You can read more about the project on page 2.

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1 European Union European Regional Development Fund N e w s l e t t e r 1 j u n e is a capitalisation project under the sub-theme Energy and sustainable transport, co-funded by INTERREG IVC Programme, with a total budget of 1,5 million EUR. Sabine Stoelb, Coordinator of territorial cooperation, Luxembourg and Magnus Leivik, Member of the Board, Sörmland Regional Council. was launched in October Through regional cooperation the project is intended to contribute to an effective implementation of the new European growth strategy EU 2020 strategy at both local and regional levels. Since is a capitalisation project, the focus lies on the transfer process of Good Practices. Good Practices that have proven to be successful in one of the partner regions are being transferred into another partner s regional mainstreaming programme through individual Action Plans. The objective of the Action Plans is to feed the selected Good Practices into the Structural Funds programme. This enables the partnership to further improve and modernise their regional policies. You can read more about the project on page 2. Wind turbines in Eolian Park of Serra dos Candeeiros, the largest wind farm in Portugal Ilka Meisel, INTERREG IV C Coordinator, North Rhine- Westphalia, and Elisabeth Langgren Lundov, Project Coordinator Our standpoint We believe that this project has a special added value, created by genuine political involvement. In November 2010, when the project was launched in Riga, Latvia, we on the Political Board agreed on our common standpoint, and our undivided opinion was: we will follow the project closely! Every time we meet we will get reports from the Steering Group. We will decide on priorities for each of the regions action plans, and we will secure implementation of the action plans in our regions. Benita Vikström, Chair of the Political Board, We want to contribute to the EU 2020 strategy implementation, and we need efficient tools. The Political Board decided therefore to take the opportunity to share experiences during the meetings. Next time, at the Mid-term event in November 2011, representatives of every region will be given an opportunity to describe their good practice examples of a successful dialogue with their citizens. Good practices are good to share; you should not keep them a secret! Benita Vikström Chair of the Political Board, eu 2020 going local

2 More about Project context The project idea originated from a common understanding that a successful implementation of the EU policies needs to be adapted to specific local needs and circumstances, which requires an active participation of all the involved stakeholders. The challenge of the vertical dialogue in implementation of the EU policies is well known to participating regions. In this context Lead Partner Sörmland Regional Council has a Good Practice named the Sörmland Strategy, which is a management control system for improved operations at regional and local level, and a bottom-up model as a communication approach. Since the majority of the partnerships territory belongs to the most densely populated in Europe, high CO2 emissions and pollution are a challenge to face; therefore the sub-theme Energy and sustainable transport is of extreme importance for the partnership. Approach organises the exchange of experience through a number of workshops and partner meetings. After the launch of the project, a pool of Good Practices was created. Based on the priorities defined by local and regional strategies, and the exchange with the partners, each region specifies their interest in a further in-depth exchange. The in-depth exchange is the base for the development of an Action Plan for each partner. The Action Plans specify how the Good Practices will be transferred and implemented and under which programme. The project follows a multilevel governance approach by maintaining intense communication with actors of the partner regions and other stakeholders on national and EU level. A Political Board, composed of local and regional politicians from the partner regions, is involved in the regions policy making establishment. The task of the Board is first and foremost to ensure political backing for the project and to support the dissemination of the results and findings. is a capitalisation project Priority Environment and risk prevention Sub-theme Energy and sustainable transport Budget of approximately 1,5 million Euro The project has duration of 2 years, starting from October 2010 The partnership is composed of 14 partners from 9 countries Thematic approach, 4 sub-themes: Local/Regional Climate Impact and Sustainable Management Control System Renewable Energy and Waste to Energy Energy Efficiency Measures Sustainable Public Transport and Non-Motorised Transport Take your responsibility together with us! The INTERREG IVC project was officially launched in October For us, the participants of the project, the linkage to the new European growth strategy, named EU 2020, is crucial, and the purpose of the project is to demonstrate that we, in our regions and cities, are willing and able to take an active part in achieving the objectives that the EU parliament has decided upon. We will take our responsibility for reducing energy consumption and development of sustainable transport. This is the project s first newsletter, and we would like to take the opportunity to communicate our vision of the project, elaborate on why we consider it so important and inform about upcoming events. We want to give readers inspiration and encouragement, perhaps new ideas on how we together can contribute to a common success. It is not necessary to be a participant in the project to contribute. Everybody is welcome to contribute to the realization of the European, and hence our goals. Elisabeth Langgren Lundov and Benita Vikström Elisabeth Langgren Lundov Coordinator, Benita Vikström Chair Political Board, EU 2020 Going Local 2

