RECITE II - Internal regional cooperation
The European Commission, DG XVI, has launched a call for proposals for pilot projects for internal inter-regional cooperation, in the framework of the RECITE II programme, which falls under Article 10 of the European Regional Development Fund Regulation. The pilot projects should offer innovative methods for Europe's regions to respond to trends such as increasing globalization of the economy, the growth of a service economy, the development of the Information Society, pressures on the environment, high levels of unemployment and increasing attention to equal opportunities. These pilot projects must contribute to the emergence of transferable methods of regional economic development, where those involved at local level work within a broad partnership. Five fields of action have been selected for this call for proposals: - 1. Developing specific local potential, particularly for the creation of permanent jobs; - 2. Improving access to the European market for SMEs in the areas concerned, particularly through appropriate techniques for cooperation between firms; - 3. Improving the supply of services to SMEs, which encourage them to innovate; - 4. Establishing and developing resource centres to enhance the value of work and improve the integration of women into economic life; - 5. Preserving and improving the environment with a view to sustainable development, by promoting renewable sources of energy and energy saving and introducing - in particularly exposed areas - new methods and techniques to prevent the degradation of the environment, whether occurring naturally or resulting from an external cause, perhaps in conjunction with schemes to develop tourist and cultural assets. The organization responsible for the whole of the pilot project may be a regional or local authority or a body set up under public, semi-public or private law. Bodies under semi-public or private law must be guaranteed by a local or regional authority which commits itself to active participation in the steering committee for the operation. The other partners may be regional or local authorities in the European Union, development agencies, chambers of commerce, other bodies undertaking work of public interest or those engaged in economic and/or social life. Priority will be given to projects undertaken by local authorities in close cooperation with those engaged in the economic and/or social life of each of the areas concerned. Cooperation projects should cover between three and seven different areas in at least three Member States. Of these areas, at least one-third should be eligible under Objectives 1 and/or 6. Copies of the Information Pack relating to this call may be obtained, from 14 November 1996, from: European Commission DG XVI - Regional policy and cohesion RECITE Office 32/30 avenue de Tervuren B-1049 Brussels Tel. +32-2-7331070; Fax +32-2-7344481 The Information Pack may also be downloaded from DG XVI's pages on the Europa World Wide Web server, at: http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg16/art10/arthome.htm(opens in new window) Completed proposals should be sent to; European Commission DG XVI - Regional policy and cohesion 200 rue de la Loi (CSM2 3/43) B-1049 Brussels