LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northeast Corridor Ambitions of the Northern Netherlands
Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) Northern Netherlands Provinces
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northeast Corridor
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northeast Corridor Northeast Europe has it all! Business in the area around the Baltic Sea is flourishing and there is a great deal of development and building. It is not for nothing that the Northeast Corridor (NEC) is booming. This corridor, linking St Petersburg – Helsinki – the Baltic States – North Poland – the Øresund region (Kopenhagen – Malmö) – Hamburg/Bremen and the Randstad (Holland) is currently the best performing European region; in economic growth, innovation as well as education. It’s a dynamic area with many similarities and opportunities. The Northeast Corridor has all the potential for the future. > The regions belonging to the Northeast Corridor have many things in common, such as a well-educated workforce, a wide variety of knowledge-intensive businesses, a host of universities and attractive historic inner cities. The regions also share similar economic structures and complement each other perfectly in this respect. In recent years, their traditional maritime trade and focus on logistics have been expanded with all manner of innovations, particularly in the life sciences, agribusiness, energy, sustainability and IT sectors. And we also see these developments in the Netherlands.
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Hanze cities and trade routes
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northern Netherlands and the Northeast Corridor Since the fall of the wall, Northeast Europe has developed rapidly, in economic, cultural and societal aspects. This, as well as the historical and cultural links, puts the Northeast Corridor in a new light, and makes participation very interesting and lucrative for the Netherlands. > The realisation that the Northern Netherlands can benefit from more intensive collaboration and contacts with the Northeast European countries has been growing since the end of the 1990s. At that time vision documents and reports were being produced pointing out the increasing importance of Northeast Europe. Economic developments in the Netherlands would expand from the Randstad along the Northern and Eastern European transport and city corridors, that was the conclusion shared and supported by the Northern Provinces. > This vision was also expressed in the memorandum ‘Pieken in de Delta’ (‘Heights in the Delta’) published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2004. In this memorandum the Northern Netherlands is seen as ‘the link between the Randstad and Northeast Europe’. The German research organisation BAW Institut für regionale Wirtschaftsforschung drew similar conclusions in research conducted for the Northern Netherlands Provinces (Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland, SNN) in 2005. But this isn’t a new vision. Centuries ago people saw the potential of the Northeast Corridor. In the middle ages the Netherlands benefited from the Hanze Association and in the 17th century from the flourishing Baltic Sea trade. Relationships with Northeast Europe have been essential in the development of the Netherlands into the nation of merchants it is today. It is therefore highly conceivable that renewing links with the regions in the Northeast Corridor will also be fruitful in the near future.
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The aim of Nordconnect To increase the number of contacts and to strengthen the networks between government agencies, the corporate sector, knowledge institutions and cultural institutions of the Northern Netherlands and Northeast Europe during the period from 2007 to 2010. The 5 lines of action 1 ‘NEC in Business’ – Promoting opportunities for the corporate sector within the NEC. 2 ‘NEC as a link between Gothenburg and Lisbon’ – Strengthening knowledge networks. 3 ‘NEC connects’ – Promoting the establishment of public-sector contacts and networks 4 ‘NEC for Art and Culture’ 5 ‘NEC as an active region within the EU’
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Nordconnect Linking Northern Netherlands and Northern Europe The Northern Netherlands has now decided to push the Northeast Corridor concept along further. And this is why the Northeast Corridor Project Organisation was established in 2006, its main objectives being to increase and intensify networks and contacts between the Northern Netherlands and Northeast Europe. It also aims to stimulate the development of joint projects.
The interactive website www.nordconnect.eu contains more than just interesting information about the various Northeast Corridor regions, it also hosts a database containing articles, reports, maps and research data concerning economic, cultural and societal developments in the Northern European region. The site also has plenty of room for news and information about joint projects. In addition interested parties can use the forum to make contact with Nordconnect and each other. Basic information about the region’s towns and cities is just a mouse click away in the regional map which has an underlying Geographic Information System. This portal is constantly being expanded with news and more information about the regions themselves.
