Brindisi (Italy), 6-8 June 2012: 12th Edition of the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers od Commerce

The 12th edition of the AIC Forum was held this year in Brindisi from 6th to 8th June, in collaboration with the Brindisi Chamber of Commerce. It concluded its works with a remarkable success, expressing a high level of comparison and reflection on the subject matter broached, namely: TOWARDS THE ADRIATIC – IONIAN MACRO-REGION: A STRATEGIC PROJECT FOR TERRITORIAL AND BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS

The international event saw the participation of more than 250 representatives, making their contribution to the works devoted to the establishing of the future Adriatic Ionian Macro-Region and the role that the Forum of the Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian Area may play in such a delicate political and social context.

A great many authoritative figures were involved, such as the President of the Committee of the Regions Mercedes Bresso, the President of the Marche Regional Board, Gian Mario Spacca, the Deputy President of the Apulia Regional Board, Loredana Capone, and the President of the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Ferruccio Dardanello and the President of Eurochambres, Alessandro Barberis
The contributions by the representatives of the various DGs of the European Commission, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Transport Ministry, the C.E.S.E., the AII permanent secretariat, important networks such as NECSTouR, Uniadrion and the Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities and Towns.

The video message sent by the Deputy President of the European Parliament Gianni Pittella provided an excellent institutional frame to the works of this edition
And this year’s event once again chose to focus on the future Adriatic-Ionian Macro-Region, in line with previous editions of the Forum and on ways to implement a programme that would be consistent with territorial policies and with the EU growth priorities for the creation of a new governance model capable to encourage integrated development, promoting innovative, sustainable interventions in support of the businesses of the area
The message launched by this edition was to help develop the Adriatic-Ionian Macro-Region by 2014.

It is in this direction that the final declaration heads. It was approved unanimously by the meeting of participants, seeking to stress the political commitment and responsibility that the Forum of the Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian Area intends to take on in representation of 36 chambers, in order to lay a solid basis for the social and economic re-launch of the area
In this sense, we need to create the conditions whereby the European integration process of the communities and territories involved by the macro-regional programme is developed as quickly as possible, with the bottom-up approach that has always marked the initiative of the Chambers of Commerce in the relevant basin
A vast strategic area with great opportunities for growth that involves Italy, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Greece, Albania and Serbia and which can count on very interesting numbers: more than a hundred million inhabitants, more than 1,2 million businesses, 32 billion euros in cross-border turnover
An outlet market that already sees the “Made in Italy” amongst the top four trading partners and which “may represent a cog in helping increase the plateau of businesses exporting abroad” both due to geographic closeness and cultural affinity, as the President of Unioncamere Ferruccio Dardanello rightly pointed out
To make the most of this potential the establishment of a credible supra-territorial organism, which is recognised by all parties in play and is able to guide the standardisation of market rules without losing sight of the specific needs of the different countries comprising it, is absolutely essential.

According to Rodolfo Giampieri, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Ancona and Deputy President of the Forum, it is clear that “the interconnection of the economies of the Macro-region is now a given fact and it is virtually no longer possible to split the trend of an individual country away from that of the others”.

Alfredo Malcarne, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Brindisi that housed the Forum works, is absolutely convinced of this and declared that “we must all work together on this journey, on the one hand each striving to do his best, with his own competences and specific skills, and on the other putting all the knowledge and potential on the network to achieve an expanded concept of territoriality and productivity”.

These are objectives that the Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian have put in black and white, committing themselves to “build a network of the experience and potential present in the economic-productive fabric, strengthen and rationalise the infrastructural system, develop social and economic activities between integrated and complementary areas”.

The President of the Marche Regional Board Gian Mario Spacca, in line with the President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso, chose to forcibly stress the matter of the infrastructural system, underlining the fact that five years ago the design of the European infrastructural networks exclusively concerned the north-eastern part of the continent with a strong concentration of connections between Russia and Germany. Today, the Ten-T network has changed significantly: there is a re-affirmation of the role of central Europe in a process of greater integration and above all of the role of the Mediterranean. New corridors are consolidating and these include the Baltic-Adriatic one. The development of infrastructures is a concrete effect of the strategy of the Adriatic-Ionian Macro-Region.

The letter sent by MEP Antonio Tajani, Deputy President of the European Commission, and dedicated to this edition of the Forum was particularly important. With this communication he deemed it appropriate to inform participants that within the “Programme for the competitiveness of businesses and SMEs” the Commission has proposed providing 2.5 billion euros in incentives to the competitiveness and internationalisation of SMEs: the aim is to assist 39 thousand businesses a year, helping them create or save around 30 thousand jobs and develop 900 new products, services and business processes
Under this scope, a good 135 million will be allocated to tourism. This is a strategic sector for the Macro-Region and one which sees it in a better position than other areas of the EU, given that the Forum has already adopted the “Adrion” umbrella logo some years ago to identify multi-country tourist packages that are presented on international markets
The “Adrion” brand has been recognised as a good practice in both the Regional “Branding Policy” Conference organised by NecsTouR and in the European Consultation of the DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission that went under the title “Challenges and opportunities for the coastal sector in Europe”
Transport is another extremely important segment for the establishment of the Macro-Region. It must be modern and efficient in order to integrate those marginal areas of the EU too, which are precisely those worst struck by the crisis
In a period of great difficulty for our economy, the Macro-Region may be essential in laying a solid basis for the recovery of a great many production sectors. With the Macro-Region people and ideas can be moved to face up to challenges and make the most of shared opportunities, always remembering that the added value of this strategy is an important political signal launched to Western Balkan countries
Within the EU re-launch plan the next few years will focus on developing intelligent, inclusive, sustainable growth to create new jobs, particularly supporting small and medium-sized enterprises
The AIC Forum in Brindisi, which has only just ended, was characterized not only by the stringent need for socio-economic integration between people and countries who came along, but also the European spirit, the awareness of being part of a Union that offers possibilities for growth and visibility, and in which we must present ourselves as a compact Macro-region.

The edition was enhanced by the productions of the theme-specific workgroups, which have always been the technical-operational tools by which to outline the Forum’s annual programme and the related projects and initiatives. Over the last 12 years this method has enabled the promotion of significant cooperation and development activities in favour of the territories of the Adriatic-Ionian area.

INSULEUR Agreement Protocol This Edition also saw the signing of an Agreement Protocol between the Forum and Insuleur, a network of insular Chambers of Commerce of the European Union, established in 2000 in Crete, Greece, following the decision of the chambers of commerce of the insular regions of France, Greece, Spain and Italy
Today, there are 37 Chambers of Commerce members of Insuleur: Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Malta and the United Kingdom; for Italy, the Chambers of Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano, Palermo and Sassari are members
Both organisations are present in the association structure of Eurochambres and on the basis of the agreement they will be able to strengthen relations and cooperation in projects relating to sectors of shared interest, with particular regards to transport and logistics, tourism, the sustainable development of SMEs, agriculture, the environment and female entrepreneurship
This last understanding increases the collaborations that the AIC Forum has built up over the years with other European networks, such as Ascame, INCE, Eurochambres and NecsTouR, strengthening a chamber network of excellence on a European level and highlighting individual specificities
Networking and acting as a system is therefore method and substance for the Forum of the Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian Area and represents our heritage of values and experience to be invested in the future Adriatic Ionian Macro-Region.