Transcript The Role of Delegations in the Grant Scheme Process

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Territorial Co-operation
in 2007-2013
Territorial Co-operation Unit
DG Regional Policy
West Sussex, 17 October 2006
Main points
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Legal Framework and Financing
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Programme areas and structure
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Content and topics
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Programme management
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Next Steps
Regulations 2007-2013
 Council common position agreed on 12/6 and
approved by Parliament on 4/7
 3 Council Regulations approved on 5 July 2006
- ERDF – (EC) No 1080/2006
- ESF – (EC) No 1081/2006
- EGTC (EC) No 1082/2006
 and 2 on 11 July 2006
- General Regulation – (EC) No 1083/2006
- Cohesion Fund – (EC) No 1084/2006
 Entry into force on 1/8/2006
Regulations 2007-2013
Letter sent by EC on revised allocations per
MS
COM will ask MS whether they want to make
use of flexibility (up to 15%) and how much
they will allocate to each programme
List 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
 From
a Community Initiative to an
Objective in its own right
 Somewhat
higher financing
€ 5.8 billion → € 8.8 billion
European Territorial Co-operation
Financing
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Cross-border co-operation 74% *
Transnational co-operation 21%*
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 ERDFallocation from the Member States concerned to the
external instruments (ENPI or IPA)
*) Flexibility at Member State level: +/- 15%
European Territorial Co-operation
Financing
Present
Commission
programmes Proposal
(July 2004)
Final
Agreement
(July 06)
Cross-border cooperation
3998 mio €
~6,5 bn €
Transnational cooperation
1394 mio €
Interregional cooperation (INTERREG
6,8 bn €
(Current prices)
(inc 0,9 bn €
ENPI/IPA)
6,8 bn €
406 mio € 0,65 bn €
~1,8 bn €
~0,4 bn €
IIIC, URBACT,
ESPON, INTERACT)
Total
5799 mio €
14,25 bn € ~8,8 bn €
Today 62 cross-border programmes
Regions eligible for
cross-border cooperation 20072013
More than 50
programmes on
internal borders
+ 12 IPA
programmes
Co-operation programmes
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Strand A Cross-border co-operation
-
for solving local problems
-
include strategic projects, especially along maritime
borders
Strand B Transnational co-operation
- no longer studies and plans but concrete, strategic
projects important for the whole area
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Strand C Interregional co-operation
- exchange of experiences and best practices to improve
regional policy design
Cross-border co-operation:
Programme structure
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The addition of many maritime borders will change the
eligible programme areas considerably
Larger co-operation areas may bring in new innovative
projects
As some topics of cross-border and transnational
programmes may overlap, especially after the inclusion
of many maritime borders, coherence between crossborder and transnational programmes should be ensured
already at the programming stage
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 programmes essentially local in
nature, but include strategic projects at least
along maritime borders
Entrepreneurship and SMEs, cross-border trade,
tourism and culture
 Protection and joint management of the environment
 Better access to transport, information and
communication networks
 Water, waste management and energy management
systems
 Urban-Rural links
 Joint use of health, culture and education
infrastructure
 Legal and administrative co-operation
Important issues in the programming process:
 individual programmes should become more focussed
 more focussed calls and commissioned projects
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Transnational co-operation
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13 programme areas agreed
Allocation principle: national population
More strategic approach, well planned projects
coordinated at national level
Focus on
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Innovation: scientific and technological networks,
technology transfer, R&TD and SMEs
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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
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Higher profile programmes
Concrete projects with some investments
Networking, plans and studies only to prepare
concrete projects
Some strategic projects developed by the programme,
involving both regional and national authorities - some
of these projects may be written into the
Programming document
Not only open calls for proposal but also focussed calls
Can spend 20% outside the eligible area
Can spend 10% outside the EU, if for benefit of the
EU regions
Project ideas
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Maritime safety initiative (already initiated by
the North Sea programme and now joint for 5
transnational programmes)
Business co-operation and technology transfer
between SMEs, research institutes, universities
and regional development agencies to improve
the competitiveness of the regions
Protection against flooding
Combating environmental threats
Co-operation between coastal ports and towns to
improve accessibility and transport
interoperability
Two approaches to interregional cooperation
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Interregional co-operation under
Objective 3 (Territorial Co-operation)
Interregional co-operation
encouraged also within Objective 1
(Convergence) and Objective 2
(Competitiveness) programmes
Interregional co-operation
programmes foreseen
o
Thematic interregional co-operation programme focusing
on Lisbon and Gothenburg priorities (based on INTERREG
IIIC)
o
Framework programme for the exchange of experiences
on urban renewal (developed on the basis of URBACT)
o
Studies, data collection, observation and analysis of
development trends in the Community (developed on the
basis of ESPON)
o
Identification, transfer and dissemination of best
practice in management of co-operation programmes
(developed on the basis of INTERACT)
Thematic interregional co-operation
programme
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Strong focus on European priorities:
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Innovation and SMEs
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Environment and risk prevention
Simple, transparent and consistent programme
framework for project applicants
Thematically organised application and selection
processes
Systematic analysis of project results and
dissemination ensuring easy access to best
practice examples for regional policy makers
Interregional co-operation in
Competitiveness (Objective 2) programmes
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Inclusion of a specific priority for interregional
co-operation in Objective 2 (and Objective 1)
programmes (optional)
Will allow co-operation between programme
regions
Interregional co-operation can cover common
topics of the programmes
Each project partner funds own activities from
respective programme
Programme management structures:
well working and cost-effective
Managing Authority (MA)
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Good management capacity
Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS)
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Support the MA (and PMC) effectively and therefore
normally located nearby
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Provide help and support to projects at all stages
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Process applications and organise expert assessments
Monitoring Committee
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Normally also responsible for project selection
Programme structures to support true
co-operation projects of high quality
Cross-border and transnational co-operation:
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Partners from at least two countries
Fulfill at least 2 of the following 4
co-operation criteria:
joint project development
joint implementation
joint project staff
joint financing
Programme structures to support true
co-operation projects of high quality
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No pre-allocations to different regions nor
Member States participating in the programme
Projects should compete on the basis of quality
and relevance
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
 the Joint Technical Secretariat
involved in managing a project
should never be
Lead Partner Principle
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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
NEXT STEPS
Next Steps
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Discuss programme and management structures with your
potential partners
Discuss programme and management structures with the
Commission
Think about strategic projects that should be included in
the programming document
Involve local, regional and national level as appropriate
Next Steps
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Programme preparation must start now – if not already
started
Commission has already seen advanced drafts of several
programmes
Intention should be to submit formally before the end of
the year – ideally in the autumn
Approval and programme launch in early 2007
Thank you for your attention