> The project organisation operates under the name Nordconnect. An international name that fully encompasses the objectives of the northern regions of the Netherlands: good contacts and close cooperation between the Northern Netherlands and the Northern European regions in the Northeast Corridor. In other words: Linking the Northern Netherlands and Northern Europe. > Resources at Nordconnect’s disposal include organising joint events, stimulating and facilitating joint projects and encouraging the exchange of knowledge and expertise. The main instrument is the website, www.nordconnect.eu, in Dutch and English, which links governments, organisations, companies as well as knowledge and cultural institutions in the Northeast Corridor and brings all these players into contact with each other. In this way Nordconnect is working on expanding the commercial relationships and knowledge networks in the Northeast Corridor. > A concept as the Northeast Corridor can only be further developed by working together, which is why it is extremely important to cooperate with other parties in the Netherlands and Northeast Europe. Nordconnect will fulfil the role of knowledge centre for the Northeast Corridor and will act as intermediary, and is therefore looking for partners; ambitious partners who believe in the joint venture between Netherlands and Northeast Europe; parties who believe in the Northeast Corridor! The mission of the Northeast Corridor initiative is as follows: > The Northern Netherlands wishes to raise its profile within Northeast Europe by establishing contacts and promoting collaboration between government agencies, the corporate sector, knowledge institutions and cultural institutions, adopting as a starting point the key regions and spearhead sectors of the Strategic Agenda for the Northern Netherlands.
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northern Netherlands Provinces > Fleshing out the Northeast Corridor concept and setting up the Nordconnect project organisation is an initiative of the three Northern Netherlands Provinces. The provinces of Groningen, Fryslân and Drenthe combined their administrative resources in the Northern Netherlands Provinces (Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland, SNN) in 1992. Under the SNN, the Northern provinces are pursuing joint policies and negotiating with the government on matters which concern the Northern part of the Netherlands in their entirety. The SNN’s core task is to reinforce the spatial planning and economic structure of the Northern Netherlands. > The SNN was founded on 1 July 1992 as a result of intensive, yet ad hoc and usually project-related cooperation efforts between the three provinces, Drenthe, Groningen and Fryslân. Developments at a national and European level prompted these provinces to formally join forces. At a national level the SNN contributes to the discussion about the organisation of government in the Netherlands, and in particular about the role of the provinces which are wedged between central government and the municipal authorities. At a European level the SNN works to generate regional programmes and projects and to raise the necessary financial resources. So the SNN provides a proper framework for acting in the best interests of the three provinces at both national and European levels.
Area 11,389 km2 (27.8% of the Netherlands) Population 1,671,545 (about 10% of the Netherlands) Population density 200 inhabitants per km2 Working population 714,000 Registered companies 77,998
LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
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LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
The Northern Netherlands The Northern Netherlands, covering the provinces of Fryslân, Groningen and Drenthe, has a population of 1.6 million people. In recent years this part of the country has raised its profile as a region by offering a wide range of opportunities for economic growth. Its current share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 8.5% (excluding minerals extraction). Space in the north of Holland is still abundant, land is relatively cheap compared to other Dutch regions, and motorists do not have to battle with road congestion. Combined with the favourable economic location with regard to Northern Europe and lower house prices, the Northern Netherlands is an attractive location for all types of business. And travel between the main towns and cities such as Groningen, Leeuwarden, Assen and Emmen is easy. > The Northern Netherlands is also a very pleasant region, renowned for its peace and quiet. The region is striving to achieve concentrated urbanisation in order to preserve the balance between town and country, allowing a healthy combination of urban and economic development and the conservation of rural areas. Recently, the Northern Netherlands drew up a Strategic Agenda for the period 2007 to 2013, focusing more than ever on what the Northern Netherlands is best at. The region is investing its money in promising and innovative sectors such as water technology, energy, multi-sensor technology, agri-business and life sciences. Prominent projects include radio telescope project LOFAR (www.lofar.nl), water technology project Wetsus (www.wetsus.nl) and energy conservation project Energy Valley (www.energyvalley.nl).
Attractive > The Northern Netherlands has the capacity to play a key role in the Northeast Corridor. The foundations have already been laid in the region: space, quality universities and colleges, important centres of excellence in the energy, biotechnology, as well as life sciences sectors and an infrastructure without congestion. > In order to benefit from all the potential the Northern Netherlands has to offer in the Northeast Corridor, choices need to be made. Where possible, new international contacts with parties in the North should be concentrated in the corridor so that activities can be bundled. In time, this should guarantee a place for the Northern Netherlands, as well as the Netherlands as a whole, in the Northeast Corridor. The Northern Netherlands is looking for interesting foreign partners to create win-win situations that don’t just benefit the regions themselves, but will also help the development of the Northeast Corridor as a whole.
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LINKING NORTHERN NETHERLANDS AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Nordconnect Visiting address Snekertrekweg 1 8912 AA Leeuwarden The Netherlands Postal address PO Box 239 9700 AE Groningen The Netherlands Telephone +31 (0)58 292 51 18 Fax +31 (0)58 292 83 63 E-mail info@nordconnect.eu Internet www.nordconnect.eu
Colophon Publication Nordconnect, Text Waterloo Communicatie, Design In Ontwerp, Photography Willem Jan Kleppe and In Ontwerp
October 2007