Cohesion for growth: mountains key contributors to Europe’s competitiveness

The V European Mountain Convention was organised on 14 & 16 September 2006 in Chaves, Portugal and focused on the topic “Cohesion for growth – mountains as natural ingredients for Europe’s competitiveness?”.

One of Europe’s advantages in a globalising world is its diversity, which is abundantly present in mountain areas. Mountain areas also have a specific contribution to offer the European population in the form of public goods that also drive the economy. The comparative advantages of mountains, sensitively developed, can also make a significant contribution to European growth. Finally, mountain areas are calling for European border areas, islands and other marginal rural areas to unite in defence of the fundamental pillar of European integration, cohesion.

The V European Mountain Convention concluded with the adoption of the Chaves Declaration “Cohesion for growth: mountains key contributors to Europe’s competitiveness”.

The Declaration includes:

• A statement on the important role that mountain areas can play in the European Union sustainable development and in generating growth.
• Demands to better take into account mountain areas in policies and investment programmes in order to unlock their growth potential and encourage their sustainable economic development.
• Recommendations specific to the challenges of some mountain areas, such as the Carpathians and the Balkans.