Information on the transnational cooperation programme in Europe (INTERREG IV B)
Under Strand B of the "European Territorial Cooperation" objective, the European Union supports transnational cooperation from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the aim to achieve an integrated territorial development. It means that projects are to take both spatial conditions, such a infrastructure, resources, settlement structures, economic, social, ecological and cultural aspects, and impacts on other areas of the related territory into account in order to support a balanced spatial development. Furthermore, policies on the national, transnational and European level, such as the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) or the Territorial Agenda of the EU, are to be considered.
With INTERREG IV B, the European Commission continues the support of transnational cooperation in the field of spatial development tried under INTERREG II C (1996-1999) and advanced under INTERREG III B (2000-2006).
The cooperation is based on joint programmes of the partner countries involved. The priorities and measures stipulated for cooperation will be implemented through transnational projects funded from the ERDF. They concentrate on promoting innovation and a sustainable environmental and risk management, on improving the internal and external accessibility of cooperation areas as well as on fostering attractive and competitive cities and regions.
Features of transnational projects
- Exemplary: exemplary solutions are worked out and experiences and learning processes are generalised.
- Transferable: solutions for coherent cross-national development zones or corridors are worked out.
- Transnational: partners from several countries are involved.
- Territorial: problems, being important for or having an effect on the cooperation area or larger parts of it, are handled.
- Process-related: a joint transnational development, execution, financing and implementation of projects is ensured.
Cooperation areas
During the current programming period 2007-2013 - like during the previous Structural Funding period - Germany is involved in
five transnational cooperation areas. The geographical demarcations of the cooperation areas Alpine Space,
North Sea Region and Baltic Sea Region as well as
North-West Europe have largely remained unchanged. The Central, Adriatic, Danubian and South-Eastern European Space (CADSES), in which Germany was involved under INTERREG III B, was divided up into two separate cooperation areas. Germany continues the transnational cooperation established under the CADSES programme within the cooperation area
Central Europe.
ERDF funds
In the five cooperation areas with German participation, ERDF funds of around 1.045 billion euros are available for transnational cooperation from 2007 to 2013.
National funding
Within the Federal funding programme "Transnational Cooperation" the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development supports national partners with additional financial resources for preparing and executing projects. For more information on the programme please see here.
INTERREG III B
The transnational INTERREG III B programmes have promoted an intensive networking and cooperation among cities and regions in Europe. In the five cooperation areas with German participation, over 6500 partners, among them almost 1000 German partners, have cooperated in around 500 projects. The results of the cooperation go from transnational studies, development concepts and plannings to investive measures. As shown by means of examples, the projects often have indirect and long-term effects which go far beyond the actual purpose.
The new Structural Funding period and the transfer of transnational cooperation into the mainstream funding of the EU have produced new requirements to transnational cooperation.