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Editorial – A deepening co-operation agenda
The second CENTROPE Summit on 5 December 2011 in Tomášov/Bratislava concluded another six months of intense work on deeper integration in the cross-border region. The ambitious agenda of the Political Board meeting concerned issues such as accessibility, infrastructure development and joint efforts to prepare for the upcoming EU programming period and led to concrete agreements about a future CENTROPE Transport and Infrastructure Strategy.
In their conclusions, the politicians were able to build on the progress attained by the CENTROPE capacity project. The preliminary results of the pilot activity Infrastructure Needs Assessment Tool (INAT) suggest that in order to achieve a high level of competitiveness, a clearly and comprehensively formulated infrastructure agenda for the whole region is required. Such a plan to tackle the drawbacks of CENTROPE’s infrastructure should eventually lead to a developed and integrated cross-border infrastructure system.
But not only infrastructure has a positive effect on the region’s capacity to thrive and compete. As in the advertising industry, visibility and a good name are the source of growth. The public part of the Summit offered perspectives on effective marketing and identified good practices within the region that have the potential to boost the CENTROPE brand and unleash its potential as a tourist destination.
The distinctiveness of the region’s shared history is for its citizens to discover and absorb; the young generation especially can contribute to the strong potential of CENTROPE through intense exchange. Successful sectors like life sciences and biotechnology are undeniably additional assets for building the name of CENTROPE.
We wish you an interesting read and a successful year 2012!
Your CENTROPE Agency Team
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