Transnational Co-operation Programme 2007-2013
SEES

The Transnational Co-operation Programme South East Europe is part of the new European Territorial Co-operation Objective for the programming period 2007 – 2013. The general aim of transnational co-operation is to foster a balanced territorial development and territorial integration within the co-operation area.
Transnational co-operation concentrates on a limited number of priority areas in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg processes: Innovation, Environment, Accessibility and Sustainable Urban Development.

Action related to Innovation shall make a direct contribution to the balanced economic development of a transnational co-operation area. Action related to Environment and Accessibility shall have a clear transnational dimension. Action to strengthen Sustainable Urban and Polycentric Development can be pronounced multilevel (transnational, national, regional) with a clear transnational impact.

The Transnational Co-operation Programme South East Europe faces an additional challenge.

While the Transnational Co-operation Programme South East Europe is a part of the internal Cohesion Policy of the EU, it actively seeks the full participation of non-Member States in the programme area benefiting from the external Pre-Accession Assistance and the European Neighbourhood Policy funding. The programme area includes 16 countries with a total population of 200 million and presents one of the most diverse and complex transnational cooperation areas in Europe. This is the only transnational Programme area with such a large number of non-EU countries participating (candidates, potential candidates and third countries).

As a global objective the South East Europe co-operation programme shall develop transnational partnerships on matters of strategic importance to improve the territorial, economic and social integration process and to contribute to cohesion, stability and competitiveness.

The programme adopts a common challenge approach, focusing primarily on matters of strategic importance. Pursuant to the requirements of Article 6 of the ERDF Regulation (1080/2006) the programme identifies strategic thematic issues, which are relevant for the co-operation area and which shall be tackled through multilevel transnational action.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is the main funding source of the programme.
It has a total available ERDF budget of Euro 206,7 million for the 2007 – 2013 period.
These amount is supplemented by national public funds finally amounting to Euro 245,1 million.
The financial resources are significantly higher than for the predecessor programme INTERREG IIIB CADSES 2000 – 2006.

Programme Area

The eligible area is legally based on the Commission Decision of 31 October 2006 drawing up the list of regions and areas eligible for funding from the European Regional Development Fund under the cross-border and transnational strands of the European territorial co-operation objective for the period 2007 – 2013 (notified under document number C(2006) 5144), (2006/769/EC).

The programme area covered by this operational programme, South East Europe (SEE) is a large geographical area of 1.9 million square km including 16 countries with a total population of 200 million.

It includes all three types of aforementioned regions: Regions of member states (among them a founding state, countries which joined at different stages of the development of the Union as well as new member states), regions of potential and actual candidate countries as well as of third countries:

Country	Area
Albania	whole territory
Austria	whole territory
Bosnia and Herzegovina	whole territory
Bulgaria	whole territory
Croatia	whole territory
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	whole territory
Greece	whole territory
Hungary	whole territory
Italy	Lombardia, Prov. Autonoma Bolzano/Bozen, Prov. Autonoma Trento, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia Basilicata
The Republic of Moldova	whole territory
Montenegro	whole territory
Romania	whole territory
Serbia	whole territory
Slovakia	whole territory
Slovenia	whole territory
Ukraine	Chernivetska Oblast, Ivano-Frankiviska Oblast, Zakarpatska Oblast, Odessa Oblast

Financing plan containing the 2007 contribution of IPA with breakdown by partner states:

ERDF	EU members	58.287.044,00
IPA	Albania	200.020,00
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	453.020,00
	Montenegro	670.000,00
	Croatia	400.000,00
	The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	500.000,00
	Serbia	1.114.228,00

IPA funding for the participation of candidate and potential candidate countries in EU Regional Policy transnational co-operation programmes is decided by the Commission on a yearly basis.
In financing of the projects within Transnational Programme (which involves partners from 3 countries at least – for further information see the section “Conditions for applying”, please) ERDF and IPA are participating with 85% and applicant with 15%.

Financing of joint projects example

Let us take an example of the project in which Hungary (EU member), Croatia and BiH (potential candidates) are participating, and the budget is 1.000.000,00 € total. In spite of the fact that more countries are involved, application can be only one but the number of the Contracts will be three in this case (or more, depending on the number of the partners).

