The new programming period 2021-2027 of the Interreg South Baltic Programme is currently under development. In 2020, the Joint Programming Committee (JPC) and 2 Working Groups (WG) have been established. Since then, members of the JPC have met 6 times (3 meetings in Q1 2021) and working groups 13 times (6 meetings in Q1 2021).
Working groups are focused on priority areas and specific objectives (SOs), as well as on technical implementation.
Members of the JPC have set directions for action, such as:
- Building on gained experience and its use,
- Maintaining the interest of small, local institutions,
- Continuing activities aimed at “people to people” business model,
- Promote renewable energy, sustainable water management, circular economy, and nature conservation,
- Digitalisation for citizens and institutions, including NGOs and SMEs, that increases growth and competitiveness of the South Baltic region,
- Protection, development and promotion of tourism resources and services, as well as cultural heritage.
The Programme aims to introduce simplifications in projects’ planning, implementing, and reporting.
In Autumn 2021, public consultations and a seed money call for proposals are planned to be launched.
Interreg is one of the key instruments of the European Union (EU) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with a budget of EUR 10 billion. The main goal of Interreg is to stimulate cooperation between regions in and out of the EU. Interreg programmes integrate and strengthen the economic, social, and territorial cohesion of remote regions with those that share external borders with the EU candidate countries.
More information about Interreg can be found here.