Minister's Speech
Speech Launching Northern Ireland's European Strategy at the Competitive Cities conference, Waterfront Hall – 16 October 2006
I am delighted to be with you this morning to celebrate the success of the CONNECT project. With friends and partners who have travelled great distances from Stockholm, Valencia, Vilnius and Rybnik - thank you for being with us today. I congratulate Belfast City Council and the COMET partners for organising this conference. And for supporting me in launching Northern Ireland’s first European strategy – ‘Taking Our Place in Europe’.
We celebrate success here, in the Waterfront Hall – a stunning example of Belfast’s renaissance. In sight of Thanksgiving Square with its sculpture of a female figure standing on the globe – her name is HARMONY. Her position on the globe and the ring that she supports signifies oneness. Celebrating the diversity of culture that exists in our global village.
The European Union’s ‘global village’ has achieved much in its short history. It has sustained peace on a continent riven by conflict for much of its history. It has created the world’s largest international single market of over 450 million consumers. And through successive enlargements, Europe has embedded liberal democratic institutions throughout the continent. Resulting in almost 50 years of peace – 50 years of prosperity – 50 years of progress.
Now we must prepare to meet the challenges of the next 50 years. To get the policies right for today’s world. To set a new direction. Fresh thinking and new ideas are needed. Northern Ireland will not pass up this opportunity. It is ready to play its part. To be in on the ground floor of something new and exciting – the expanding, dynamic Europe of the 21st century.
The European Union takes decisions and passes laws on many matters that affect the lives of Northern Ireland citizens. EU legislation, EU funds and the Internal Market, have made a huge impact on the economic, social and environmental fabric of this region:-
- European structural funds have helped us achieve steady economic growth for over a decade – so much so that we are no longer an Objective 1 region;
- EU support has stimulated enterprise, innovation and employment – and facilitated infrastructure projects – we are the only UK region to have 100% broadband coverage;
- More than half our exports are bought by EU countries;
- We have received almost £1.6 billion in direct agricultural support;
- Many thousands of community based social inclusion projects have been assisted through the EU Peace Programme;
- Our students study in other countries, develop language skills and learn about cultural diversity, through EU education programmes; and
- European directives have led to substantial improvements in air and water quality, and waste prevention and recycling.
For too long Northern Ireland has been preoccupied with internal matters. ‘Taking Our Place in Europe’ redresses that imbalance. It acknowledges that our world – our globe – is changing rapidly. And that we need to engage further with Europe. That we need to engage proactively. That we need to engage in a forward and outward looking manner. That we need to engage across the totality of the continent. ‘Taking Our Place in Europe’ sets out what we want to achieve. And how we will go about it.
Our European strategy is intended to guide the work of regional and local government. It sets out what needs to be done. In partnership with civil society including business organisations, trades unions, academic institutions, the community and voluntary sector, and others.
The profound debate on Europe’s future continues - as we approach the 50th anniversary of its founding Treaty of Rome next year. The founding model of European integration has been an historical success. But we now stand at the crossroads. Europe needs to be reformed and modernised. We need to find new ways of bringing Europe closer to its citizens. And of continuing to improve their lives.
The world economy is experiencing rapid and substantial change. Europe faces intense competitive pressures from global flows of capital and global sourcing of products. The world is becoming smaller and more interdependent than ever. The nations and regions that will do well will be the ones that build the strongest alliances. Europe’s history has shown us that collective co-operation enhances the strength of individual countries and regions. Europe’s successes and its underlying values put it in a strong position in this new era of globalisation. But globalisation provides a new context within which it must function. The European Union will only continue to have relevance if it is transparent, reforming and flexible.
Northern Ireland is responding positively and confidently to the challenge of globalisation. In a forward and outward looking manner.
My vision is that Northern Ireland will become a preferred region of choice for partnership working in Europe, and within which to live, work, study and invest.
This vision is becoming a reality. Over three years, we have experienced a two-fold increase in international long-term in-migration to Northern Ireland. Up from 7,000 to around 14,000 people per year. We welcome all newcomers - the large numbers of Europeans from Poland, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia, and migrants from further afield such as India, the Philippines and China who have chosen to come and live here. We greatly appreciate the substantial contribution that all these newcomers make to our social, cultural and economic evolution.
The EU-25 has over 450 million people. More than the combined populations of the USA and Russia. Positioned as we are on the Atlantic periphery of Europe this gives rise to a fundamental question – How should Northern Ireland participate in Europe?
