1. Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B Neighbourhood Programme
A Community Initiative
Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B
Neighbourhood Programme
Belarus
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Germany
Latvia
Lithuania
Norway
Poland
Russia
Sweden

2. Content of the presentation
Programme area
Programme thematic content
Programme management
Programme budget
Project partnership and management
Project budget
Project implementation
Good practice
Main challanges

3. INTERREG III B programmes
Alpine Space
Baltic Sea Region
North Sea Region
Atlantic Area
Archimed
South West Europe
North West Europe
Westers Mediterranean
CADSES
Northern Periphery
Most remote regions
(3 programmes)
Approved by the EU Commission on 14 September 2001.
All programme activities have to be finalized by the end of 2008
Transnational cooperation on spatial planning and regional development

4. Cooperation area: Denmark Sweden Finland Germany (North – East)
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Poland
Norway
Belarus (North – West)
Russia (North – West & Kaliningrad)
Germany - The Federal States (Länder) of Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Niedersachsen (only NUTS II area Regierungsbezirk Lüneburg
Belarus - Minsk, Grodno, Brest and Vitebsk provinces
Russia - Kaliningrad, St Petersburg surrounded by Leningrad Oblast as well as four hinterland areas, the Karelian Republic, Pskov Oblast, Novgorod Oblast and Murmansk Oblast
+ Archangelsk i Nenzen okrug.

5. Strategic objective:
Strengthening
economic, social and spatial cohesion
by promoting
transnational economic relationships
in order to reach an increased level of BSR integration and to form a region with sustainable growth prospects.
BSR IR III B Programme Strategic objectives should be achieved through:
Expanding the BSR economy and strengthning its position in the global economy 2. Promoting a territorial balance by supporting weak points and building on strong points 3. Facilitating effecient utilisation of limited resources 4. Forming a sustainable part of Europe

6. Programme priorities Priority 1:
Promotion of spatial development approaches and actions for specific territories and sectors
Priority 2:
Promotion of territorial structures supporting sustainable BSR development
Priority 3:
Transnational and bilateral institution and capacity building in the Baltic Sea Region

7. Programme priorities Priority 4 – border regions (committed)
Cross-border (INTERREG III A) priority
Estonia-Latvia-Russia (North)
Priority 6:
Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus (South)
Priority 7:
Technical Assistance

8. Measures in Priority 1
Priority 1: Promotion of spatial development approaches and actions for specific territories and sectors
Measure 1.1: Supporting joint strategies and implementation actions for macro-regions
Measure 1.2: Promoting sustainable spatial development of specific sectors
Measure 1.3: Strengthening integrated development of coastal zones, islands and other specific areas

9. Measures in Priority 2
Priority 2: Promotion of territorial structures supporting sustainable BSR development
Measure 2.1: Promoting balanced polycentric settlement structures
Measure 2.2: Creating sustainable communication links for improved spatial integration
Measure 2.3: Enhancing good management of cultural and natural heritage and of natural resources 

10. Measures in Priority 3
Priority 3: Transnational and bilateral institution and capacity building in the Baltic Sea Region
Measure 3.1: Promotion of transnational institution and capacity building
Measure 3.2: Bilateral maritime cooperation across the Baltic Sea

11. Examples of eligible activities:
Ø      Transnational studies and strategies Ø      Preparation of investments Ø      Transnational exchange of experience Ø      Training of professional staff Ø      Workshops, seminars, networking, etc.
- Transnational studies and promotion of spatial development concepts - Further investigations, which support preparation of investments - Concrete small-scale infrastructure investments - Marketing strategies, based on the project results, bridging the planning phase with market-oriented activities …might also form part of projects: - Transnational exchange of experience - Training of professional staff together with participants from Non-EU states - Improvement of information basis

12. BSR INTERREG III B management structure
Monitoring Committee
....
Supervising the programme
Steering Committee
Selection of projects and funding decisions
National Sub-committees
Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein
Joint Secretariat
Managing Authority
Paying Authority DK DE S
FIN N PL LT LV
EST RU
day to day programme management BY
Information and support
Project’s
Lead Partner
Municipalities & Regions
Project Partner
Project Partner
Project Partner
Project Partner

13. Programme funding ERDF funds: 149.0 M EURO*
Norwegian national: M EURO
Total programme funding: M EURO
All ERDF available for III B priorities was committed in 1-8 rounds
*including the additional funding from the new MS and IIIA priorities

14. Partnership (minimum requirements)
partners from three different countries
two countries should be financial contributors
one partner from EU
Each project should:
involve partners from at least three different countries;
at least two different countries should be financial contributors to the total project budget;
There should be at least one partner from the EU MS.

15. The Lead Partner Principle (example)
Polish Lead Partner cooperates with a Finnish, a Norwegian and a German partner in a transnational project.

