RECOREs main aim is to encourage improved regeneration of coal mining areas by considering how policies and funding from external sources, whether the EU, national governments or elsewhere, can be applied in a co-ordinated manner and to maximum effect. RECORE also aims to further integrate partners from the new Member States within the project and to increase solidarity towards third country partners. Achievements: Achievements so far The RECORE project exchanges on the regeneration process of the European coalmining regions. This large scale project brings together eight partners representatives of the UE-25 and Europe mining regions of Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain and United-Kingdom. As scheduled six sides of the regeneration process have been studied during the six thematic seminars held in partners coalfield. Each partner has reported on the six sides (thematic overviews and some good practices). The first seminar, BARNSLEY-UNITED KINGDOM, dealt with Improvement of Infrastructures. The findings showed that Infrastructure Improvements are the foundation for regeneration of the former coalmining areas. The second seminars theme, OSTRAVA-CZECH REPUBLIC, was Environmental remediation. Partners exchanged their various experiences and investigated on legal and technical aspects of Environmental remediation. The third seminar, LEWARDE-FRANCE, aimed at exchanging experiences on Mining Heritage, Leisure and Tourism. It emerged that Mining heritage can be a large-scale and strong driver of local and economical development. The fourth seminar, OVIEDO-SPAIN, focused on Inward Investment. It appeared that mining regions are attractive for investors thanks to some encouraging policies. However the major concern is to anchor new investors locally. During the fifth seminar, TYCHY-POLAND, partners worked on the theme: Support to Small and Medium Enterprises. Partners agreed on the necessity of some material or financial aid to SMEs. Nevertheless they also warned about some possible negative effects of that mechanism. The sixth seminar, GELSENKIRCHEN-GERMANY, viewed the theme of Training. Partners reached to the conclusion that Education and Training in their coal regions struggling with problems of restructuring is a key factor for further social development. A seventh seminar has been organised in April in FORBACH – FRANCE to tackle three basic crossed-themes which have been identified as essential: Regional regenerating policies, Structural Funds, Interregional cooperation. Eventually, a final conference has been organised in November 2006 in BRUSSELS-B to present in particular the main findings of the project. During the conference, partners also drew the perspectives of the regeneration of the mining regions, of the Structural Funds and of the interregional cooperation. The RECORE good practices guideline has been officially launched. 2 620 copies were disseminated throughout European mining regions. At last partners decided to organise an additional seminar in UKRAINE to exchange on the transfer of experiences between third and UE countries towards the mining questions. This meeting was held on April 2007 in DONETSK-UA. Roughly 600 representatives of mining regions have been directly involved in the RECORE events. All the RECORE findings are available on the website (www.recore-programme.com ).