Transcript EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Launch Event, Capital XX

The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea
Region and the 2013 agenda
Implementation of the EUSBSR in Lithuania:
Challenges and Opportunities
27-28 September 2012, Druskininkai
Catharina Sørensen, European Commission
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Keywords
• Review of the Action Plan
• New Seed Money Facility
• New macro-regional strategies?
• 2013: Evaluation. Annual Forum in Lithuania
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EUSBSR review: the broad picture
• General context: The first comprehensive review
• July 2011-June 2012: The EUSBSR on the Council's
agenda
• June 2012: Council Conclusions, e.g. on objectives,
indicators and targets; and roles and responsibilities
• Autumn 2012: Update of the Action Plan
• Early 2013: "Strategy 2.0" ready for the June 2013
evaluation of macro-regional strategies
• Lithuanian EU Presidency
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Aims of the review:
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Clearer objectives
Clearer roles and responsibilities
Better communication
Better involvement of all stakeholder groups
Sustained political commitment
Better financing
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Better financing 1/2
• Macro-regional strategies (MRS) in the draft regulations:
– Common provisions, Art. 14(a)v: Partnership Contracts
to take account, where appropriate, of MRS
– Common provisions, Art. 87(c)vi: Relevant OPs to set
out their planned interventions to support the Strategy
– ETC regulation, Art. 6(b) allowing transnational
programmes to support implementation (TA)
• CBC programmes to incorporate MRS
• Commission Position Papers: Importance of integrating
macro-regional perspective/cooperation to be emphasised
throughout (also for country-specific programmes)
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Better financing 2/2
• Importance of technical assistance funds
• Seed Money Facility to ensure the development
of good, relevant projects
– Becomes operational in early 2013. Managed by
Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein
– Approx. EUR 1.1 MIO with 90% ERDF contribution
– Smaller "projects" contributing to the Strategy;
broad eligibility; simple administration
– Continuous submission and assessment of
applications
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2013
• New macro-regional strategies?
• EUSBSR and EUSDR implementation reports
• Evaluation of macro-regional approach
• Lithuanian EU Presidency
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
http://www.balticsea-region-strategy.eu/
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