Cover of the expenses might look like this:

• Expenditures for the activities of the partner from EU will be financed by ERDF (let’s say it would be 550.000,00 € in our case)
• Expenditures of the activities of the partner from Croatia will be financed through IPA funds for Croatia (for instance, 200.000,00 €)
• Expenditures of the activities of the partner from BiH will be financed through IPA funds for BiH (in amount of 100.000,00 €)
• All partners together, as they agree, either through the Governments or through some other resources, must provide 150.000,00 €.

Table review of the budget:

EU funds	Amount	%	Contribution	Amount	%
ERDF (Hungary)	550 000 €	55	Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina	150 000 €	15
IPA (Croatia)	200 000 €	20
IPA (BiH)	100 000 €	10
Total	850 000 €	85	Total	150 000 €	15
Total amount / EU funds (850 000 € – 85%) + partner contribution (150 000 € – 15%) /  1 000 000 €					100

To be sure we can count on the resources from this Programme, we have got to know that these are intended according to specific strategy, and financing achievement of clearly specified goals.

Programme Strategy

The Programme strategy is the result of the interaction of the following elements:

• EU strategic decisions as laid down in the Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion (2006/702/EC)
• The specific needs and challenges of the South East European co-operation area as presented in the analysis and SWOT of the present document
• The scope and limitations of an Objective 3 Transnational Co-operation Programme as outlined in the relevant regulations (e.g. Regulation No. 1080/2006)

These elements design the outline of the strategy and define the placement of the global and specific objectives and corresponding priority axes of the operational programme.
The programmes strategy is structured along one global objective, three specific objectives and implementation principles, which will be achieved by implementing five priority axes.

• Global Objective

The programme's global objective is to improve the territorial, economic and social integration process in South East Europe and contribute to cohesion, stability and competitiveness of the area through the development of transnational partnerships and joint action on matters of strategic importance.
The Global Objective is in line with the Community Strategic Guidelines on the strategic focus of a transnational co-operation programme, addressing the need for stability of the South East European co-operation area and connects to the lessons learned in the 2000 – 2006 period.
In addition, the SEE Transnational Cooperation Programme will actively seek the full participation of non-Member States in the programme area benefiting from the external Pre-Accession Assistance and the European Neighbourhood Policy funding. The programme area is located at the South Eastern edge of the Union, where several accession candidate countries and potential candidate countries as well as third countries engaged in the EU partnership framework are concentrated, thus going far beyond the external borders of the EU.

• Specific Objectives

• Specific Objective 1
The programme shall facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge economy and information society by concrete co-operation action and visible results.
• Specific Objective 2
The programme shall improve the attractiveness of regions and cities taking into account sustainable development, physical and knowledge accessibility and environmental quality by integrated approaches and concrete cooperation action and visible results.
• Specific Objective 3
The programme shall foster integration by supporting balanced capacities for transnational territorial cooperation at all levels.

• Programme priorities

Transnational cooperation concentrates on the following priority areas, in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas: Innovation, Environment, Accessibility and Sustainable Growth Areas.

• PRIORITY AXIS 1: Facilitation of innovation and entrepreneurship

Although competitiveness and innovation is present in every debate on regional development policies, South East Europe is rarely associated with those two terms. However, the cooperation area is undergoing fundamental changes in economic and production patterns after the 1990 changes. Some regions, especially capital cities are adapting well to the new challenges, others are trying to re-orientate themselves to find the right strategies for catching the opportunities of the global market. The objective of this Priority Axis is fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, the knowledge economy and to enhance integration and economic relations in the cooperation area.

• PRIORITY AXIS 2: Protection and improvement of the environment

Environment is one of the basic pillars of the EU Cohesion Policy as defined in the Gothenburg Priorities, underlining the environmental dimension of the EU interventions and the need for protection and enhancement of environmental resources as a pre-condition for sustainable growth. South East Europe is characterised by rich biodiversity and various landscapes but it is also heavily affected by industrialisation. The objective of this Priority Axis is to override the constraints imposed by national barriers, to foresee future environmental threats and opportunities and to develop common trans-national action for the protection of nature and humans within the SEE.

