Toward Mountains 2020: Capitalising on Euromontana work to inspire programming

How can mountains contribute to EU 2020 Goals? How will investment in mountain areas lead to successful achievement of the 11 common strategic framework priorities?

Today, when snowy Brussels is experiencing the daily winter life of many mountain people, Euromontana is happy to communicate the first output of the « Toward Mountains 2020 » process.

"Legislative proposals currently being negotiated at EU level bring forward a more integrated approach to territorial development. This new approach is translated in transversal regulations and a Common Strategic Framework explaining how the 5 main territorial EU funds (ERDF, ESF, CF, EAFRD and EMFF) should contribute to EU 2020. On this basis, Member States will elaborate -hopefully in relation with regional authorities and stakeholders - partnership agreements specifying how territorial policies will be implemented on the ground. Programmes will be setup at national or regional level (depending on the country), with the possibility to conceive them as multi-fund programmes and to integrate territorial policy tools: multi-fund tools. EAFRD foresees explicitly the possibility of thematic sub-programmes for mountain areas. Finally, macro-regional strategies for specific territories such as mountain ranges are gaining importance.

Euromontana has called for this integrated approach, of particular importance for mountain areas. However, our work over the last five years has been thematic and project-based. This rich work has produced recommendations, thematic or general, depending on the issue, as well as case studies and good practices. It seems necessary, at this stage, to valorise and capitalise the results of our various thematic actions, as well as lessons learnt from the projects, into a tool which can serve as a guide to mountain people to approach programming 2014-2020 and to promote their needs in the elaboration of strategies, contracts and programmes. In assembling this document, we hope to improve understanding and ownership of the new setting, and also to equip mountain communities with useful arguments to demonstrate and recall how mountains can make significant contributions to EU 2020.

Euromontana would like to maximise chances for mountain areas to get as much and as smart and adequate support as possible in the next programming period. The ‘Toward mountains 2020’ process is intended to support mountain stakeholders in the negotiation and preparation of the future programmes. Capitalising our work and re-organising our knowledge is a first step which must be undertaken internally, with the whole network, to produce a fully satisfactory guide".