New Programmes for Cross-Border Cooperation for New Member States

Nine new cross-border and neighbourhood programmes between regions in the ten new Member States, accession countries and third countries were adopted by the European Commission at the end of 2004 as part of European Regional Policy. A total of 57 million citizens live in the border regions covered by the programmes.

They aim at strengthening economic, social and territorial cooperation in the regions and across the frontiers. The total available funding from EU sources for the period 2004-2006 amounts to EUR 260 million, the bulk of which (EUR 215 million) will come from European Regional Policy’s cross-border initiative INTERREG and the rest from financial instruments for accession and third countries (Tacis, Phare and CARDS). The Unions resources will be combined with another EUR 76 million from national and regional sources.

Neighbourhood Programme “Lithuania, Poland and the Kaliningrad Region of Russian Federation” – Read more here.

Cross-border co-operation between Estonia-Latvia-Russia and Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus – Read more here.

More general information can be found here.