The 15 Partner Regions
About the Hanse Passage Programme
The barriers that national borders impose on balanced and sustainable development within the EU shall be overcome by transnational co-operation on topics of mutual interest, starting from exchange of experience and knowledge in many fields of regional development. The enlargement of the EU generates more trade, more transnational transport of goods and persons, a more dynamic development of tourism as well as a growing demand for more effective co-operation and exchange on policies and measures. National and regional governments within the EU must anticipate these developments. New policies and services are needed.
The Hanse Passage Programme is a Regional Framework Operation (RFO) implemented under the Community Initiative Programme Interreg IIIC. It has been designed to build up strong, multinational partnerships among regional actors from fifteen regions in four old and two new member states. The programme grew out a 10-year multilateral co-operation between the partners of the ►New Hanse Interregio (NHI) the northern Dutch Provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Fryslân, Overijssel and the German states of Niedersachsen and Bremen, who in 2002 decided to continue their co-operation and develop a Regional Framework Operation (RFO), called Hanse Passage. The Dutch Province of Groningen is the Lead Participant of the Hanse Passage Programme.
The regions of the Hanse Passage partnership face similar problems: how to adapt regional policies, how to boost economically their regions. At the same time they are extremely willing to identify the most effective ways and best practices that will help them one the one hand address their own deficits, and on the other, benefit from the changing conditions of the growing EU.
The Hanse Passage programme is in full operation. In 23 sub-projects and 3 cluster projects, more than 180 organisations spread over the 15 European regions, exchange experiences and build up expert networks in 3 policy fields: ►new forms of governance, ►social & economic planning and ►innovation & human resources. The sub-projects are organising joint analyses, study visits and discussions. The results are new insights gained, good practice experiences exchanged and - where possible implemented in the own region.
The programme is running successfully. There is growing awareness and general appreciation of the importance of this type of interregional co-operation. Opinions are being voiced that Hanse Passage has already become a brand name people recognise it and see its value.