European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP)
(Potsdam, May 1999)

The Ministers responsible for Spatial Planing of the European Union and the European Commission have adopted the document the European Spatial Development Prospective as a common model for the future territorial development of the EU.
The ESDP is an orientation framework for the sectoral policies with
territorial impact of the Community, the member States and the regional and local authorities, in order to obtain a balanced and sustainable development of the European territory. Also, the ESDP constitutes a reference document for the promotion of the collaboration and actions integration, with full respect to the principle of subsidiarity.

Goteborg European Council

The European Council met in Göteborg on 15 and 16 June 2001 to issue political guidance for the Union. It:

• confirmed the breakthroughs in the negotiations and agreed on the framework for the successful completion of the enlargement, and took forward the debate on the future of the Union;
• agreed on a strategy for sustainable development and added an environmental dimension to the Lisbon process for employment, economic reform and social cohesion;
• provided guidance for economic policy to sustain growth and encourage structural reforms;
• manifested its resolve to act jointly in current crises, particularly the Middle East and the Western Balkans.

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases.
The objective is the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted an average global rise in temperature of 1.4°C (2.5°F) to 5.8 °C (10.4°F) between 1990 and 2100).
Proponents also note that Kyoto is a first step as requirements to meet the UNFCCC will be modified until the objective is met, as required by UNFCCC Article 4.2 (d)

Territorial Agenda

The Territorial Agenda of the European Union constitutes a strategic and action oriented framework for the territorial development of Europe. It supports the implementation of both the Lisbon and the Gothenburg Strategies through an integrated territorial development policy based on the articles 2, 16 and 158 of the Treaty. The Agenda contributes to economic growth and sustainable development by strengthening territorial cohesion of Europe.
The objective of territorial cohesion was added as a third dimension alongside with economic and social cohesion in the Constitutional Treaty, agreed upon by the Intergovernmental Conference of the EU Member States on 29 October 2004. The Treaty, still to be ratified, hereby acknowledges the territorial dimension of EU policies. Since then territorial cohesion has become a politically accepted objective of the EU, which has formally been addressed among others in the Third Cohesion Report of 2005 and the Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion adopted in 2006.

European Landscape Convention

The European Landscape Convention, also known as the Florence Convention, was initiated by the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe. The Convention is aimed at:

• the protection, management and planning of all landscapes
• raising awareness of the value of a living landscape

The text of the European Landscape Convention was adopted by the Committee of Ministers in July 2002 and came into force 1 March 2004.

Barcellona Process

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is the main framework for political, economic, and social relations, as well as dialogue and regional co-operation, in the Mediterranean.  It is, moreover, the only forum bringing together all of the actors in the region.  This partnership, also called the Barcelona Process, includes 38 members: the 25 European Union Member States, three candidates for EU membership, and ten other countries known as Mediterranean Partners.  The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is an open, inclusive space, which has created a climate of trust in the region.  The active participation of Israel and the Palestinian Authority attests to its integrating capacity.
The first Foreign Ministers Conference, held in Barcelona in 1995, was the starting point for this association between the European Union and countries from the Mediterranean region.  Over these past ten years, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has achieved many of its objectives.  Politically, it has promoted dialogue and co-operation for the sake of greater stability and security in the Mediterranean region.

EuroMediterranean submit Barcelona

Alpine Convention

The Alpine Convention is a framework agreement for the protection and sustainable development of the Alpine region. It was signed on November the 7th 1991 in Salzburg (Austria) by Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the EU. Slovenia signed the convention on March the 29th 1993 and Monaco became a party on the basis of a separate additional protocol. The Convention entered into force on March the 6th, 1995.
The Convention is informed by the belief that a growing exploitation by human beings may increasingly threaten  the Alpine Region  and its environment: damages can be prevented by harmonising economic and environmental interests. Were the damage to develop, the economic costs and time required to  redress the balance – if possible- would be enormous.
This is why when  meeting for the first time in Berchtesgaden from the  9th to the  11th  of October 1989 the countries of the Alpine Region decided to draft an agreement for the  protection and sustainable development of the Alpine Region. The agreement  was enacted on the 7th of November 1991.
The convention is a positive result and recognises the Alps as a single space in a global context, that is to say one space, its parts – nature, economics and culture - being interdependent. The  specific features of the region contribute to the creation of an identity which requires a super-national protection.

The Alpine Convention