that we wish to present in this collection of documents. It includes contributions from Division 3 (Div. 311, Mediterranean Region, Europe, Central Asian Countries and Div. 312, Twinning), Division 4 (Div. 41, 42, and 45, Planning and Development), Division 7 (International Services), CIM (Center for International Migration and Development) and by external experts.
You must decide which of the tips are useful for your own work. We hope that the individual contributions will facilitate the exchange of information between colleagues in the field and will aid the training and orientation of new staff members.
We wish to thank all those who contributed to this collection of documents and hope the readers find it interesting.
Authors: Dr. Detlev Böttcher, Ulrike Gantzer-Sommer, Regina Kallmayer, Eschborn
Source: www2.gtz.de
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