EU financial supports for cross-border co-operations – internal borders

of a common European space, a cornerstone of European integration
has clear European added value: helping to ensure that borders are not barriers, bringing European closer together, helping to solve common problems, facilitating the sharing of ideas and assets, and encouraging strategic work towards common goals.
Cohesion policy encourages regions and cities from different EU Member States to work together and learn from each other through joint programmes, projects and networks.

and C kept their roles, but two new instruments put in place to assist regional development along the external borders were
IPA CBC (Pre-Accession Instrument) and
ENPI CBC (Neighbourhood Policy Instrument)
Moreover, the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), an instrument created by a regulation in 2006, was designed to be a legal instrument aimed at facilitating cooperation at all levels.
In the period 2007-2013 the European Territorial Co-operation (ETC) objective covers three types of programmes:
53 cross-border co-operation programmes along internal EU borders. ERDF contribution: 5.6 billion euro.
13 transnational co-operation programmes cover larger areas of co-operation such as the Baltic Sea, Alpine and Mediterranean regions. ERDF contribution: 1.8 billion euro.
The interregional co-operation programme (INTERREG IVC) and 3 networking programmes (Urbact II, Interact II and ESPON) cover all 27 Member States of the EU. They provide a framework for exchanging experience between regional and local bodies in different countries. ERDF contribution: 445 million euro.

Development Fund (ERDF) and supports cross-border, transnational and interregional co-operation programmes.
budget: 8.7 billion euro (accounts for 2.5% of the total 2007-2013 allocation for cohesion policy)), including the allocation for Member States to participate in EU external border co-operation programmes supported by other instruments (IPA and ENPI)
fields of interventions
promotion of public and private investments helping to reduce regional disparities across the Union
funding priorities:
research, innovation, environmental protection and risk prevention, while infrastructure investment retains an important role, especially in the least developed regions

Indicative allocation by Member State of the commitment appropriations for the Member States and regions eligible for funding from the Structural Funds under the “European territorial cooperation” objective for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December (interactive map) Press Ctrl button and click on the image to get access to the interactive map.

regions: some work with maritime areas, others with internal EU land borders or borders shared with candidate countries. Most programmes are bilateral, but some consist of more than two neighbouring countries (e.g. South Baltic programme).

or bridges
investing in cross-border waste systems, medical equipment, research centres, anti-flood measures, and so on
managing jointly natural and tourism sites
developing common services for the local population
advising on employment issues
creating thematic networks and clusters for innovation

facilitating and promoting territorial cooperation (cross-border, transnational or interregional) with the aim of strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion
governed by three types of law:
Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013
the provisions of its founding agreement and statutes
and the national law of the Member State in which the EGTC is registered
must comprise at least an assembly, made up of representatives of its members, and a director who represents it and acts in its name and on its behalf (other organs, such as an office or a consultative council, may be set up optionally)
each year, the assembly must adopt a programme of work for the grouping that falls within the scope of its mandate, as defined in its founding agreement, and within its budget

been set up, based in 19 of the EU’s Member States
EGTCs exhibit great diversity:
there are EGTCs for integrated territorial initiatives, to assist in drawing up and implementing governance structures suitable for cross-border territories
EGTCs acting as managing authorities for operational cross-border programmes
EGTCs created with a view to supporting and establishing cross-border projects to benefit the territory and the members of the EGTC, such as the Cerdanya cross-border hospital on the border between Spain and France
EGTCs relating to networks, such as the European Urban Knowledge Network, which is a platform shared by several European countries for exchanging ideas and experience in the field of urban development

to promote both smart and sustainable growth and a diverse and inclusive society
11 thematic priorities linking directly to the Europe 2020 strategy
over 100 programmes:
60 of which are in strand A
helps to tie cross-border regions together by supporting local and regional stakeholders in a framework of proximity
15 in strand B
aims to promote cohesion around common spatial planning issues over large areas covering several countries
it encourages the establishment of governance structures in order to draw up strategies and action plans
12 under IPA CBC
16 under ENPI CBC,
to which one should add strand C, with Interreg Europe, and the three networking programmes already present in Interreg IV (URBACT, INTERACT and ESPON)
is intended as a cooperation framework for fostering interaction between local and regional stakeholders throughout the EU on a networking basis

the Hungarian-Romanian border region – Focus: People to people actions

Priority Axis 1: Improvement of key conditions for joint and sustainable development of the cooperation area
Priority Axis 2: Strengthening social and economic cohesion of border areas
Priority Axis 3: Technical Assistance

total available joint funding:
224.5 million euro (13.5 million euro Technical Assistance of the Programme and 211 millio euro for interventions)

Share of budget allocation by counties

Number of beneficiaries per country

Figures and table are based on http://www.hurocbc.eu/en/financed_projects/

the Hungarian-Romanian border region – Focus: People to people actions

Main features of the People-to-people actions in HURO CBC 2007-2013

Source: Data based on http://www.huro-cbc.eu/en/financed_projects/

The projects implemented under the “People to people actions” belong to the key area of intervention with the aim to enhance cooperation between communities (2.5) to strengthen social and economic cohesion of the border areas (Priority 2). In the HU-RO CBC 2007-2013 programming period people-to-people projects were awarded in the first (Call 0801) and third (Call 0902) calls for proposals (CfPs). The altogether 53 projects received 84% ERDF award that was evenly distributed during the two calls for proposals. Compared to the total ERDF awarded for HU-RO CBC 2007-2013, it constituted 2.5%. (Table 2) However, for people-to-people actions the area was left without funds after the 3rd CfP which was considered as a shortcoming by the potential beneficiaries

budgetary aspects having the highest value even 15 times higher than the lowest
usually municipalities, associations, NGOs and churches act as partners in the cross-border projects typically representing the same fields or actor types in both countries
in most cases there were two partners participating in the projects
as far as the length of the projects is concerned, it is around 12 months on average in both cases

Geographical aspects

in the case of Call 0801, there were 62 project partners for the 27 projects with exactly the same number of Hungarian and Romanian partners
in the case of Call 0901, the number of projects was 26 with 64 project partners where the number of Hungarian partners was slightly higher than that of the Romanian partners
on the county level, the lowest number of partners was registered in Békés county (5), while the highest number of partners was located in Bihor county (24)
in most cases the project partners were located in neighbouring counties, although some of the projects (10) covered non-adjacent border areas (as well)

Case Study: CBC projects as means of cooperation between minorities in the Hungarian-Romanian border region – Focus: People to people actions