Report: Scottish stakeholders committed to territorial cooperation
A report commissioned by Scotland Europa describes a strong Scottish commitment to European Territorial Cooperation (ETC). Its findings are based on a series of stakeholder workshops and a conference on opportunities for future of ETC held in Scotland to gather views that "can contribute to discussions and inform positions on the future development and implementation of cooperation at Scottish and UK levels."
The report lists a number of known added values of ETC including amongst others thematic and territorial relevance, opportunity to achieve scale and critical mass, and access to funding of initiatives not covered by national policy.
Focus on Northern links
The stakeholders found EU Cohesion Policy post-2020 goals to be highly relevant in the Scottish context and explored the potential of cooperating with partners in different territories around each goal.
The report summarises: "[...] particular attention did focus on ‘Northern links’ to the Nordic countries, North Sea, in particular Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium, and also Germany and France." The North Sea Region is regarded as highly relevant for three goals: 'A smarter Europe', 'a greener Europe, and 'a more connected Europe'.
The report reflects a strong Scottish engagement in transnational cooperation – something we have come to appreciate. We hope very much to continue our cooperation with Scottish stakeholders, whatever the future framework will look like.
Download the report
The report was produced by the University of Strathclyde's European Policies Research Centre on request by Scotland Europa.