Why strengthen regions?

Definition of the term "regions"

The Federal Constitution does not provide a legal definition of the term "region". In carrying out its tasks, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management (BML) refers to institutionally, spatially or functionally delimited areas that are geographically located between an individual municipality and a Federal Province, but may also cross provincial or federal borders. In the context of the implementation of European funding programmes in Austria, the term "region" is defined according to the NUTS classification (Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) of regions. In principle, the BML's scope of action "regions" refers to all regions of the federal territory, while the concrete need for action results from the region-specific issues and challenges in each case.

The term can therefore be used in different ways and applies equally to rural-peripheral regions, urban regions and other regions defined according to their thematic functionality, such as "industrial region", the Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino Euroregion or Centrope.

Complex current challenges for regions

Austria is characterised by a very wide variety of regional and inter-municipal cooperations that are organised differently from Province to Province. Throughout Austria, regions have also gained in importance as a level of action - especially in the face of complex challenges such as climate change, the Covid pandemic, increased international competition and digitisation. The players in regional management, LEADER management, city region management, Euroregions and numerous other regional structures have increasingly taken on central tasks in the citizen-centred management of the "region" as a living space.

Success factors for regional cooperations

Regional cooperations require very good conditions for successful action. They need good framework conditions and committed implementation adapted to the regional situation. In the framework of the project "Strengthening the regional level of action:
Status, Impetus and Perspectives (2020)” (German title “Die regionale Handlungsebene stärken: Status, Impulse und Perspektive (2020)”), implemented by the BML in the Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning (ÖROK), key success factors were identified and set out as a "Common Position". In addition to the importance of long-term perspectives in terms of resources and other hard facts, soft factors such as mutual trust, cooperation on an equal footing and good training and further education for stakeholders were identified as key success factors.

Federal Government contributions to strengthening the regions

Good cooperation between the Federal Government, the Provinces, regions and municipalities is a prerequisite for successful regional action. While the main responsibility for the regional level of action lies with the Provinces and the municipalities, the Federal Government is involved as an important partner, primarily by providing impetus for the regional policy and by setting framework conditions.

The "regional" level of action is an important implementation partner for the Federal Government when it comes to national and European goals. This increasingly requires more cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation with the Provinces and regions. As the “Regions Ministry”, the BML sees itself in a key role at federal level.