The economic downturn and the global financial crisis meant thousands of jobs were cut at vehicle manufacturers, such as Volvo and Saab. For this reason politicians and civil servants in Region Västra Götaland are increasing the breadth and pace of work to create new jobs in Västra Götaland.
-When us West Swedes meet representatives from other European countries, they are surprised by the joined-up thinking we have shown early on by bringing together business and industry development with long-term sustainability, said Kent Johansson, Chair of the Regional Development Committee, Region Västra Götaland, and with experience in the EU’s regional committee from when Sweden joined the EU in 1995. Economical development and commitment to the environment aren’t at odds with each other – even if it some still see it like that.
Johansson is proud of how far ahead west Sweden is with its all-encompassing approach to social development – where economic, environmental, and social factors are given equal weight.
He is now inviting the rest of the EU to utilise the experience and knowledge built up in Västra Götaland:
-We want to be an important collaborator – both for those who like us operate at the cutting edge as well as for those who want to be there.
Under the heading of The Good Life, the basis for the overall development work in Västra Götaland has been formulated into five key points.
The first point, which has been particularly pressing due to the crisis in the motor industry and the resulting loss of jobs in Västra Götaland, is:
• A thriving trade and industry sector
The other four inter-linked points are:
• Knowledge and development of competence
• Infrastructure and transport links
• Culture
• Health
The last point summarises Region Västra Götaland’s main task: to provide healthcare to Västra Götaland’s 1.5 million inhabitants, approximately a sixth of the total population of Sweden. Healthcare takes up the bulk of Region Västra Götaland’s total operating budget of 40 billion Swedish crowns per year. The budget however also contains sizeable sums for other areas, such as public transport and business development, as well as Sweden’s largest investment in the cultural arts.
-The Good Life is about having a family, near and dear ones, having your health, and having access to knowledge and education and culture, as well as having valued leisure time, said Roland Andersson, a Social Democrat politician who has been President of the Regional Executive Board since Region Västra Götaland began in 1999, except for a short period at the beginning.
-But above all, having a job is what’s important. This has been even clearer for us in these hard times of financial crisis and economic slowdown, said Roland Andersson.
With Sweden currently chairing the EU committee, Andersson wants to capitalise on this to promote ideas about the creation of new jobs through redistribution of EU funds.
-Agriculture still takes up almost half of the EU’s budget – even though the money is barely needed to manage the food supply in Europe, as it originally was when the budget was formed, said Roland Andersson. A reprioritisation must now take place.
Instead, he wants to see a large part of the agriculture and countryside budgets, today around 500 billion Swedish crowns per year, used to develop the EU and increase its competitive ability. For Västra Götaland, this could mean more investment in:
*Expansion of roads and railways.
*Research and technological development. For example, to improve heating efficiency in homes and offices and to create jobs within the vehicle and transport sectors.
Roland Andersson has led the general campaign which has resulted in the program that Västra Götaland is now steering. He cites the central sentence from the program’s text: “the good life also presupposes that sustainable development continues with the coming generations where the economical, social and ecological dimensions are dependent on each other – simply put, where they strengthen each other”.
Region Västra Götaland are aiming to influence the content of the conclusions at the UN’s climate conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year. Andersson provides some concrete examples of how Västra Götaland is already pushing forward with environmental issues and sustainable development in reality:
- We cook organic meals at our hospitals and this impacts on the whole supply chain from producer to consumer, as well as on research.
- We use environmentally-friendly cars in our day-to-day business and stimulate the expansion of public transport in the same spirit as the city of Göteborg.
- We build smart hospitals that take the whole picture into account and are conscious of how pharmaceuticals affect the environment.
Johnny Magnusson, a Moderate politician who leads the political opposition in Region Västra Götaland, briefly summarises his view of how west Sweden can be further developed:
-We must strive for the highest possible quality.
The goal of high quality, he stated, has already been reached, where it concerns culture.
-Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is world-class in the performance of Nordic music, said Magnusson. We must have the same high ambitions in research and education. We will be a region where talent is not only developed, even more so than it is today, but stays.
Main areas of responsibility: |
Healthcare, growth and development. |
| Operating annual budget: | 40 billion SEK (Swedish crowns) |
| Number of employees: | 50 000 |
| Regional tax: | 10.45 per cent (national average 10.8). |
• Scandinavia’s largest docks, Göteborg’s docks, where more and more of goods transportation is being moved from road to the railways.
• the bulk of Sweden’s maritime industry and research.
• a strong cluster of vehicle producers, such as the bus and lorry manufacturer AB Volvo, the car manufacturers Volvo Cars and Saab, and many suppliers and extensive research and development outfits.
• sustainable waste disposal, district heating, and a strong commitment to energy-efficient building.
• an extensive and environmentally-aware food industry which also contributes to the aim of making Sweden one of Europe’s foremost culinary countries.
• textile and furniture industries which unite design with advanced technology.
• many leading universities and colleges and Europe’s largest investment per capita by trade and industry in research and development.
• a large and growing visitor industry with the ‘event city’ of Göteborg, beautiful coastlines and large forests, shopping, and Middle Ages tourist attractions..
• innovative companies within telecommunications, information, and media.
• substantial regional investments in the cultural arts with Sweden’s national orchestra, an opera house with the ambition to be among the best in Europe, Film i Väst film production company, and annual events such as the Göteborg Book Fair and the Göteborg International Film Festival.
• close co-operation between trade and industry, the universities, colleges, and the public sector in investment in growth – for example, Sahlgrenska Science Park, Chalmers Innovation, Framtidens Företag, Brewhouse Innovation, GU Holding (all in Göteborg), Espira (in Borås), Gothia Science Park (Skövde) and Innovatum (Trollhättan)
The Västra Götaland region with Göteborg leading the way is next best in the whole of Europe for trade and industry investment in research and development. Read more about the region’s proven ability to manage tough changes – and about ‘A city with an agenda’.
Greater Göteborg invests its way out of the crisis and creates 20,000 new jobs. Read more about how Göteborg will grow to a region the size of Brussels.
In Västra Götaland economic growth and the environmental are not contradictory agendas. Read more on how Europe looks to the region’s forward-thinking ideas.
Sweden and Norway have the world’s first cross-border marine national park.
Read more about the Kosterhavets National Park in Västra Götaland which has cost 150 million Swedish crowns to set up.