3 Stimulating the use of electric vehicles Making the most of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. This is set to be the first group of the EU 2020 Going Local project. The Group has developed from Cllr Roger Stone s (Rotherham MBC) interest in electric vehicles and desire to take this work forward. This interest was sparked by the developments taking place in Cartaxo as promoted by Mayor Paulo Caldas and in Duisburg promoted by Mayor Adolf Sauerland. These initiatives are very innovative and demonstrate real progress on the promotion of electric vehicles. Bringing together partners who want to explore policy and practical issues it is Carole Hassan, Chief Executive, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber Roger Stone, Chair, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, and Leader of Council, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. hoped that the group can enable us to make real progress. Opportunities include supporting councils who want to look at maximizing the use of electric vans to do council work. This is an ideal use of electric vehicles as the journeys are of limited mileage matching the current charging capacity. There is already interest and action being taken. Within the UK Morrisons, a local Rotherham based company, has decided to use electric vehicles and is willing to support the initiative going forward. There are many issues to be explored by the group. They include what policies at National, Local and European level are best at stimulating the use of electric vehicles? What financial incentive and resources exist to take the work forward? How can we develop cross boundary charging infrastructure? Setting an example as public bodies we want to use our exchange as good practice to make a real impact. Any partners interested in taking part in the group can contact Carole Hassan, Chief Executive, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber (carole.hassan@lgyh.gov.uk) for more information. We are hoping to meet in September in Rotherham to agree the terms of reference for the group for how we want to work and take it forward. Carole Hassan, Chief Executive, Local Government Yorkshire and Humber Schaerbeek: Climate change issues at the local level Schaerbeek has always shown great concern for Climate Change issues and has been very active in sustainable development in general. We have been working for more than 10 years on Energy Efficiency and in 2007, the City Council voted unanimously for a LOCAL CLIMATE PLAN. Christine Smeysters, Deputy Mayor and Cécile Jodogne, Mayor in charge that we will be able to make a significant collective move to stop global warming. I am extremely interested in supporting the partnership of Schaerbeek in the EU 2020 Going Local project. There is no doubt that all this sharing of experience will lead to strong and pragmatic proposals in the forthcoming action plans. We will keep closely in touch with the process and will search for any possible synergy at the Brussels Regional level. Evelyne Huytebroeck It is thus with great enthusiasm that we joined in the project. It is an opportunity to move ahead on these important matters, but also a chance to further involve our citizens in the process. Climate change issues can (and must) be tackled at the local level. Each and every one of us is concerned and can (and must) contribute at his/her level, and it is only all together, locally, regionally and beyond national borders, So far, we have organised information sessions for the City Counsellors but also for the civil servants. To reach our fellow citizens, we wrote in our local newspaper, Schaerbeek Info, we spoke at neighbourhood committees assemblies and also at specific popular and festive events such as the Cherry Day (end of June) or the Sunday without Cars (in September). christine smeysters, deputy mayor cécile jodogne, mayor in charge bernard clerfayt, mayor in title Evelyne Huytebroeck, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Urban Renewal of the Brussels-Capital Region 3

