Upper Austria is part of a new network of economically strong regions in the EU. The inaugural conference of the ten start-up regions took place in Antwerp this week.
In addition to Upper Austria, these include Flanders (Belgium), Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Lower Saxony (Germany), the Basque Country and Catalonia (Spain), the French regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Hauts-de-France and, from Italy, Lombardy .
Together they represent a quarter of the EU’s gross domestic product, the founding regions confidently announced at the opening conference. Among the goals that the network strives for is to strengthen the economic security of supply of the EU in general and these regions in particular. This also means re-industrialization and bringing production processes back to Europe.
To this end, the ten founding regions are demanding greater integration of the regions from the EU institutions.
For medication safety
LH deputy Christine Haberlander (VP) took part in the conference for Upper Austria. Before leaving for Belgium, she had already pointed out an area in which security of supply and in-house production were extremely important – the production of active ingredients and pharmaceuticals (the OÖN reported). “The greatest possible independence and our own production facilities in the area of medicines are essential lessons from the last few years of crisis,” said Haberlander. She also used the trip to Belgium to meet with the Austrian EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, to whom she handed over a demand paper from Upper Austria. In addition, Haberlander renewed the demand that a quota regulation should also be introduced for dental studies in order to maintain dental care in Austria.
The next step in the network is to include other economically strong regions from Eastern Europe (e.g. Malopolska in Poland).
