ESPON presents territorial observations on key development patterns of territories with geographic specificities (coastal areas, islands, mountains and sparsely populated regions) and key messages for policy-makers for designing and implementing development strategies specifically tailored to the needs of these places.

The policy brief was prepared by the ESPON EGTC at the initiative of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union on the basis of the background working paper that was presented at the Network of Territorial Cohesion Contact Points (NTCCP) meeting in Malta on 2 March 2017.

The main territorial observations presented in this policy brief should be considered as a contribution of the Maltese Presidency to the upcoming policy debates on the future EU Territorial Agenda, Cohesion policy and Transport policy.

The ESPON Policy Brief “Shaping new policies in specific types of territories in Europe: islands, mountains, sparsely populated and coastal regions", the Working Paper “Revealing territorial potentials and shaping new policies in specific types of territories in Europe”, including maps, are available below.

Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ESPON EGTC at info@espon.eu