Opinion on the Regional planning and development strategies for the Atlantic coastal regions (Atlantic Arc) (94/C 393/08)

On 24 February 1994 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the third paragraph of Article 23 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an Own-initiative Opinion on the Regional planning and development strategies for the Atlantic coastal regions.

The Section for Regional Development and Town and Country Planning, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 30 August 1994. The Rapporteur was Mr Speirs.

At its 318th Plenary Session (meeting of 14 September 1994), the Economic and Social Committee adopted unanimously the following Opinion:

1. Introduction

1.1. The Committee supports the concept of cooperation between Atlantic regions in order to stimulate their development and would call upon the Community to formulate a strategy for securing that such development takes place which could be the subject of consultation with the Economic and Social Committee.

1.2. The Commission has given fresh impetus to the implementation of the EUROPE 2000 Programme by allocating MECU 4 to an Atlantic Arc Pilot Action Programme, making with equivalent co-finance a total of MECU 8.

1.3. In order that the economic and social partners can contribute to and benefit from the resulting cooperation projects it is of the highest importance that their views be included at the formative stage and that their views should also be sought at the impact assessment stage. The Economic and Social Committee is ideally qualified and structured to contribute to this process.

1.4. Preliminary studies have been carried out regarding the Atlantic Regions notably that on the 'Atlantic Arc' by CEDRE. Furthermore, since 1975, the Regions comprising the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) have recognized the need to work together and in a Resolution passed in 1992 the Regional Committee of the European Parliament addressed the problem of the Atlantic regions.

2. Characteristics of the Atlantic Regions

2.1. The Atlantic Arc is a conceptual link between all Atlantic border regions of the European Union from Scotland to the Canary Islands. It can be said to include some 30 % of its territory and only 16 % of its population. It is however difficult to list the regions already belonging to it because two definitions of a different nature keep overlapping.

2.1.1. A study-related territorial concept based on the Commission's breakdown of the Community's territory (as part of the Europe 2000 programme) into large areas which have been the subject of transregional forward studies. This breakdown has no legal force whatsoever. It is based on geographical considerations (shared geographical features) and the scope which areas offer for action (suitability for cooperation projects). It also reflects a practical consideration, namely that a detailed forward study of the Community territory as a whole is an impossible task. It should be noted that islands and overseas territories (Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana) have been included in this breakdown.

2.1.2. A cooperation-related territorial concept based on political will. The Atlantic Arc committee is one of the four committees of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions. It is a political committee composed of regional authorities which have made a conscious decision to belong to it. The territory covered is not fixed since the number of member regions has gradually increased since the committee's formation. This is the committee which implements ATLANTIS and other interregional cooperation programmes.

2.2. The Atlantic regions differ both physically and as regards the problems which they face. Much of Scotland is mountainous while south-west France has a flat terrain. Industrial activity, most of it centred on heavy industry now in decline, prevails in Cantabrica, Wales and the Scottish lowlands, whilst Ireland, the west of France and the Alentejo are mostly rural. Tourism has been developed, sometimes to an excessive degree in Algarve, Andalusia, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and some parts of the French coast. It is important to acknowledge the scale of the diversity as it could present a challenge to any attempts to promote cooperation rather than competition.

2.3. The economic and social situation of the Atlantic regions is the result of a number of historic and economic factors including the centralization of political and administrative power which has accentuated the problem of peripherality and has made it difficult for the regions concerned to adapt to changes in the pattern of trade consequent upon the introduction of new and speedier methods of transporting goods and people. This has resulted in reduced competitiveness and high levels of emigration. Furthermore the problem of peripherality has been accentuated by the impact of the recession which has reduced employment opportunities, by the structural influence of the major industrial and commercial groups and by the pursuit of public sector policies involving curtailment of expenditure. On the positive side historic links between Spain, Portugal and the Latin American countries, between the United Kingdom, Ireland and the USA, and between France and Canada remain in being and might be revitalized.

2.4. The regions are largely rural and agricultural and are affected by the economic changes typical of this sector. Even within the Atlantic regions the policies pursued under the CAP have for many years contributed to a widening of the division between a small group of farmers who have successfully modernized and a much larger group who have become or are about to become marginalized. People are leaving agriculture and there is a tendency for young people also to leave the area and seek employment elsewhere. For the regions concerned other activities must be found which have as their objective rural development rather than farming development.

2.5. Much manufacturing industry is concentrated in traditional sectors where there has been a lack of capital investment and an inability to take advantage of new technology. In addition to heavy industry, the industries which play a key role in terms of employment and regional economic development are:

1. minerals and metallurgy;

2. agri-foodstuffs;

3. textiles and clothing;

4. wood and furniture;

5. construction of transport infrastructure;

6. shipbuilding.

