Ett nytt regionalt initiativ i EU
Idag skrev 15 regioner under ett gemensamt brev till ordförande i Europeiska Rådet för att peka på behovet av ett regionalt inflytande över den industriella agenda som Kommissionen lanserat och som Rådet ska diskutera. I regionerna finns kunskap och erfarenhet i arbetet med smart specialisering. Mer om bakgrunden till EU argument för smart specialisering finns här:
Kommissionen om smart specialisering
Detta kallas Vanguard initiativet och togs av Flanderns Minister President Kris Peeters förra året. Kris Peeters berättar själv om Vanguard Initiative
I Skåne har vi genom samarbetsorganet FIRS redan lanserat tre huvudfokus för smart specialisering; personlig hälsa, hållbara städer och smarta material. Personlig hälsa under ledning av Region Skåne, hållbara städer under ledning av Malmö stad och smarta material under ledning av Lunds universitet.
Nu handlar det om att komma vidare, peka på resultat och tolka den tes om återindustrialisering som hela EU systemet talar om. Jag vill inte gärna tala om renässans för industrin, utan renässans för Renässansen.
Mitt inlägg i dagens diskussion:
Thank you Prime Minister Peeters for the Vanguard initiative. It is important to point out the regional experience to make growth possible. It is on the regional level, even locally, that growth policies are implemented for real and the impact is seen. It is also positive to welcome both the European Commission and European Council to attend our meeting and discussion.
Prime minister Peeter referred to the renaissance of industry. i would rather welcome the renaissance of the renaissance. Europe has a long history and tradition of knowledge and leadership in development. We not only were making things, we solved problems in society and used the knowledge at the time for the best. Now we find ourselves at a standstill. But we cannot go back to old times, but we can regain the Renaissance. The times today are similar. The need to breach over borders, not see to different nations, cross-specialization and transforming what we know to something new. See that the manufacturing industry and the service sector are melting together. Knowledge is common goods, the art is to use knowledge smarter. The products can be almost the same but the business model is completely different.
Some have mentioned the need of protecting our industry in the discussion today. The word protection is out. We shall not put our industry in the European closet. Rather the opposite, open up all doors. We need to challenge the industry and be more brutal to make it more competetive globally. In Skåne we have worked for a long time with clusters and also now put our smart specialization strategy to work. Areas as personal health, smart cities and smart material are logic looking at the strengths in the region. Smart material comes as no surprise as we host the European Spallation Source in Öresund, an important tool for future European innovation and growth.
Our translation of smart specialization is: the ability to use knowledge and information in a way that makes industry relevant to the market.
Also looking at financing and capital we need to be smarter. In Skåne we try hard to use both Structural Funds and Interreg Funds more strategic and in line with the strategies decided. Both the International Innovation Strategy for Skåne and the Baltic Sea Strategy are important. The challenge is to find a balance between competition and cooperation with stakeholders in the projects. We have found that a great deal of the Structural Fund in the ongoing program have been used for topics nearby to research. The Tita project is one example.
Here we ask for a closer dialogue with the European Commission to find ways of supporting new business models and smart capital.
Thank you!