According to the vice-chairman of the PvdA, Tjeerd Ritmeester, the city must be aware of its international position. To their advantage, the city must make better use of its position and represent the interests of the inhabitants.
Geo-politics
International Developments such as the influence of the United States on ASML, the ties that many high-tech companies have with China and the war in Ukraine significantly impact our region. This exerts an effect on the municipality of Eindhoven and its residents.
Representation
“We have lobby offices in Brussels and The Hague, but we do not have sufficient insight into what is happening there. The municipality is partly lobbying for Brainport, but those are the interests of the regional companies”. “That is good, but our residents must also be represented. That doesn’t happen enough now. As a municipal council, we must determine our strategy ourselves, we must also be more assertive in determining the agenda. But we are not there yet,” says Ritmeester.
Profits
“The region has benefited enormously from the wave of globalisation over the last thirty years,” says Jos Van den Broek from think tank BrabantKennis. “But you also see that globalisation is coming to an end. As a city, you have to anticipate this, which is why you have to be well informed about what is going on”.
“Trickle-down economics has not worked (the idea that when the business community makes a lot of money, the money trickles down to the rest of society, ed.),” says Van den Broek. “That is why it is important to see how residents of the city can better benefit from the success of Brainport, but as you can see, that success is also related to international developments”.
Van den Broek thinks it is good that there is increased awareness about the international position of the city. “The growth will continue in the near future,” says Van den Broek.
“That is because the high-tech industry in the region is of enormous strategic value for the Netherlands and Europe. At the same time, you see that this growth also pushes the region to its limits; it brings with it major challenges”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Seetha
