The European Union promotes cooperation between regions and countries to help their economic and social development and tackle the obstacle of borders.
This European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) is organised under multiple strands:
In 1990, Interreg was developed as a Community Initiative in with a budget of just EUR 1 billion covering exclusively cross-border cooperation. Later, Interreg has been extended to transnational and interregional cooperation.
The 2021-2027 period granted of almost EUR 10 billion marks another evolution of Interreg with a reinforced cooperation with partner countries with Interreg IPA, Interreg NEXT and the integration of a dedicated strand for cooperation between the EU outermost regions and neighbouring countries.
Discover the interactive map of the Interreg programmes across the borders on the Interreg.eu portal
Almost EUR 10 billion are shared between almost 100 Interreg programmes across the borders, in and outside the EU, which will contribute to implement EU’s cohesion policy main priorities:
In 2021-2027 Interreg has 2 new specific objectives:
As cooperation is the essence of the European Union, the regulatory provisions establish a much stronger link between Interreg programmes and Macro Regional Strategies and Sea Basin Strategies.
This “embedding principle” means that any ERDF funded programmes should be able to support cooperation actions.
With a budget of 6.5 billion EUR, cross-border programmes are implemented within the EU and at the EU’s external borders.
The interregional cooperation strand aims at boosting the effectiveness of cohesion policy by promoting exchange of experiences, innovative approaches and capacity building between regions (Art. 3(3) ETC Regulation (EU) 2021/1059).
For the period 2021-2027, four interregional cooperation programmes will continue:
Allocation for this strand amounts to more than EUR 550 million.
The strand C programmes cover all 27 EU member states. Norway and Switzerland will continue to be part of the programmes, as for 2014-2020, with their own funds.
Moreover, URBACT will cover 5 IPA beneficiary countries (Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania). ESPON will, next to Norway and Switzerland, include Lichtenstein and Iceland.
With the new regulation 2021-2027, the specificities of the Outermost regions are recognised trough a specific strand (Strand D)
It helps those regions to cooperate with neighbouring countries and territories in the most efficient and simple way.
Calls for proposals can be launched for combined funding under the ERDF, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) established by Regulation (EU ) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Strand D concerns 4 geographical areas:
The financial amounts represent 3.5% of the INTERREG amount or over EUR 280 million.
A new Interreg brand is easily recognisable for citizens and stakeholders alike. The branding also include Interreg IPA and NEXT programs.
The introduction of the unique Interreg branding also highlights the unique spatial cross-border transnational and interregional nature of the projects and programs. Therefore, the branding will apply to all communication material including plaques and websites. Sanctions are foreseen by the Regulation in case the branding is not adequately displayed.
Check out the Interreg Brand Design Manual 2021 - 2027 or follow dedicated presentations on how to mainstream Interreg branding in all your communication and presentation materials.
