Page 189 - Proceeding 2015

BRAN Florina, IOAN Ildiko and RADULESCU Carmen Valentina FAMP
EUROPEAN POLICIES WITH IMPACT ON TERRITORIAL PLANNING CCASP

1. INTRODUCTION

The geographic territory of Europe comprises an area of around 10 million square kilometers, situating
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11 TH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
this continent at the end of the hierarchy compared with the other continents. Nonetheless, Europe
concentrates a variety of cultures that impacted on development all over the world. The current economic
framework although allowed European states to value their historic capital, was also very advantageous
for emerging regions that leaped in economic growth and now challenge European producers within the

global market’s framework.

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic construct that is not entirely overlapped with the
geographic area, but holds most of it. Currently EU embodies states with different characteristics although

with common interests in certain areas. The overarching goal of this construct is to reduce the differences
in such a way that each state maximizes its development potential and their interaction boosts synergetic
processes enabling the sustainable growth of EU’s competitiveness in a global context. The main means

30 th – 31 st October 2015 ”Strategic Management for Local Communities” Bucharest market. Thus, the three fundamental goals of the European policy are:
of achieving this goal is economic growth facilitated by the economies of scale enabled within the common

? Economic and social cohesion;

? Conservation and management of natural resources and of the cultural heritage;

? More balanced competitiveness of the European territory.

The differences among states arise from various aspects, including territorial planning. Each state has its
own approach in this area, approach that impacts on the effectiveness of some European policies. It could

be inferred that, on their turn, European policies will also have an impact on territorial planning, impact
that should enable the achievement of these policies’ goals.

Territorial planning itself is an issue with relevance for entire union and since the early phases it was

outlined the European Spatial Development Program that is aiming to achieve a balanced and sustainable
development of the European territory. This policy is considered the framework for sector policies of the

EU and of the Member States that have impacts on territorial planning.

Territorial planning is a practice with a long tradition that stem back in times with a very different social,
economic, political and cultural background (Cândea et al., 2006). In modern times, this practice was

conceptualized and developed by scientific approach that resulted in some major changes, but with a
patchy implementation across European states. These changes were more related with shifts of the
political regime, while the dynamic of the economy was less influential until recently.

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