• PRIORITY AXIS 3: Improvement of accessibility

Accessibility is considered to be one of the prime requirements for economic development and growth and finally for territorial cohesion. It facilitates the movement and interaction of people and the exchange of goods and ideas. All these aspects are of immense importance in South Eastern Europe.
Existing networks in South East Europe are in most cases heavily fragmented or face inwards mainly serving single states and regions. In most cases these networks are of inferior quality, with a high congestion of existing infrastructure but without the development of viable alternatives, and cannot cope with the constant increase in transport needs. The objective of this priority axis is to promote physical and virtual accessibility to the programme area.

• PRIORITY AXIS 4: Development of trans-national synergies for sustainable growth areas

The development of trans-national synergies for sustainable growth areas focus on the future development of South East Europe. To encourage South East Europe to become a place of sustainable and polycentric development of metropolitan areas and regional settlement systems this Priority facilitates the development and implementation of integrated strategies for metropolitan areas and regional systems of settlements, working towards optimal polycentric structures in the programme area and the use of cultural values for sustainable development. The objective of this Priority Axis is to take different forms of preventive measures and development factors, showing a specific cross-sectoral character strongly interlinking economic, environmental, social and governance issues in sustainable urban and regional settlement development.

• PRIORITY AXIS 5: Technical assistance to support implementation and capacity building

Technical assistance to support implementation and capacity building shall contribute to the smooth implementation of the programme while enabling the programme bodies, stakeholders, project promoters and final beneficiaries to make full use of the opportunities offered by the European Territorial Co-operation Objective 3 and transnational co-operation in particular.

• Areas of intervention

PRIORITY AXIS 1: Facilitation of innovation and entrepreneurship
This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

• AoI 1.1: Develop technology and innovation networks in specific fields
• AoI 1.2: Develop the enabling environment for innovative entrepreneurship
• AoI 1.3: Enhance the framework conditions and pave the way for innovation

PRIORITY AXIS 2: Protection and improvement of the environment
This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

• AoI 2.1: Improve integrated water management and flood risk prevention
• AoI 2.2: Improve prevention of environmental risks
• AoI 2.3: Promote cooperation in management of natural assets and protected areas
• AoI 2.4: Promote energy and resource efficiency

PRIORITY AXIS 3: Improvement of the accessibility
This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

• AoI 3.1: Improve co-ordination in promoting, planning and operation for primary and secondary transportation networks
• AoI 3.2: Develop strategies to tackle the "digital divide"
• AoI 3.3: Improve framework conditions for multi-modal platforms

PRIORITY AXIS 4: Development of trans-national synergies for sustainable growth areas
This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

• AoI 4.1: Tackling crucial problems affecting metropolitan areas and regional systems of settlements
• AoI 4.2: Promoting a balanced pattern of attractive and accessible growth areas
• AoI 4.3: Promoting the use of cultural values for development.

PRIORITY AXIS 5: Technical assistance to support implementation and capacity building
This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

• AoI 5.1: Secure the core management for the implementation of the programme
• AoI 5.2: Implement accompanying activities (…)

Conditions for applying

At least 3 countries must be involved in the Programme, one of which is EU member. One partner must be “Lead partner” that will be in direct communication with Managing Authorities of the Programme. Contracts on financing of the Partners will be signed with relevant Contracting Authorities (for BiH that would be DEI).

Eligible applicants

In line with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 private, public and public equivalent bodies may be involved in projects as partners, non-financing partners or subcontractors – respecting all relevant EC and national regulations (e.g. public procurement).

Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006
(4) ‘beneficiary’: an operator, body or firm, whether public or private, responsible for initiating or initiating and implementing operations. In the context of aid schemes under Article 87 of the Treaty, beneficiaries are public or private firms carrying out an individual project and receiving public aid;

The eligibility of applicants will be specified in the Applicant's Manual of each call for proposals including an indicative list of the types of institutions eligible. The Monitoring Committee may set specific eligibility rules on a case by case basis for the different calls for proposals.

Quality of partnerships

The programme shall support the areas “economic-” and “social integration process” through stimulating concrete and visible transnational territorial co-operation projects and high quality partnerships across all priority axes.