16. full financial and legal responsibility for:
Lead Partner Principle
full financial and legal responsibility for:
project management system
submitting Application Form
signing the Subsidy Contract
reporting of the project progress
requesting payments
The lead partner bears full financial and legal responsibility for the entire project including all partners, in particular is responsible for: setting up and maintaining an efficient and reliable project management system (strategic, operational, financial), eg.
securing efficient use of the project’s resources;
co-ordination of activities (division of tasks) among the involved partners and ensuring that these tasks are subsequently fulfilled;
submitting the Application Form to the Joint Secretariat;
signing the Subsidy Contract with the Managing Authority;
proper reporting of activity related progress and financial follow-up to the Joint Secretariat;
requesting payments, which will be then forwarded to the project partners;
the LP should appoint a project co-ordinator and a financial manager to assist him with the relevant tasks
Administrative capacity and know-how are equally needed as well as extra resources to maintain the proper level of liquidity in the project.

17. Who can be a project partner?
National, regional and local public authorities
Public equivalent bodies
Public equivalent body means any legal body:
governed by public or private law
established for the specific purpose of meeting needs of the general interest,
not having an industrial or commercial character only,
having legal personality,
PEBs: See Programme Manual for definition:
Public equivalent body, in the interpretation of the EU legislation on public procurement, means any legal body governed by public or private law
(1)      established for the specific purpose of meeting needs of general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character[1], and
(2)      having legal personality, and
(3)      either financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law,
or subject to management supervision by those bodies,
or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law.
[1] This definition does not exclude bodies partly having an industrial or commercial character, which deal with public tasks. These bodies may be asked to submit a clarification statement issued by national authorities.

18. Who can be a Lead Partner?
In addition a LP’s institution should:
Be financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law,
Or be subject to management supervision by those bodies,
Or have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law.

19. Examples of partners that can apply for funding from the BSR INTERREG III B
National, regional and local public authorities:
Ministries;
regional councils;
municipalities, etc.;

20. Institutions that could be considered as “Public equivalent bodies”:
Examples of partners that can apply for funding from the BSR INTERREG III B (2)
Institutions that could be considered as “Public equivalent bodies”:
associations;
academic institutions;
research institutes;
foundations;
NGOs and non-profit organizations (community-based, humanitarian, industrial, cultural, etc.);
development agencies, etc.

21. BSR INTERREG III B Project Budget
1. ERDF contributions
up to 75% for Objective 1 regions
up to 50% for other regions
2. National co-funding
Partner’s own funding – eg. public funds at national, regional or local level
There is one project budget for all project partners involved, which is divided in up to five work packages. This total BSR INTERREG III B project budget includes the actions of all involved partners and is composed of:
(should provide co-financing statements)
(EC Regulation 1145/2003 on eligibility of co-financing by the Structural Funds)

22. Project implementation
European Commission
Joint Secretariat / PA
submit
Payment Request
Europ. Commission
effects
payment to PA
Joint Secretariat / PA
Lead Partner submits activity and
audited financial report
Paying Authority effects payment to Lead Partner
Lead Partner
Submit activity and
audited financial reports to Lead Partner
Lead Partner effects payments to Project Partners
Project Partners
PA - Paying Authority
Reports
Payments

23. Good practice at strategic level
A joint pool of ERDF funds on a joint bank account without national “sub-accounts”
Tasks of Managing and Paying Authority carried out by single, competent institution which is not a public authority
Lead Partner principle (clear responsibilities between MA and project)
Joint management structures/bodies including a strong joint transnational Joint Technical Secretariat
National sub-committees responsible for disseminating information at national/regional level
Work of Monitoring and Steering Committees facilitated by various task forces.

24. Good practice at operational level
General tools:
English as official programme language
An up-to-date website as most important info tool
Project database
Related to project life cycle:
Pro-active project development - Seed Money, Partner Search Forum, Information Seminars, Individual Consultations
Application, assessment and approval –Joint and transparent decision making (unanimous decisions, clear documentation of assessment and approval)
Pro-active project implementation - Lead Partner Seminar, Seminars for financial managers and auditors, Quality Workshops, Publicity and communication training etc.

25. Challenges for project partners
Problem:
Way out:
“Simple” Objective 1 programmes preferred (infrastructure investments)
Convince decision makers of added value of transnational networking and cooperation
Culture and language barriers
Learn English!
High technical and quality requirements of transnational projects
Invest in human resources – training of qualified staff in public administrations
Low awareness about the programme
Increased information activities at national and programme level
Considerable administrative workload
Make use of standardized tools, training, support actions!
Significant competition among projects
… lobby at your decision
makers….?!

26. Thank you for your attention! www.bsrinterreg.net