At the heart of Europe

Alsace is not simply the symbol of European unity, says Adrien Zeller – it is also an enthusiastic actor on the European stage

Alsace can rightfully claim to be something of a ‘centre of gravity’ for Europe : several EU and international institutions are based there (European parliament, Council of Europe, European court of human rights, etc.) and its position, both in terms of geographical location and economic strength, position it firmly in the ‘European backbone’ that stretches from London to Milan via Frankfurt. But Alsace’s place at the heart of Europe is more than simply its location – the region’s approach to sustainable economic development over many years is entirely in keeping with the wider European approach, and the region has contributed in no small way to the progress towards the Lisbon and Gothenburg goals.

With four universities, 250 laboratories and more than 7000 researchers, Alsace is one of France’s chief scientific ‘poles’. Faced with globalisation and the enlargement of the EU, the region has risen successfully to the challenge of creating and supporting new areas of competitive economic activity – primarily in the fields of training, research and industry. Perhaps the best example of this is Biovalley, a tri-national initiative between France, Germany and Switzerland which groups together 300 companies and research laboratories around the European biotechnology hub in the Upper Rhine region.

Alsatians are proud of the high quality of life that they live in the natural environment with which the region is blessed, with its abundance of solar energy and wood for fuel. That is why Alsace is the leading French region when it comes to the use of solar panels or wood-burners as primary energy sources, as well one of the frontrunners in the race towards the sustainable use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The EU has provided strong support for these regional development initiatives through the European cohesion policy. Alsace is the only French region with the right to allocate its own regional development funds, and has allocated the €75.62m it has received for 2007-2013 on projects designed to improve the competitiveness of the local economy by focusing on areas of higher added-value (research and innovation, knowledge society, hi-tech industries) as well as developing a region-wide sustainable development strategy.

The money has allowed the region to invest in several successful projects, including one on renewable energy called Energivie. With support from the EU and the national environment and energy agency Ademe, this project is designed to encourage the take-up of renewable energy sources throughout the region and the development of new economic activity based on a more sustainable approach. Energivie provides information about renewable energies and partners individuals and local authorities in their sustainable development projects, as well as providing training for both start-ups and existing projects. Its chief focus is the tourism and agriculture sectors, where sustainable energy use is seen as having the greatest impact.

This original and innovative project has already produced some spectacular results, especially among smaller towns and villages in Alsace, in part because of the on-the-ground support it offers to them but also because it has helped them communicate and cooperate with each other across the region. This was one of the reasons why Alsace was awarded the Regiostar 2008 award by the European commission’s regional policy department for this project. The award, which is given to the most innovative regional projects within the EU, has helped raise the visibility of the Alsatian scheme, setting up the Energivie project as an example of best practice to be shared by other regions.

Alsace is also keen to encourage involvement in the projects in which it is involved on the wider European stage, and has put in place a number of incentives to persuade Alsatian companies to do just that during the 2007-2013 period. We have strengthened our Brussels office team and have launched a process of ‘Europeanisation’ for all our staff, allowing them to provide more effective and efficient information to Alsatian companies and individuals about the opportunities open to them on the wider European stage. We are also supporting the regional innovation office’s project entitled ‘10 SMEs for Europe’, which is supporting the work of 10 small and medium-sized Alsatian companies working within EU research and innovation projects.

The work we have done on coordinating efforts within the region are mirrored by our work with other regions of Europe, notably in the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme. ILETE, or initiative for low-energy training in Europe, is a project we are running with seven other European regions, and received EU funding of €500,000. The aim of the project is to cut by five the energy consumption of public buildings within two years. This we hope to achieve through information and training, focusing on 800 students and 800 professionals, drawing their attention to the growing importance of, and opportunities for, reducing energy consumption in buildings.

Finally, the Alsace region is also at the heart of Europe because it is part of the Upper Rhine Euroregion, a tri-national body which covers the German regions of Rhineland-Pfaltz and Baden-Wurtemberg, Alsace and the north western regions on Switzerland – a total population of 6.6 million people, of whom 2.2m are of working age. The Euroregion was first created in 1975 and has benefited significantly over the years from Interreg funding. The next big project for the Euroregion is the creation of a European metropolitan region in the upper Rhine valley. At the most recent meeting of Euroregion members, on 11 January this year, we signed a joint declaration to this effect. The creation of a metropolitan region will, we believe, make the region more attractive to investors and hence more competitive, and is the logical development of the work that we have carried out together for many years.

Alsace is not simply a frontier region, whose history is irrevocably entwined with that of the EU itself. It is also a region at the very heart of the EU where Europe is part of the everyday lives of everyone living there.