EPRC focus on regional development in Norway

http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/norway.jpg <img src="http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/norway.jpg" width="184" height="103" border="0" align="left Douglas Yuill was an expert member of an OECD study visit of Norway from 21-26 January. The mission was organised by the OECD Territorial Development Service at the invitation of the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, and was intended to provide a critical external perspective on regional problems and policies in Norway. The study group, comprising senior officials from Finland and Canada, as well as academic experts, visited Tromsø in the far north (where the sun made a return over the horizon for the first time in two months) and Rendalen in the east (where the population density is less than one per square kilometre) as well as Oslo.<p>EPRC has also been presenting its regional policy research to Norwegian audiences through two seminars held in Oslo during January. On 10 January, Douglas Yuill presented a comparative assessment of recent developments in regional policy in the EU and Norway to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Subsequently, on 24 January, John Bachtler participated in an inter-ministerial seminar involving the same department and the Ministry of Agriculture, where he discussed the experiences of interaction between EU Cohesion policy and EU Rural Development policy focusing on the new strategic planning environment for 2007-13.