The two-day event in Palermo was hosted by Gaetano Armao (IT/EPP), Vice-President and Regional
Minister for Economy of the Sicily Region and member of the European
Committee of the Regions since February 2018. Mr Armao recalled that
throughout the history Sicily has been a central trading point in the
Mediterranean and today it wants to position itself in the centre of
the information highways. "We want to establish a new perspective for
the development of our region: digital future", he said.
José Ignacio Ceniceros
(ES/EPP), President of the CoR's Commission for Social Policy,
Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) and President of La
Rioja Region, said: "Digitalisation and connectivity are key factors
for the attractiveness of a territory against the phenomenon of brain
drain. New technologies also allow for the delivery of public services
for small communities in economically sustainable way. Our region, La
Rioja, is therefore aiming to be the first in Spain to provide
high-speed broadband access to over 90% of its citizens and 75% of the
territory."
Markku Markkula
(FI/EPP), First Vice-President of the CoR, recalled that cities and
regions are mobilised for an ambitious EU budget for digitalisation,
innovation and education in the context of the current negotiations for
the post-2020 EU budget. As
rapporteur for the Digital Europe programme
, he stressed that "cities and regions – with their industries,
start-ups, universities and citizens – can speed up the European wide
digital and economic transformation by considerably increasing public
and private investment in human and physical capital. Digitalisation
needs to be stepped up by increasing local and European cooperation and
partnerships. We must therefore strengthen synergies between the
various EU programmes, funding instruments and strategies for smart
specialisation."
Territorial strategies presented during the meeting showed the
dedicated efforts of local and regional authorities to adapt the
delivery of public services to the unprecedented challenge of the
technological transformation of the society and the economy and to
speed up the implementation of the Digital Single Market at all levels
of governance. However, high-speed broadband connectivity is a
prerequisite for developing innovative and competitive digital
services. To bridge the digital divide and to find solutions for
improving connectivity particularly in rural and sparsely populated
areas, the CoR has been working together with the European Commission
in a joint Broadband Platform, whose mandate is set to be renewed.
More information
Through the
Digital Europe programme
, European Commission is proposing to invest during the 2021-27 period
EUR 9.2 billion in improving the EU's international competitiveness, as
well as developing and consolidating Europe's strategic digital
capacities related to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity,
high-performance computing and digital excellence
In his opening speech Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of
Palermo, announced that the city of Palermo would honour the memory of Pawel Adamowicz, CoR member and Mayor of Gdansk
assassinated in January, by naming a square after him.
On the first day of the SEDEC meeting on Monday, members elaborated on
proposals to develop a sustainable bio-economy for Europe (rapporteur Jácint Horváth, HU/PES) and to strengthen STE(A)M
education in the EU (rapporteur Csaba Borboly,
RO/EPP). Both draft opinions will be adopted at the next SEDEC meeting
on 2 April. The programme also featured presentations of the
WiFi4EU initiative
and of the
European Capital of Innovation Award
, which was won last year by Athens.
The
8th Summit of European Regions and Cities
will be held in Bucharest, Romania, on 14-15 March. Under the title
"(Re) New EUrope", the Summit will focus on the contribution of local
and regional governments to the future of Europe, including the impact
of Brexit on European regions on the negotiations on the EU long-term
budget for 2021-2027 and how it may affect local and regional
authorities, as well as the European elections and restoring citizens'
trust in the EU.
Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel. +32 22822063
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu