Transcript Kai Böhme, Spatial Foresight GmbH

Potentials and Challenges for
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland –
and for the European Union
ESPON Partner States Workshop
11 March 2014, Brussels
Dr Kai Böhme
Spatial Foresight
Institutional links
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are
tightly linked with the EU
• Institutional link
• EFTA
• EEA
• Schengen
• Switzerland's bilateral
agreements
• Economic links
• Trade
• Labour force
Smart Growth
… Switzerland
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
perform better than most EU Member States in relation to smart growth
• Energy intensive industries and raw material extraction play a role in
Norway and Iceland
• R&D in relation to GDP/capita needs to be interpreted with great care
(different types of innovation ..)
Sustainable Growth
• Iceland, Norway and Switzerland generate
considerable amounts of hydroelectric & other renewable energy
• Mixed picture for greenhouse gas emissions, however seen per GDP
unit, emissions are lower than for EU Member States
Inclusive Growth
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
have a wealthy and highly educated population
• Iceland and Norway have higher shares of early school leavers than
most EU Member States
Urban Centres & Hubs
Cities in the Partner States play
important roles also in an
international or European
perspective e.g. in the fields of
- transport
- economy and business
- knowledge and research
- human attraction
Cities in EU Member States are at
the same time important hubs for
the Partner States
Knowledge Networks
• European core hosts more networking
regions and many science based
areas
• Switzerland and Liechtenstein stand
out in knowledge networking
• Reykjavik, Akureyri, Oslo, Trondheim
and Bergen are university hubs
Transport
Trans-European transport
• Well integrated in the main European networks
• Transit routes an issue for Switzerland
• Maritime transport in Norway and Iceland
• Global airport hubs (e.g. Zurich and Reykjavik)
Cross-border transport
• Well integrated labour markets
• Daily cross-border commuting is important in
several Partner State Regions
• Role of regional airports
Specific Territories
• Importance of specific areas
argued by Partner States
(mountains …)
• Challenges of climate change
(avalanche hazards …)
• Potential e.g. in the field of
renewable energy
Avalanche Hazards
10
Local & Regional Cooperation
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
Switzerland are highly integrated in
different types of cooperation
• Access to services of general
economic interest are key
cooperation topics
• Still various obstacles in daily
cooperation
….
Example of Upper-Rhine
Cooperation barriers & potentials
Key findings
• Partner States …
• are in the European Power House
• perform well in relation to Europe 2020 objectives
• are diverse
• Partner States and the EU …
• benefit from each other
• are tightly linked in their territorial development
• have various cross-border polycentric functional regions
• have highly integrated transport systems which require policy
cooperation
• can cooperate on maritime policies, energy policies, …
• have joint macro-regional areas
Thank you very much for your attention !
Dr. Kai Böhme
Spatial Foresight GmbH
+352 691 87 32 49
[email protected]
www.spatialforesight.eu