‘Taking Our Place in Europe’ provides a framework for our engagement. A region’s place in Europe is no longer defined by geography, but by how it relates to, and integrates with the broader European community.
Northern Ireland will participate as a successful, outward and forward looking, reconciling region of Europe to:-
- promote our interests within the European Union;
- raise our positive profile throughout Europe; and
- encourage participation in European matters throughout Northern Ireland.
By ‘Taking Our Place in Europe’ we will derive the maximum benefit from EU membership, as well as making a positive, effective contribution to Europe.
But we are not strangers to international co-operation. Our engagement with Europe began years ago. The CONNECT project is witness to that. My department (OFMDFM) invested £6.5 million of Peace Programme funds to build networks of co-operation between civil society in Northern Ireland and continental Europe. These cross-sectoral networks facilitate the exchange of international best principles and practices.
We have created almost 40 international networks in the last 3 years. Most are actively engaged in sharing learning across the length and breadth of Europe. And a few stretch beyond Europe to North America, the Middle East, South Africa and Asia. There is so much that we can share with our European neighbours. There is also a lot we can learn from them.
Outward flows of our knowledge and expertise, include a best practice model to help people with disabilities get employment in the Czech Republic. In the youth work field, we have exported a practitioner handbook to guide work with young people in other regions emerging from conflict, such as Kosovo.
Conversely, we have imported international best practice on pre-school age education techniques from northern Italy. Another inward flow of expertise to Northern Ireland concerns food catering preparation techniques from Sweden.
Our intention is to encourage the entirety of the Northern Ireland region to engage with Europe:-
- regional and local government
- social partners
- business and academia
- civil society in the broadest sense; and
- both urban and rural communities
To exchange knowledge and learning for mutual benefit. We are mobilising Northern Ireland Europeans to create value - from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea - from the Atlantic Periphery to the Black Sea - and beyond.
And we hope that these investments will evolve into mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded city-regions in continental Europe. In Northern Ireland, we have a strong partnership culture involving the public, private and community sectors. This is evident in all aspects of governance and especially in the work of our local authorities.
Our experience is much valued overseas. We have been heavily involved in delivering institutional capacity building to countries joining the European Union. From policing in Poland, to veterinary and public health in Malta, to consumer protection in Lithuania and regional audit in the Czech Republic. Today - on behalf of the European Union - the Northern Ireland public service delivers almost two out of five projects in the United Kingdom’s Institutional Twinning Programme.
Our councils are experienced in delivering the European agenda. For a long time they have recognised that insularity is not an option. And have moved from the local to engage on the global platform. Realising the benefits of international co-operation through town twinning, sister city partnerships and a host of other informal linkages. Thinking outside traditional boundaries has helped create peace and stability. It has improved the delivery of goods and services within communities. And it has enhanced tourism and trade. Above all, comparing experiences, giving and receiving ideas, has enriched participants and changed lives.
Your project (CONNECT) is one of the European networking investments made by government. It is a project that - for the first time - brought together local government and local strategy partnerships within the Belfast metropolitan area, to work together in an international context.
No city can resolve all of the issues it faces alone. All city-regions face similar contemporary challenges in an increasingly globalised world. But each must strive towards its vision of the future. Despite differences in political, cultural and socio-economic contexts, there is much to be learnt from sharing experiences. The CONNECT network cities represented here today; manifest many differences as well as certain similarities. How city-regions design and plan their futures is a key determinant of success.
Developing cities and metropolitan areas is one of the critical paths to regional development. Around one in five Europeans live in cities. Most large cities by default or design are the main generators of prosperity within their regions. ‘Taking Our Place in Europe’ acknowledges the importance of Belfast and its metropolitan area. Successful European regions have dynamic capital cities that act as a catalyst for engagement. A modern Belfast city-region, competing on equal terms with its European peers, is essential for the development of the entire Northern Ireland region.
Almost all important factors of comparative advantage – that would put one city or location in a stronger position than another – are mobile. That is why networking and partnership building are so important. Successful cities are essentially learning cities. Cities that develop networks and use them to develop ideas and knowledge. Faced with global competitiveness, global benchmarking and mutual learning are necessities.
I congratulate all of you on a successful project. And I wish you further success in developing your relationships over the next couple of days.
Northern Ireland has ‘Taken its Place in Europe’. We are confident in a Union of 25 nations – soon to be 27 with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. And we will meet future challenges through practical and effective co-operation. You will find a copy of Northern Ireland’s European Strategy in your conference welcome packs. I commend it to you.