On the other hand it must be acknowledged that there are instances where companies have adapted to technological change and have survived.

2.6. Tourist facilities in many areas have been developed at a time when people had less leisure time and tended not to travel beyond the boundaries of their own nation. Nowadays people are more demanding and more sophisticated in their outlook on life and while much has been done to respond to these demands, facilities could be improved and new forms of tourism catered for. It is necessary therefore that the regions should diversify their tourist potential by offering new facilities based on their historic, cultural and scenic qualities. (This aspect of tourism is covered more in depth in the ESC Opinion on tourism - Rapporteur: Mr Lustenhouwer).

2.7. Perhaps the oldest and most common activity in the Atlantic regions is fishing, providing employment for thousands of workers at sea and even more on land. It is well known that fishing is facing serious problems because of the imbalance between effort and resources and pollution of the sea.

2.8. Finally, there is the problem of transport and communication. Many ports are small and though an effort has been made in most cases to link the regions to the national centre, little effort has been made to create other transverse links or to follow the Atlantic coast as has been done in the US along the Pacific Ocean. Arcantel, a telecommunication system providing links between several atlantic ports in order to exchange various information, seems to be a successful example of coordination and proved to be useful both in the field of trade relations and that of vocational training.

2.9. While the regions of the Atlantic Arc face serious problems the outlook is not entirely bleak and encouragement can be taken from the fact that certain regions on their own initiative have reversed the decline. Largely through the development of partnerships with companies outside the Atlantic Arc the electronics, pharmaceutical and food processing industries have been developed in certain areas. This strategy, however, has certain drawbacks in that the cost is high, the commitment to research and development low and there may be vulnerability to foreign decision-making in the context of global competition.

2.10. The problems of the Atlantic regions have been compounded by the fact that economic recession has in recent times hit the most prosperous parts of the Community in consequence of which national Governments have tended to neglect peripheral areas and concentrate upon the main areas of industrial activity. It is all the more important that the reasons for recent successful developments should be studied and that links between regions within the Atlantic Arc and between such regions and countries outside the Arc should be encouraged and developed.

3. A New Strategy for the Atlantic Arc

3.1. The overall strategic objective of an Atlantic region's programme should be to enhance their development potential by facilitating the provision of support designed to foster economic links between regions or between one or more regions of the Atlantic Arc and countries outside the European Union.

3.2. Most of the Atlantic Arc regions are eligible for Structural Fund assistance under one or several 'objectives' but programmes drawn up to secure funding are based on national boundaries. Trans-European Networks (TEN's) and Community Initiatives such as INTERREG are specifically aimed at cross-border links, including those across maritime borders as is the case for most Atlantic Arc borders. All these instruments need to be used to the maximum extent with emphasis on an integrated approach across the Atlantic Arc area.

3.3. In the Opinion of the Committee, it is essential that an instrument should be established which would enable the regions of the Atlantic Arc to secure financial assistance in support of programmes designed to foster economic links between regions or between one or more regions of the Atlantic Arc and countries outside the Community. However such an instrument should either be a major INTERREG programme or be supported by funding which is additional to that mentioned in paragraph 3.2. The Committee would point out that in its June 1994 Opinion on the Community initiatives, it regretted that maritime border areas' eligibility was to remain very much the exception and that the INTERREG programme left no scope for cooperation on both sides of external frontiers (eastern Europe or the link between Sicily and Tunisia).

3.4. Since public sector funding is limited its impact must be stringently assessed. The factors to be identified in such an assessment should be the extent to which the expenditure would stimulate local initiatives, would help to stimulate economic growth while taking account of social needs and the need to achieve greater efficiency.

3.5. Alternative forms of financing local initiatives should be explored. For example, the European Commission has issued a proposal for a Council Decision () which would promote coordinate and strengthen the measures adopted for the creation of cooperatives. Cooperatives can be a useful way of administering a project which is labour-intensive and has a low capital cost. Provision might also be made for the Atlantic regions to have access to soft loans or a revolving fund.

3.6. It is very important that the private sector should be made aware of the potential for development within the area and of the natural and human resources available for such development. Therefore the availability of risk capital is essential. Some successful developments have already taken place ('Finatlantica' creating links between regional banks and 'FINARC' providing funds for SME's). But information on these successful developments should be spread around and more possibilities should be created.

