EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL CO-OPERATION Brussels, 1 September 2008 Nathalie Verschelde Unit REGIO E1 «Territorial Cooperation »

AGENDA  What is territorial cooperation ?  How does it work ?  The new programming period  How can you participate ?

What is territorial cooperation ?  Co-operation between MS and/or regions based primarily on geographical features: borders, sea basins, periphery, etc  Structural Funds support for activities which decrease the negative impacts of borders or enhances co-operation and integration among partners who share a “common space”

What is territorial cooperation?  Three broad types of programmes: Cross-border co-operation : direct land or maritime borders, contiguous areasCross-border co-operation : direct land or maritime borders, contiguous areas Transnational co-operation : wider geographical groupings based on shared geographical featuresTransnational co-operation : wider geographical groupings based on shared geographical features Inter-regional co-operation : no specific geographical focus, regions from 27 MS working togetherInter-regional co-operation : no specific geographical focus, regions from 27 MS working together

Other features  Strong presence of the Lisbon and Göteborg agendas (growth, jobs, innovation and environment very important)  75% ERDF co-financing for all, even 85% for some (more than before with 50% and 75%)  Recommended involvement of wide partnerships  Improved governance (effectiveness, transparency, accountability, etc)

New Legal Basis  General Structural Funds regulation which fixes the main objectives (1083/2006)  ERDF regulation including a chapter on ETC with detailed requirements (1080/2006)  Implementing Regulation (1828/2006)  Regulation for a European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation, i.e. EGTC (1082/2006)

How are the strands financed ? How are the strands financed ? * Cross-border cooperation 4(69%)5.6**(74%) Transnational cooperation 1.4(24%)1.8**(21%) Inter-regional cooperation (7%) (5%) Total5.87.8** ** Plus external coop. (0.9 billion) * Billion €, Current prices

1. Cross-border co-operation (by far the largest in funding and number of programmes) € 5.6 billion

: 52 cross-border programmes

MS participation MSCBCTN BE52 BG21 ČR51 DK42 DE145 EE21 EL32 ES34 FR137 IRL33 IT74 CY11 LV31MSCBCTNLT31 LU11 HU42 MT11 NL42 AT73 PL72 PT14 RO21 SI34 SK42 FI32 SE63 UK64

programmes: Italy – Malta (not yet adopted) Italy – Greece Italy – Slovenia Italy – Austria Italy – Switzerland Italy – France (land) Italy – France (Maritime) Cross-border cooperation In Italy

What do they do? Essentially local in nature :  Entrepreneurship and SMEs, cross-border trade, tourism and culture  Protection and joint management of the environment  Better access to transport  Information and communication networks  Water, waste management and energy management systems  Joint use of health, culture and education infrastructure  Judicial and administrative co-operation Particularly important to contribute to Lisbon and Göteborg while working on erasing the negative border effects Possibility to finance ESF-type activities too.

2. Transnational co-operation € 1.8 billion

: 13 Programmes

MS participation MSCBCTN BE52 BG21 ČR51 DK42 DE145 EE21 EL32 ES34 FR137 IRL33 IT74 CY11 LV31MSCBCTNLT31 LU11 HU42 MT11 NL42 AT73 PL72 PT14 RO21 SI34 SK42 FI32 SE63 UK64

Transnational cooperation in Italy Alpine SpaceCentral Europe MED South East Europe

What do they do? Focus on :  Innovation, RTD, enterprises  Environment : water management, environmental protection and risk prevention (including maritime safety)  improved accessibility, transport, information and communication networks  sustainable urban development

What is new ?  Concrete projects (investments where possible)  Networking, plans and studies acceptable only if they prepare for concrete projects  Development of strategic projects, involving both regional and national authorities – leverage towards other funding instruments  Not only open calls but also focused/thematic calls  Higher profile programmes (e.g. Baltic Sea Strategy)

3. Interregional co-operation € 445 million

 A single management structure for INTERREG IVC covering entire EU  MA in Nord-Pas de Calais (Lille)  Contact points in other regions (Valencia, Katowice, Rostock)  MC composed of 27 MS !

What do they do? “Reinforcement of effectiveness of regional policy” :  Mainly through establishing regional co- operation networks for exchange of experience and good practice  Focus on innovation & knowledge economy and environment & risk prevention

What is new ?  Besides “classic” inter-regional approach of bottom-up networking, new type of intervention : “Regions for Economic Change”  RfEC supports networks in 30 themes (20 INTERREG and 10 Urban)

Also financed through inter-regional budget In addition to regional networks :  Framework programme for the exchange of experiences on urban renewal (developed on the basis of URBACT II)  Identification, transfer and dissemination of best practice in management of co-operation programmes (developed on the basis of INTERACT II)  Studies and data collection, observation and analysis of development trends in the Community (developed on the basis of ESPON II)

External borders – programmes managed by DG REGIO IPA CBC € 600 million (ERDF and IPA)

IPA CBC Programmes 12 IPA CBC Programmes

IPA Programmes  In theory, 12 programmes managed by DG REGIO (with MS participation)  10 programmes functioning. GR/TK and CY/TK problematic at the moment  9 CBC + 1 transnational in nature (Italy/Adriatic)  Managed under the responsibility of the MS

Management and Structures of the Programmes

Structures For each programme:  One Managing Authority, One Certifying Authority, One Audit Authority (classic)  One Joint Technical Secretariat (genuine international team – main contact point for beneficiaries)  Exceptionally, additional structures to ensure good coverage (sometimes long and geographically difficult areas) All this even with involvement of minimum 2 MS

ProjectSelection Project Selection Cross-border and transnational co-operation:  Partners from at least two countries  Fulfill at least 2 of the following 4 criteria: joint project development joint project development joint implementation joint implementation joint project staff joint project staff joint financing joint financing

ProjectSelection (2) Project Selection (2) Responsibility of the Monitoring Committee (sometimes delegated to a Steering Committee) made up of representatives of all MS (or regions) involved Challenge : to select the best projects regardless of their location – resist temptation to “get out” of the programme what “goes in” as financial contribution.

New legal basis now requires that : one project = one lead partner = one contract  Essential for genuine cross-border projects  Reduces risk of unilateral projects  But a big challenge in terms of management and responsibility for all involved Lead Partner Principle

How can you take part ?  Cross-border cooperation - Trento not eligible  Transnational programmes – Alpine Space, Central Europe and South-East Europe. All three programmes focus on innovation, accessibility, environment, risk management. See the websites and joint technical secretariats for more info on contents and calls for projects.  For inter-regional cooperation – check the programme priorities and establish your interest in a network or initiate your own network. Frequent calls for projects.

Thank you for your attention ! Visit our website: feder/index_en.htm#European_Territori al_Cooperation