CONCLUSIONS ONREGION PROFILES

General comparison

The partner regions are divergent with respect to:

- economic potential,

- the structure of economy

- the pace of economic development

- GDP per capita

Similarities:

- in most regions agriculture and traditional industries still play major roles

- the most developed regions are Weser-Ems and Upper Austria

- Andalucia and South Aegean have the most resillient tourism sector

- agriculture constitutes a fundamental branch of economy in Lubelskie Region as well as in Andalucia

- despite a comparatively high share of services in GRP of the majority of regions, the non-market services or traditional service profiles (trade and transportation)

enjoy a considerable share as well

Border regions:

- high level of development exists only in Dreenthe and Groningen regions in Holland

- The remaining border regions (in Russia, Ukraine, countries of North Africa) are characterized by:

low level of economic activity low income high unemployment outdated structure of production (inefficient agriculture and heavy

industries) slow modernization processes

Tips for Y4I

1. The wealthy regions (Weser-Ems and Upper Austria) should be a valuable example for the less wealthy regions

2. The diffusion of innovations, including the knowledge and experience, should involve not only the EU regions but also the border regions

3. Concerning the poor business nad innovation culture in many Y4I regions, activities within the framework of the project, may consequently help to generate the influx of external capital

4. The project Y4I activities, targeted at arousing the youth’s interest in innovation issues, should increase activity in sectors of the future, e.g. IT

5. The instruments of innovation proposed by the project Y4I may contribute to the development of the less wealthy regions and to achieve greater social and economic cohesion in the EU

Short summary in numbers

General characteristics of the region

WEGermany

UAAustria

SAEGreece

LUBPoland

ANDSpain

NKFinland

Surfacein km2

15 000 11 980 5 286 25 000 87 300 21 585

Inhabitantsin million

2,4 1,3 0,3 2,191 7,849 0,168

Regional economy

WEGermany

UAAustria

SAEGreece

LUBPoland

ANDSpain

NKFinland

Labour force

1 212 102 571 500 102 500 725 000 NA 61 800

Unemploy-ed

134 782 25 097 NA 156 800 485 300 NA

Unemployment rate

11,1% 4,4% NA 17% 13,8% 14,5%

Regional economy

WEGermany

UAAustria

SAEGreece

LUBPoland

ANDSpain

NKFinland

GDP in total in million euro

55 665 NA 4 930 7 157 NA NA

Share of sectors in GDP

3,4% 2% 7,7% 5,3% 5,5% 8,4%

30,7% 30% 7,4% 18,9% 23% 28%

65,9% 68% 84% 75,8% 71,5% 73,5%