Interreg Programmes - Work Package 1 Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

Over the 2007-2013 period, 73 Interreg programmes were funded to support cooperation between regions across national borders. 3% of the total ERDF amount went to Interreg, almost EUR 8 billion. Most of the funding went to 55 Cross-Border Cooperation programmes (CBC), the rest being divided between Transnational Cooperation (TNC) and Interregional ones.

Both CBC and TNC programmes concentrated resources in four policy areas in particular: RDTI, environment, cultural and social infrastructure and transport. However, there were some differences in funding priority: TNC invested much more substantially in the environment than CBC as well as in ICT and capacity building, while CBC programmes also concentrated on tourism and culture.

The rate of implementation of Interreg programmes, as reflected in payments from the Commission relative to the funding available, was consistently below that of mainstream OPs over much of the period, but it increased from 2013 on. At the end of March 2016, it amounted to 91% of the available funding, suggesting that all the funding had been spent by the end of 2015 as required by the regulations.