Source: press office of the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomiti
Belluno, 25 January 2022 – A Memorandum of Understanding of strategic importance has been signed between GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti and the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso –
Belluno|Dolomiti, which welcomes the Europe Direct Montagna Veneta 2021-2025 centre set up at GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti and opens an information point of the Europe Direct centre at
the Chamber’s headquarters.
The EUROPE DIRECT Montagna Veneta desk is one of the 45 information points of the Italian EUROPE DIRECT network, which in turn is part of the new generation of EUROPE DIRECT
Centres managed by the European commission.
The project has a duration of 56 months, active since May 1, 2021, the EUROPE DIRECT Montagna Veneta centre will end, with no possibility of extension, on 31.12.2025.
The Chamber of Commerce has decided to support the candidature of GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti in the call for tenders issued by the European Commission for the selection of a
Europe Direct centre, also proposing the establishment of an information point linked to the centre at the Chamber’s headquarters, – said Mario Pozza, President of the Chamber of Commerce
of treviso-belluno-dolomiti. – With this agreement we want to bring closer not only the citizens and the young generations, but in particular the enterprises and the mountain institutions to
the policies, the instruments and the funds made available by the European Union to favour concrete development actions in a European vision. The mountains need a dedicated European centre
because of their special needs compared to the plains. We also want the Veneto mountains to feel at the centre of European policies without becoming disaffected because they are marginalised, and
to be involved in the process of European citizenship and identity. I am certain that bringing the information point and antenna to the mountains will encourage mutual understanding and will
certainly be a driving force for the social and economic development of the valleys, reactivating the attractiveness of the mountains for the future work of young people. Raising the awareness of
businesses towards the EU means developing and developing projects to be included in the PNRR and other EU-funded projects. Congratulations to the GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti,–
concluded President Mario Pozza, – we will do a great job together.
I am delighted that it has been possible to conclude this solid cooperation agreement between our body and the CCIAA of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomiti,- highlights the President of the GAL
Prealpi e Dolomiti, Alberto Peterle, – This synergy will enable us to increase and develop active European citizenship in our territories, with particular attention to citizens, young people
and businesses. The motivation is strongly aimed at involving them in the debate on the future of the Union.
WHAT ARE EUROPE DIRECT CENTRES
The EUROPE DIRECT Centres are territorial centres that have the specific task of bringing citizens, enterprises and institutions closer to the policies, tools and funds made available by the
Union in order to promote development actions. In this particular case, the centre set up at the LAG Prealpi e Dolomiti has a significant role to play since it is aimed at the whole of the
Veneto mountains (the entire mountain territory of BL, TV, VI and VR) – i.e. 37% of the regional territory with a population of 650,000 inhabitants – and is functional in representing the knowledge
needs of the mountain area in relation to the institutions and policies of the European Union for the next five years.
The centre interacts with the citizens and the various stakeholders of the territory to foster a greater sense of belonging and participation in the European identity, offering information on
policies, on the opportunities offered – with particular regard to development policies and access to funding, on EU programmes and priorities. It also works in schools to promote active
European citizenship through presentations, debates and the distribution of official publications.
The aim of the EUROPE DIRECT Centres is to help the European Commission and the European Parliament to disseminate the opportunities offered by the EU, making the
EU institutions more accessible to both citizens and businesses by promoting their active involvement in the debate on the future of the Union.
WHY THE EUROPEAN DIRECT COUNTER MOUNTAIN VENETA
The socio-economic factors that prevail in rural areas (high age, lower level of education than in lowland areas, low average wealth, higher unemployment rate, territorial fragmentation)
contribute to reinforce the idea that the European Union is not a resource for these territories, but on the contrary a threat. The population feels excluded from economic development and
public infrastructures as regards transport, health, care for the elderly, education and security, denouncing, not always wrongly, a lack of attention in communicating the policy coherence
between the different instruments and actions that the EU supports.
The European Economic and Social Committee believes that the creation of alliances in rural areas between local authorities, civil society organisations, social partners and other
stakeholders is essential to tackle the root causes of disaffection to the EU, recommending the launch of an ambitious communication, education and awareness-raising campaign aimed at
citizens, especially young people, to make them feel and grow as European citizens.
Need to have a desk in mountain areas because the existing Europe Direct Information Centres (EDIC) and European Documentation Centres (EDC) are all located in the urban axis
Verona-Padua-Venice.
COLLABORATION AGREEMENT 2021-2023 (signed by the Parties on 21 12 2021)
PURPOSE
CCIAA and LAG agree that promoting and supporting the EUROPE DIRECT Montagna Veneta desk represents for the territory an important opportunity for a sustainable and long-lasting
socio-economic progress.
In promoting the active participation of citizens and enterprises to the European Union’s issues, the knowledge of all the opportunities it offers – with particular regard to development
policies and access to funding for the projects that will be implemented in the 2021-2027 cohesion policy – is also fostered. This is a relevant factor for the revitalization of the local
economic fabric, which is particularly important in the post-pandemic recovery phase. It is essential to involve the younger generations in the process of shaping European citizenship and
identity through dedicated educational programmes, making them aware of all the opportunities, including professional ones, that the EU offers. In this specific context, the institutional
competences of the Chamber of Commerce to support the transition from school to work, one of the strategic axes of the organisation, and specifically the actions promoted in support of
orientation to work and professions, are well placed.
Increasing the sensitivity of businesses towards the EU means developing and developing projects to be included in the PNRR and other EU-funded projects.
Three-year cooperation (2021-2023) between the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso-Belluno and the GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti for the promotion and implementation of the activities of the “EUROPE
DIRECT Montagna Veneta” desk “in order to guarantee the participation of citizens and enterprises to European issues, respecting the specificities and needs of local communities, and in order
to strengthen the knowledge of the initiatives, actions and opportunities offered by the European Union to favour the socio-economic progress of the territory and the community of reference”.
The project value of the initiative for the three-year period 2021-2023 is € 30,000.00, to be supported with the constraint of 50% co-financing:
– YEAR 2021 – Start-up of the EUROPE DIRECT desk at Montagna Veneta: information, promotional and dissemination activities related to the 2021 annual communication plan approved by the
European Commission – total expected costs € 6,000.00, of which € 3,000.00 will be borne by the Chamber of Commerce;
– YEAR 2022 and 2023 – full operation of the EUROPE DIRECT Montagna Veneta desk in accordance with the jointly approved annual programme – total costs foreseen for each year € 12,000.00,
of which € 6,000.00 per year to be borne by the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce has decided to host at its premises an information point connected to the EUROPE DIRECT centre where citizens and enterprises can receive, through printed
material, the first information on the policies of the European Union. This is in continuity with the role that the Chamber of Commerce has always had in terms of disseminating Community
policies, which it has carried out in the past also through the network of Euro Info Centres with Unioncamere Veneto, as well as its participation in numerous projects. This network
dedicated to mountain areas represents a further opportunity to discuss the projects that will be implemented in the 2021-2027 cohesion policy in mountain areas.
OPERATIONALLY
In order to monitor the initiative and for its best success, a Working Group will be set up to draw up and approve the annual programme of activities (developed in accordance with the strategic
communication priorities identified each year for EUROPE DIRECT centres by the European Commission, including its National Representation, and expressed in the approved Annual
Communication Plan) to be carried out by 31 May each year. The Working Group will also examine the report on the status of the activities carried out annually by the LAG Prealpi e
Dolomiti and sent to the European Commission by 28/2, expressing observations and opinions to improve the effectiveness of the actions planned.
