Representatives of the EU's cities and regions have
welcomed the European Commission's increased
efforts to reduce territorial disparities and
support the regions facing development challenges,
such as depopulation and brain drain. However, the
measures recently presented in the
Harnessing Talent in Europe's regions
communication
need to be supported by tailor-made approaches
steered by a reinforced cohesion policy, with a
particular focus on rural areas whose future
depends on retaining and attracting young talent.
This was the message of the members of the European
Committee of the Regions to
Dubravka Šuica, European Commission's
Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, during
today’s plenary session debate.
In the debate with Vice-President Šuica, local and
regional leaders warned that the brain drain and
growing regional disparities pose a risk to the
long-term sustainability of the European project. They
stressed the need to better identify the diversity,
challenges and opportunities in these regions and to
develop tailor-made measures for each region,
especially considering the reskilling and upskilling
needs linked to the green and digital transitions.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro
, President of the European Committee of the Regions
(CoR), said:
"The European Union faces rising inequalities, but
some regions are at greater risk of falling behind.
When young people leave their place to find
opportunities, this is a warning signal that there
is a need to act. The European Committee of the
Regions welcomes the European Commission’s proposal
on harnessing talent to help boost regional
development in 82 regions. Cohesion policy
represents a key tool, combined with other factors,
to promote solutions that can better respond to the
needs of each territory. We have a duty to succeed
for all those who feel left behind. This would
represent a tangible success for the European Year
of Skills."
Dubravka Šuica
, European Commission's Vice-President for Democracy
and Demography, said:
"Freedom of movement is one of the EU’s most
precious achievements. To complement this, we must
ensure that regions experiencing population
shrinking and thereby facing a ‘talent development
trap’ have the means to attract and harness the
fruit of their investments. Demographic change can
be an opportunity to strengthen resilience across
EU territories."
Tanya Hristova
(BG/EPP), Chair of the CoR's
SEDEC Commission
and Mayor of Gabrovo, stressed that "
economic and social development at local and
regional level has a better chance of succeeding
when action is taken at the local level - the level
not just closest to citizens but also to the
economic and social specificity of each region".
She suggested that
"regions specifically affected by the green and
digital transition, such as coal and
carbon-intensive regions, as well as automotive
regions, should be prime candidates for the Talent
Booster Mechanism, as they will have a significant
number of workers in need of upskilling and
reskilling."
More information:
The European Commission communication
Harnessing Talent in Europe's regions
identifies 46 EU regions that are already in a so
called “talent-development trap” and 36 that risk
falling into one. Most of
these regions
, located across 16 Member States, are from Southern
and Eastern Europe, and account together for almost 30%
of the EU population. They are particularly affected by
low birth rates, a decline of the working-age
population, a low share of university and
higher-education graduates, and brain drain. The
Commission proposes to set up a Talent Booster
Mechanism consisting of 8 pillars and offering
dedicated support and assistance to these regions.
CoR members will tomorrow (16 March) adopt a
resolution
calling for a boost to the transition of regions caught
in a talent-development trap and for the promotion of
digital cohesion as an objective of the European Union.
It also calls for a strategic approach to the
integration of third-country nationals into the EU as a
potential driver of local growth and underlines the
crucial role of EU cohesion policy and regional smart
specialisation strategies in stimulating the emergence
of dynamic innovation ecosystems. Particular attention
is requested for rural and remote areas, islands and
all the areas with severe and permanent natural or
demographic obstacles, because the loss of young people
in these regions, together with declining birth rates,
makes it difficult to maintain essential public
services and boost economies.
The resolution will also call on all European policy,
including the new ones to retain and attract talent in
EU regions, to do no harm to cohesion. Tomorrow, on 16
March, the CoR will launch, together with the other
partner associations of the
#CohesionAlliance
, the new direction forthe largest EU-wide coalition
for a strong cohesion policy. Details about the event
are available
here
.
Contacts:
Monica Tiberi
President's spokesperson
Tel: +32 479 51 74 43
monica.tiberi@cor.europa.eu
Lauri Ouvinen
Press officer
Tel. +32 473 53 68 87
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu
Matteo Miglietta
Press officer
Tel. +32 470 89 53 82
matteo.miglietta@cor.europa.eu