EUROPEAN COMMISSION Territorial Co-operation in Territorial Co-operation in Territorial Co-operation Unit DG Regional Policy West Sussex, 17 October 2006

Main points l Legal Framework and Financing l Programme areas and structure l Content and topics l Programme management l Next Steps

Regulations mCouncil common position agreed on 12/6 and approved by Parliament on 4/7 m3 Council Regulations approved on 5 July ERDF – (EC) No 1080/ ESF – (EC) No 1081/ EGTC (EC) No 1082/2006 mand 2 on 11 July General Regulation – (EC) No 1083/ Cohesion Fund – (EC) No 1084/2006 mEntry into force on 1/8/2006

Regulations mLetter sent by EC on revised allocations per MS mCOM will ask MS whether they want to make use of flexibility (up to 15%) and how much they will allocate to each programme mList of eligible cross-border areas to follow in the autumn [Community Strategic Guidelines adopted on 6 October by the Council]

European Territorial Co-operation Financing l l From a Community Initiative to an Objective in its own right l l Somewhat higher financing € 5.8 billion → € 8.8 billion € 5.8 billion → € 8.8 billion

l l Cross-border co-operation 74% * l l Transnational co-operation 21%* l l Interregional co-operation 5% In addition, interregional co-operation with regions in other Member State will be encouraged in Convergence and Competitiveness programmes Co-financing rate: up to 75% (even 85% for certain programmes) 900 mio € to be transferred from Objective 3 ERDF- allocation from the Member States concerned to the external instruments (ENPI or IPA) *) Flexibility at Member State level: +/- 15% European Territorial Co-operation Financing

Present programmes Commission Proposal ( July 2004 ) Final Agreement (July 06 ) (Current prices) Cross-border co- operation 3998 mio € 6,8 bn € ~6,5 bn € (inc 0,9 bn € ENPI/IPA) Transnational co- operation 1394 mio € 6,8 bn € ~1,8 bn € Interregional co- operation (INTERREG IIIC, URBACT, ESPON, INTERACT) 406 mio € 406 mio € 0,65 bn € ~0,4 bn € Total 5799 mio € 14,25 bn € ~8,8 bn € European Territorial Co-operation Financing

Today 62 cross-border programmes

Regions eligible for cross-border co- operation More than 50 programmes on internal borders + 12 IPA programmes More than 50 programmes on internal borders + 12 IPA programmes

Co-operation programmes l Strand A Cross-border co-operation - for solving local problems - include strategic projects, especially along maritime borders l Strand B Transnational co-operation - no longer studies and plans but concrete, strategic projects important for the whole area l Strand C Interregional co-operation - exchange of experiences and best practices to improve regional policy design

l l The addition of many maritime borders will change the eligible programme areas considerably l l Larger co-operation areas may bring in new innovative projects l l As some topics of cross-border and transnational programmes may overlap, especially after the inclusion of many maritime borders, coherence between cross- border and transnational programmes should be ensured already at the programming stage l l General approach: reduce the number of programmes whenever possible, as a high number of small programmes and excessive administration costs would not seem sensible Cross-border co-operation: Programme structure

Cross-border programmes essentially local in nature, but include strategic projects at least along maritime borders l l Entrepreneurship and SMEs, cross-border trade, tourism and culture l l Protection and joint management of the environment l l Better access to transport, information and communication networks l l Water, waste management and energy management systems l l Urban-Rural links l l Joint use of health, culture and education infrastructure l l Legal and administrative co-operation Important issues in the programming process:   individual programmes should become more focussed   more focussed calls and commissioned projects

Transnational co-operation l 13 programme areas agreed l Allocation principle: national population l More strategic approach, well planned projects coordinated at national level Focus on - - Innovation: scientific and technological networks, technology transfer, R&TD and SMEs - - Environment: water and coastal management, Prevention of environmental and technological risks, maritime safety - - Accessibility: improve access to and quality of transport and telecommunication services - - Sustainable urban development

