It was a lively discussion in the evening of 11 February, when Secretary General Alenka Smerkolj paid an inaugural visit to South Tyrol's Governor, Arno Kompatscher. Two themes with a clear future perspective stood out during the meeting: sustainable development and transport management.
The common positions between the province of South Tyrol and the Alpine Convention soon became clear. An increased cross-border cooperation in the Alpine region is seen as the indispensable and essential condition in order to achieve a sustainable development and to manage the traffic flows effectively. The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss on political priorities of the South Tyrolean provincial government, which in the current legislature is particularly keen to promote sustainable development. Governor Kompatscher emphasised South Tyrol’s ambition to become the “KlimaLand” in the heart of Europe and the Alps. The climate strategy “Energy-South Tyrol 2050” is thereby the guide. Within this context, the Alpine Convention can certainly serve as a living and open framework for transnational and cross-regional encounters and exchange, so stated Secretary General Smerkolj.
Because of the crossing of traffic axis of European importance, the issue of transport management holds a special status in South Tyrol. Secretary General Smerkolj was happy to hear that South Tyrol, at the level of the European region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, is pursuing the Alpine Convention’s principle of shifting traffic from road to rail.
Photo credit: LPA/Guido Steinegger