3.7. The transition from low technology industry employing unskilled labour to more diversified activities requires an immense effort to boost business partnerships and create or develop a tertiary sector, a direct adjunct of industrial activity. The Atlantic regions must therefore seek to establish and develop centres of excellence combining industrial, research and training interests thereby providing the support necessary for the setting up of more specialized productive and innovative small and medium-sized businesses.

3.8. Finally, a partnership model might be promoted involving public sector agencies, the private sector, co-operatives and local community-based development associations. The successful partnership models created under the LEADER programme might give useful guidance in this respect.

4. Projects which might be assisted

4.1. As stated in para. 3.1 assistance can best given in support of programmes which foster links between regions or which promote the economic development of a particular region or regions within the Atlantic Arc. Programmes to be supported might include projects which have the following objectives:

4.1.1. the restructuring of manufacturing industry, agriculture, fisheries and forestry by the introduction of new technology and modern methods of communication and marketing;

4.1.2. the encouragement of the establishment of SMEs particularly those which can benefit from the human resources available in the locality and the qualities which they possess as a result of the environment and the cultural heritage within which they have been brought up;

4.1.3. the establishment of centres of excellence of the type mentioned in paragraph 3.7;

4.1.4. the development of new methods of fish conservation and the development of fish farming including scientific study of methods of farming species of fish which have not hitherto been farmed and the development of more efficient methods of marketing and selling fish;

4.1.5. in order to support the farming and fishing sectors, it is vitally important that agricultural and fishery produce (cereals, dairy products, meat and fish) be processed locally. This will mean the development and modernization of harvesting machinery and of grading and processing plant. Such a move would help to add value to local products and at the same time would provide more jobs.

Similarly, the development of biotechnology could give a significant boost to the use of agricultural products for non-food uses;

4.1.6. the development of tourism by upgrading the facilities in traditional holiday resorts, by promoting the cultural heritage, by encouraging recreational or activity tourism (sailing, fishing, etc.) and by finding innovative ways of promoting and marketing rural tourism;

4.1.7. the introduction of modernized telecommunications and of new information technology systems to enable those working in manufacturing industry, tourism, trade agriculture and fisheries to overcome the problems of peripherality which can now be made much less severe if modern methods of information transfer are introduced;

4.1.8. the development of inter-regional co-operation throughout the Atlantic Arc by means of the exchange of information a current example of which is the successful development of an association of several Atlantic ports which by the use of computers exchange data on the movement of ships and goods which has resulted in a boost for trade;

4.1.9. the search for new trading partners particularly those which are not at present served by the major ports like Rotterdam or Antwerp and the development of trading partnerships arising from the historic transatlantic links mentioned in paragraph 2.3;

4.1.10. the introduction of feedering and cabotage lines for container transport of goods by sea which would not only give fresh impetus to maritime transport along the Atlantic coastline but would in addition take some of the pressure off the major highways and result in environmental improvement;

4.1.11. the development of inter-regional road links and hub airports and the modernisation of smaller ports which are so vital to local communities;

4.1.12. the development of multi-modal platforms whereby central points for the transport of goods by air, sea and road are created;

4.1.13. the improvement of the urban environment by the introduction of new technology and the development of local services in medium sized towns so that potential developers may be assured that the services available to the enterprise and the quality of life of its employees will be comparable to those which exist elsewhere;

4.1.14. the setting-up of training courses at colleges and universities to enable local people to acquire whatever new skills are necessary to enable them to take advantage of the new opportunities of employment which may become available to them;

4.1.15. the setting up of schemes to improve or protect the environment of the area which is undoubtedly one of its greatest assets.

5. Conclusions

5.1. The problems of the regions of the Atlantic Arc have not been addressed adequately until now. If the situation is to improve it follows that the Community, national Governments and the regions themselves must work together to produce and implement integrated innovative and sustainable programmes which are specifically designed to meet the needs of the area. As a first step the Community, having studied the problems in detail, should produce a Community Programme for the Atlantic Regions.

5.2. It is also important that planning law should be applied consistently at all levels. If a European Programme is established the whole Atlantic coastline must be strengthened in pursuit of effectiveness and inter-regional solidarity. Reference is made in paragraph 2.2 to the fact that regional diversity might give rise to competition rather than co-operation. Care should be taken that any programme does not have the indirect effect of further marginalizing the weaker regions by giving priority to the stronger ones.

5.3. Finally in order to increase transparency efficiency and democracy some thought should be given to an appropriate institutional structure for implementing the programme at Community, at national and at regional level. All the social and economic interest groups without exception should be entitled to participate and the guiding principle should be that of subsidiarity.

Done at Brussels, 14 September 1994.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Susanne TIEMANN

() COM(93) 650 final.