Transnational co-operation l Higher profile programmes l Concrete projects with some investments l Networking, plans and studies only to prepare concrete projects l Some strategic projects developed by the programme, involving both regional and national authorities - some of these projects may be written into the Programming document l Not only open calls for proposal but also focussed calls l Can spend 20% outside the eligible area l Can spend 10% outside the EU, if for benefit of the EU regions

Project ideas l l Maritime safety initiative (already initiated by the North Sea programme and now joint for 5 transnational programmes) l l Business co-operation and technology transfer between SMEs, research institutes, universities and regional development agencies to improve the competitiveness of the regions l l Protection against flooding l l Combating environmental threats l l Co-operation between coastal ports and towns to improve accessibility and transport interoperability

l l Interregional co-operation under Objective 3 (Territorial Co-operation) l l Interregional co-operation encouraged also within Objective 1 (Convergence) and Objective 2 (Competitiveness) programmes Two approaches to interregional co- operation

o oThematic interregional co-operation programme focusing on Lisbon and Gothenburg priorities (based on INTERREG IIIC) o oFramework programme for the exchange of experiences on urban renewal (developed on the basis of URBACT) o oStudies, data collection, observation and analysis of development trends in the Community (developed on the basis of ESPON) o oIdentification, transfer and dissemination of best practice in management of co-operation programmes (developed on the basis of INTERACT) Interregional co-operation programmes foreseen

l l Strong focus on European priorities :   Innovation and SMEs   Environment and risk prevention l l Simple, transparent and consistent programme framework for project applicants l l Thematically organised application and selection processes l l Systematic analysis of project results and dissemination ensuring easy access to best practice examples for regional policy makers Thematic interregional co-operation programme

l l Inclusion of a specific priority for interregional co-operation in Objective 2 (and Objective 1) programmes (optional) l l Will allow co-operation between programme regions l l Interregional co-operation can cover common topics of the programmes l l Each project partner funds own activities from respective programme Interregional co-operation in Competitiveness (Objective 2) programmes

Programme management structures: well working and cost-effective Managing Authority (MA) l Good management capacity Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) l Support the MA (and PMC) effectively and therefore normally located nearby l Provide help and support to projects at all stages l P l Process applications and organise expert assessments Monitoring Committee l Normally also responsible for project selection

Programme structures to support true co-operation projects of high quality Cross-border and transnational co-operation : l l Partners from at least two countries l l Fulfill at least 2 of the following 4 co-operation criteria: mjoint project development mjoint implementation mjoint project staff mjoint financing

l l No pre-allocations to different regions nor Member States participating in the programme l l Projects should compete on the basis of quality and relevance l l True Lead Partner (LP) projects, where the LP is responsible for implementing the whole project and concludes agreement with MA and with the beneficiaries participating in the operation (project partners)   Mirror projects only exceptionally Programme structures to support true co-operation projects of high quality

Avoid potential conflicts of interest and apply transparent procedures: use external experts to make an initial assessments of projects, especially in those cases where the region managing the programme is also applying for a project use external experts to make an initial assessments of projects, especially in those cases where the region managing the programme is also applying for a project the Joint Technical Secretariat should never be involved in managing a project the Joint Technical Secretariat should never be involved in managing a project Programme structures to support true co-operation projects of high quality

 Article 20 of ERDF regulation No 1080/2006  Responsibility for the implementation of the whole project  Signs the contract with the Managing authority  Organises relations among the project partners  Ensures clear lines of responsibility in the event of irregularities  For the Commission, this principle offers clear added value for cross-border co-operation  Ensures genuine joint implementation and co-operation  Sufficient financial safety elements are included within the regulations Lead Partner Principle

NEXT STEPS

Next Steps l l Discuss programme and management structures with your potential partners l l Discuss programme and management structures with the Commission l l Think about strategic projects that should be included in the programming document l l Involve local, regional and national level as appropriate

Next Steps l Programme preparation must start now – if not already started l Commission has already seen advanced drafts of several programmes l Intention should be to submit formally before the end of the year – ideally in the autumn l Approval and programme launch in early 2007

Thank you for your attention