Macro-regional Strategies & COVID-19 Recovery

As an immediate response to the pandemic, the EU macro-regional strategies (MRS) made efficient use of their governance structures to agree upon specific initiatives to support the recovery, which will be presented in this session.

In the first part, Mr Georges Drakopoulos will highlight the results and recommendations for the severely hit tourism sector based on the study “Expert advice on cooperation in tourism industry during the pandemic crisis”, launched by DG REGIO in 2020. Mrs Vlasta Klaric, expert in sustainable tourism and cultural heritage in the EUSAIR will explain how the respective Thematic Steering Group of this Strategy has drawn on common actions for the tourism of tomorrow.

In case of the EUSALP, the campaign on the “Solidarity in Alpine Region” has been setup (presented by Mr Nicolas Gouvernel). This initiative is based on the Manifesto "Together to shape a sustainable and resilient Alpine region" approved by the participating countries and regions involved in the EUSALP. The Manifesto aims a.o. at preserving the biodiversity in the Alps and at preventing exposure to natural risks linked to climate change.

A cross-MRS initiative led by the EUSDR and EUSBSR is “Innovation Express 2.0” with the objective to develop new value chains amongst companies within a macro-region by supporting cluster-to-cluster cooperation for which a model of synchronized calls will be used (presented by Dr. Judit Schrick-Szenczi).

The second part will focus on “MRS implicit actions”, which derive in connection with other initiatives and strategies.

Mrs Anabela Marques Santos from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission will give the background on the role of the Smart Specialisation Strategy to tackle the COVID.10 crisis in short and medium term. As an example of inter-regional collaboration, the coordinator of a new partnership of six EU regions and countries, Mr. Sander Muenster, from the Time Machine organisation, will present the pilot action on “Sustainable and Digital tourism”, winner of a new EU-funded initiative.

The “Routes4U” project will be showcased for adaptive communication campaigns towards extensively digital and innovative undertakings of creative and cultural industries.

* Translation from French ↔ English will be provided.