Partnerships should be:

• Involving at least three countries of the programme area, one of which is an EU member state
• Objective-driven
• Implementation-oriented
• Relevant, guaranteeing the required “critical mass”
• Capable of managing the transnational partnership while also competent to achieve the targeted thematic results
• Inclined to joint learning and interaction, promoting information flows and willing to deal with conflicts.

Experience showed that there is not a universal definition of a good partnership. The nature of each project and the objectives set the requirements of the partners. Process oriented projects will benefit from cross-sectoral participation. Strategic projects require multilevel approaches including the main decision makers in order to deal with the relevant issues and apply the proposed successful solutions on the ground. All projects benefit from balanced national representation (e.g. imbalances of partnerships involving municipalities from one state and a Ministry from another state should be avoided). Finally partnerships should be as large as required to reach the projects objectives but as small as possible in order to remain manageable and flexible. Partnerships should not be artificially “inflated”, clearly stating the difference between Partners, Network members and target groups.
Organization that applies must choose one of the priorities. In case project “touches” more than one priority, applicant must evaluate what priority is the focus of the project.
In addition to the general requirements, “top-down projects” are expected to:

• Make an outstanding contribution to the achievement of the programme and priority axes objectives in accordance with implementation principles and application of EU principles
• Deal with thematic issues of major importance for the co-operation area
• Contribute to an integration of the space (e.g. co-operation of metropolitan areas)
• Are of high importance for the political agenda of the South East Europe co-operation area
• Involve a strategic partnership bringing together key actors with the capacity to deliver as well as to make use of project results
• Link the Programme to other Programme Areas, primarily to the Central European Space, Alpine Space, Black Sea Synergy and Mediterranean Space (e.g. through an inter area research network)
• Why do you think your project should be selected?

During the process of applying, applicant must follow instructions given by following documents:

• Call for Proposals
• Programme manual
• Application form
• Guidelines for applicants

How to get successful application

If you have project idea, that idea is transnational:

• if it is relevant to your institution (region, district), according to the strategy
• if it fits to the strategy for the SE Europe Programme and its priorities
• if it is relevant to other institutions in the countries of SE Europe
• if you identify adequate partners in the countries of SE Europe (at least one should be EU member).

You can be Partner:

• if you fit to the criteria
• if project idea is appropriate for your organization and if you consider it will be valuable to you, your region / district, depending on the activities you can implement
• if you can get the money to do it

When you become Partner:

• you sign the Partnership Agreement
• participate in creation of project application, together with project partners
• if you are not the only one partner from BiH, you have to identify financial “Leading partner” for BiH
• create the budget, together with other partners (note: be sure you can co-finance 15% of total budget)
• to contact:

BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA
Mersiha Zuban
Directorate for European Integration of BiH
Sector for Coordination of EU Assistance Programmes
Fra Andjela Zvizdovica 1/18 UNITIC, 71 000 Sarajevo
Tel: +387 33 296 466       
Fax: +387 33 296 473
Email: mzuban@dei.gov.ba

During Inception period:

• make sure you have the same information as your partners
• make sure that partners, during the process of creation of project application, have in mind all special conditions for BiH
• do not plan activities at the very beginning, until you sign IPA grant Contract
• if there is more partners from BiH, and you are financial Leading partner, you should check the part of the Contract related to the partners.

When the project is selected / approved for financing:

• you must contact Operational Structure in BiH and submit documents required for signing of IPA grant Contract (the procedure takes approx. 3 months)
• upon the Contract signing, implementation process should start.

You need:

• start right now with the preparation for transnational projects!
• keep the contact with BiH institutions
• in the case of confusion, you should contact Managing authority in BiH or Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS)
• you should apply PRAG regulations (application forms) in case of Contract change and other circumstances that might occur during implementation process.

Do not:

• spend money before Contract signing
• spend money outside the BiH territory except for travelling and accommodation expenditures (in accordance to the Programme)

Legal basis of the Programme:

• Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1260/1999 (in the following referred to as “General Regulation”)
• Regulation (EC) No. 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1783/1999 (in the following referred to as “ERDF Regulation”)
• Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1828/2006 setting out rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) N° 1083/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and of Regulation (EC) N° 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund (in the following referred to as “Implementation Regulation”).