Baltic Sea Region Interreg III B 2000-2006

Website: www.bsrinterreg.net

The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) INTERREG III B Neighbourhood Programme belongs to one of the three different strands of the European Community Initiative INTERREG III. The programme is part-financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) covering the period 2000-2006. Strand B of the INTERREG Initiative supports transnational co-operation to enhance balanced and sustainable development of the European territory.

The Baltic Sea Region is one of the 13 European INTERREG III B co-operation areas. Eleven countries, namely the EU Member States Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, further on Norway, North-West Russia and Belarus are participating. Their representatives have jointly prepared the main programme reference document (the Programme), which was approved by the European Commission on 14 September 2001. The Programme was amended due to EU enlargement and approved by the Commission on 19 October 2004. The programme document includes an analysis of the economic, social, spatial but also environmental potential of the BSR. Concluding from that, priority fields for transnational project activities were identified. Only projects falling in this scope of priorities and measures, and attracting partners from different BSR countries will be eligible to receive ERDF support. The INTERREG III B programme's specific feature is to promote joint solutions to joint problems by transnational co-operation.

Due to EU enlargement as of 1 May 2004, the four BSR new Member States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & Poland) are eligible for full participation in ERDF funded projects, both as Lead Partners and project partners, starting from the fifth call for project proposals (12 January - 27 February 2004).

On 1st July 2003 the European Commission introduced the concept of the Neighbourhood Programme (NP) for the period 2004-2006, Paving the Way for a New Neighbourhood Instrument. The concept of the NP is to support the cross-border and transnational cooperation along the external borders of the EU in the framework of existing INTERREG programmes. All INTERREG programmes bordering Tacis countries will operate as NPs with fixed financial allocations from Tacis programme (for partners from the Tacis countries).

The overall idea of the NP is to allow the joint projects (involving partners from the EU MS as well as partners from Russia/Belarus) to submit one application that will be jointly assessed and approved in regard to the project activities to be carried out on internal (EU) and external (Russia and Belarus) side of the border.

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