ÖRUS 2020 - The Øresund Region's strategic document to meet the future

The bridge between Denmark and Sweden, which now in 2010 is celebrating its tenth year, rapidly evolved from the original concept of a mere transport corridor for long-distance traffic into a link that today connects the region closer together. As a regional artery for road and rail traffic, the bridge became a crucial linchpin and the instrument that paved the way towards a closer union between Zealand and Skåne, on the Danish and Swedish sides of the Öresund Sound respectively.

The Öresund Region deserves a vision and a strategy for the future. This is something that has been made clear to us on many occasions, as, for example, in the OECD 2009 report. Without a consensual view of what the future holds, the Öresund Region will not be able to fulfil its true potential – a potential that, if realised, will give the region a worldwide appeal, enabling us to reach and attract aspiring talents, investors, visitors and more residents. By combining green growth and welfare with openness and transparency, the Öresund Region can set a good example to the rest of the world.

The Öresund Region with its 3.7 million residents is one of the most significant and most dynamic regions in Northern Europe. The Öresund Committee believes that it is important to work both to safeguard the region’s position and to improve it even further in the future. This work will not only benefit the region itself, but also Sweden and Denmark. To do this, however, the region needs a clear vision and a strategy that together provide a road map for the decisions to be made and the measures to be implemented. The Öresund Region accounts for approximately 26 percent of the aggregate of the gross domestic products of Denmark and Sweden, and makes a significant contribution each year to the economic growth of these two nations.

Against this background, the Öresund Committee has formulated a development strategy for the Öresund Region. This development strategy – ÖRUS – has a time horizon of 2020. The work of developing this strategy has been undertaken together with many other players in the region – companies, organisations representing the interests of both employers and employees, municipal and regional authorities, universities, researchers and cultural representatives.

The ultimate objective is that by 2020 the Öresund Region will be a model for other European border regions, with a common labour market that offers full freedom of mobility without any of the formal or institutional obstacles and impediments that make it difficult for employees to live and work on different sides of the Öresund Sound, or for employers in one country to recruit human resources from the other.

IT, Cleantech and Life Science are already three strong industries in the Öresund Region whose numerous companies with their many employees and high degree of innovation will play a significant role in helping to make this the most attractive region in Europe.

Mikael Stamming
Director
Öresund Committee