4 Becoming more and more European reflections from a project meeting I am in a meeting in a municipal hall in Cartaxo, a small town north of Lisbon. I am sitting next to a Slovene from Ljubljana. A nice, well educated young man, who worries about the fast growing economy in Asia and the effect it will have on Europe. He is glad that the countries from the former Yugoslavia are, or will be, a part of the European Union. It brings them stability and peace. The leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council from UK will start an electric car project together with us and other cities. A representative from Luxemburg wants to share experiences on biogas - not from manure but from waste. A vice-mayor of the Schaerbeek We will also use the opportunities that are there to realize the Achterhoek ambitions on sustainable energy and transport Hans Alberse, Mayor of Oude Ijsselstreek. municipality, Belgium, wants to use energy saving lighting in her municipality. Fourteen partner regions from nine countries form the project EU 2020 Going Local. I attend the project to make contacts, share knowledge, and also important, to pave the way for new projects that we want to realize in the Achterhoek. For me personally it is also a great experience. When do you meet a Lett, Portuguese, a Belgian, a Swede, a German, a Slovene, an Englishman and a Luxemburger on one day? And we all talk (reasonable) English and feel more and more connected to one another. We feel that we form Europe together and we want to make something good out of it. Not everyone in the Netherlands believes in Europe. The European cooperation would only cost us money. I am convinced that we have a lot to offer and we will all eventually be better off because of it. Also we contribute according to our financial capacity and we support each other if one member state (by coincidence, we are in Portugal!) goes through rough times. And we will also use the opportunities that are there to realize the Achterhoek ambitions on sustainable energy and transport. In short, in Europe there are opportunities for solidarity and innovation. Hans Alberse Mayor of Oude Ijsselstreek, the Netherlands Upcoming events 5-6 July Workshop Sustainable Transport and Non-Motorised Transport, Ljubljana, Slovenia Also included is a site visit to Ljubljana Public Transport (LPP), which will give an insight to the project participants in how LPP operates within the field of public transport. 23 November Mid-term Event, Duisburg, Germany INTERREG IVC project will present the interim results and achievement so far, e.g. current stage of implementation of projects as a result of. 24 November Workshop Local and Regional Climate Impact and Sustainable Management Control System, Azewijn, the Netherlands The partnership will experience the Solarpark Azewijn, an 8 acre large solar park with the capacity to produce energy for 550 houses March Workshop Energy Efficiency Measures Stoke-on-Trent, UK Workshop with the theme of Energy Efficiency Measure. September Final Event, Brussels, Belgium INTERREG IVC project will present its results and findings, and the current status of implementation of partner regions projects. Interactive round table discussions, Workshop in Sörmland, 28 February 2 March 2011 Matej Gojcic and Katja Butina, hosts for the next workshop Sustainable Transport and Non-Motorised Transport on 5-6 July 2011 in Ljubljana, Slovenia Site visits are an important part of the exchange of experiences 4

5 Cooperation based on shared values The conception of the project EU2020 Going Local has clearly been the result of a prospective and innovative vision, as confirmed with the expected valuable and encouraging results, some of them already achieved, within this precious partnership, in good time constituted and headed by Sörmland Regional Council. Partners Sörmland Regional Council, Sweden Lead Partner Örebro Regional Development Council, Sweden Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany City of Duisburg, Germany We consider this initiative as fundamental to deepen the debate on the future of the Energy and sustainable transports Paulo Caldas, Mayor of Cartaxo. We consider this initiative as fundamental to deepen the debate on the future of the Energy and sustainable transports and, concurrently, to contribute to give more Regionwide learning through good examples from the participating regions. is an instrument which has unique features, since it will be carried out through workshops and study visits at which experiences are shared and exchanged, but mainly due to the existence of a particular Political Board will discuss and assure how political leadership drives growth projects in the Regions. Being a member of this Political Board, I recognize the unique virtualities of this instrument not only for our Regions but also for the whole of the EU, as a form of cooperation based in shared essential values to the success of the European project the promotion of the well-being and life quality. In Cartaxo we had the opportunity to share with our partners a good practice project on the electric car, called MOBI.E, that received the real interest of the majority and that could be a very valuable contribution to a global development of the electric vehicles in the EU. I am convinced of the need to give sequence to this form of cooperation and confident that we will be reaching excellent results during the project. Paulo Caldas, Mayor of Cartaxo, Portugal Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region, Slovenia Riga Planning Region, Latvia Zemgale Planning Region, Latvia Stoke-on-Trent City Council, United Kingdom Municipality of Schaerbeek, Belgium Ministry for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Luxembourg Province of Gelderland, the Netherlands Regio Achterhoek, the Netherlands Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, United Kingdom Cartaxo Municipality, Portugal For further information, please contact: Project coordinator Elisabeth Langgren Lundov Sörmland Regional Council elisabeth.langgren.lundov@region.sormland.se editorial: publisher & editor Sörmland Regional Council layout newmarket town Santarém, Portugal European Union European Regional Development Fund