Brussels, 31/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 July, the European Commission adopted two cross-border Interreg-IPA cooperation programmes between Bulgaria and Serbia, and between Greece and Albania, for a total of €76 million in pre-EU accession aid. Both programmes will focus on sustainable development and making the most of cultural and natural heritage.
The €34 million programme between Bulgaria and Serbia covers six border areas of Bulgaria and seven Serbian regions. Some €29 million of the funding will come from the pre-accession aid instrument (IAP, see EUROPE 11220).
IAP was introduced in January 2007 to help candidate countries (Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM) and potential candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) move towards joining the EU. The programme mostly aims to preserve and promote shared natural and cultural heritage in bordering regions by promoting sustainable tourism. It also aims to boost the integration of transport services and products and services specific to the region that respect the environment and are beneficial to the economy.
The Interreg-IPA programme between Greece and Albania has a total budget of €42 million and covers eleven regions of Greece and four regions of Albania. Around €36 million of the aid is from the IAP. The programme focuses on environmental protection and the promotion of green tourism that is biodiversity-friendly. The programme concentrates on the local economy, sustainable development, cross-border water management and generating a low-carbon economy. The programme will also help implement systems to prevent natural disasters.
Greece is due shortly to validate a cross-border programme with FYROM, but no cooperation programmes are planned between Greece and Turkey, a Commission source confirmed to this newsletter, despite the fact that a few days earlier, the European Commission spokesman for regional policy did not rule it out (see EUROPE 11369). (Pascal Hansens)