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Editorial – Seizing opportunities, meeting challenges
With the lifting of the last labour market restrictions on 1 May 2011, CENTROPE has truly become a region without limits. Meeting in Györ, political decision-makers have taken this historical date as a motive to deliberate on an ambitious development agenda in the fields of cross-border mobility and improvement of the common business location. Their conclusions mark the first decisions taken by the CENTROPE Political Board, a new body which from now on will meet on a semi-annual basis.
The solid foundations of this political agenda are clearly borne out by the results of the CENTROPE Regional Development Monitoring, which were also presented on the occasion of the Györ summit. Strengthening the knowledge-based sectors of the economy throughout the entire region and deepening internal integration are some of the policy recommendations that have emerged from this ongoing CENTROPE Capacity pilot project. The findings are echoed by key business actors, who agree with the need for improved education and qualification standards and more cross-border co-operation in this field in order to secure the human capital needed for the knowledge economy.
Examples of knowledge-based development abound in CENTROPE. While a Slovak-Austrian initiative to create a renewable energy cluster in CENTROPE is set to unfold and take roots in all four countries, new EU funds for CEITEC, the Central European Institute of Technology, will dramatically improve research capacities available in Brno. If all potentials for intensified research co-operation in CENTROPE are duly made use of, a new leisure ship on the Brno Dam Lake recently baptised “Vienna” may well be the harbinger of much intensified relations between the two cities in the years to come.
Your CENTROPE Agency Team
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