Lower Saxony European policy
Lower Saxony is active in many ways in Europe. MEPs from Lower Saxony sit in the European Parliament , Lower Saxony sends representatives to the Committee of the Regions (CoR), cross-border cooperation has been running successfully for years. B. the INTERREG A programs with the Netherlands . The topic of Europe has gained enormous prestige inrecent yearsand has thus also gained in importance in Lower Saxony. European agricultural policy and cohesion and structural policy in particularhave a major influence on the state. Thanks to the Lower Saxony coastline, European energy policy is also of great interest. The spectrum of Lower Saxony's European policy continues to encompass the areas of currency , finance , the internal market , industry , transport infrastructure , research , science , education , culture , labor market , social affairs , immigration and integration , law and security and municipalities .
The organization of Lower Saxony's European policy
In addition to its representation at the federal government in Berlin, the state of Lower Saxony also has a state representation in Brussels . Organizationally, Lower Saxony's European policy is part of the Prime Minister (currently Stephan Weil ) and the Lower Saxony State Chancellery (Department 3: Europe, International Cooperation). In the Lower Saxony state parliament , the Committee for Federal and European Affairs and the Media deals with European policy issues. In the European Parliament of Lower Saxony is represented by 10 deputies. For the 2009–2014 election period, the following are elected: Jan Philipp Albrecht (Alliance 90 / The Greens), Burkhard Balz (CDU), Matthias Groote (SPD), Rebecca Harms (Alliance 90 / The Greens), Bernd Lange (SPD), Sabine Lösing (The Left), Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans-Peter Mayer (CDU), Gesine Meißner (FDP), Dr. Hans-Gert Pöttering , Dr. Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl (CDU). In the Committee of the Regions of Lower Saxony by Dr. Martina Krogmann represented.
Cross-border cooperation
In 1998 , Lower Saxony entered into closer cooperation with numerous other North Sea countries in the North Sea Commission (NSC), to which Lower Saxony is no longer a member. With the region of Haute Normandie in France, Lower Saxony has concluded a joint declaration for a partnership in order to further expand this bilateral relationship. The Haute-Normandie region maintains an office in the Representation of the State of Lower Saxony to the European Union .
The state of Lower Saxony also works with the states in Central and Eastern Europe . At the beginning of the 1990s , contacts were made and partnerships were established. With the Polish voivodeships of Greater Poland and Lower Silesia , Lower Saxony can look back on ten years of successful and steadily expanded cooperation.
Another partner region of Lower Saxony is the Netherlands.
Cohesion and structural policy
The state government selects the projects that are to benefit from structural funding. In the funding period 2007-2013, Lower Saxony will receive around 2.7 billion euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Fisheries Fund . From the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), around 1.23 billion euros will flow to Lower Saxony to strengthen regional competitiveness and employment. Lower Saxony projects will receive around 447 million euros from the European Social Fund (ESF) in this funding period. Lower Saxony is divided into four regions for funding with structural funds: Hanover, Braunschweig, Weser-Ems and Lüneburg. The Lüneburg region, with its eleven districts, is the only region in western Germany to fall under the funding target of convergence (i.e. GDP per capita is below 75% of the EU-25 average) and, due to this classification, receives a large part of the funding, namely approx. Euro ERDF and ESF funds. The remaining funds flow into the rest of the country. The European Social Fund supports measures in Lower Saxony to promote employment and to combat and prevent unemployment. Universities and specialized institutes at universities, in particular, are funded through initiatives to set up businesses and research and technology measures. From 2000 to 2006, over € 733 million in EU structural funds were available for 2.4 million people in all four administrative districts and a further 1.2 million in areas with transitional support. These areas in the more rural and poorly populated north-west and the more industrialized east and south-east of the country had particular structural problems and were more affected by unemployment.
The upcoming funding period from 2014 to 2020 is currently being negotiated in Brussels . The European Commission presented its proposal for the future of cohesion and structural policy at the end of 2011. Overall, Lower Saxony will probably not be able to benefit from European funds as much as in the funding period from 2007 to 2013, partly because Lüneburg no longer falls under the convergence category. The negotiations between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission are not yet over.
The EU expansion - opportunities for Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony benefits from the enlargement of the European Union in 2004. Even before that, exports to Central and Eastern European countries had increased from (converted) two billion euros in 1996 to almost 4.5 billion euros in 2000. Imports from these countries increased at the same rate, with Poland still being the most important trading partner. Thanks to its convenient location, Lower Saxony will continue to benefit more from the expansion than other federal states. In November 2001, Lower Saxony was the first federal state to launch the broad-based information campaign Europe is becoming more colorful - the EU expansion on this subject - together with the EU. Regardless of this, the country also suffers, like other countries, from job relocation / emigration in the course of the European Union.
Europe information for the country
With the support of the European Commission , the Lower Saxony state government opened the European Information Center (EIZ) Lower Saxony in May 2001 in Hanover . The EIZ is the contact point for all kinds of European issues. The aim of this institution is to bring Europe and the European Union closer to the citizens of Lower Saxony. For this purpose, the EIZ organizes information campaigns on current European issues (such as EU expansion ), action days on current issues, exhibitions with a European reference and other events of all kinds.
As part of its European public relations work, the EIZ, with the support of talented schoolchildren, created its own European sympathetic figure for the state of Lower Saxony in 2004 - the European horse " Eurogaloppo ". Lower Saxony is so far the only federal state with its own European symbol. The state's European horse is intended to promote Lower Saxony as a European region and the European Union, especially among children and young people.
In addition, there is the information portal "Europa vor Ort" of the European Commission, where specific information on Lower Saxony EU contact points, regional funding , MEPs and many other topics is summarized.
Web links
- European policy concept of the Lower Saxony state government 2012
- Homepage of the Lower Saxony State Chancellery: Europe & Internationales
- Lower Saxony in Europe - information portal
- EIZ Lower Saxony - European Information Center
- Europe on site: Lower Saxony - information portal of the European Commission
Individual evidence
- ↑ European Territorial Cooperation , accessed June 11, 2012
- ↑ State government decides "European political concept, status May 8, 2012 , accessed on June 8, 2012
- ↑ Homepage of the Nds. Country representation in Brussels , accessed on August 30, 2011.
- ^ Lower Saxony State Parliament: Committee for Federal and European Affairs and the Media , accessed on August 30, 2011.
- ↑ Members of the North Sea Commission, as of September 9, 2008 ( Memento of the original from February 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 8, 2012
- ^ Collaboration with France , accessed June 8, 2012
- ↑ Cooperation with Poland ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 8, 2012
- ^ Cooperation with the Netherlands , accessed on June 8, 2012
- ↑ Structure and Cohesion Funds 2007-2013 , accessed on June 8, 2012.
- ↑ Regional funding and financial aid ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 8, 2012.
