16/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - €79 million from ERDF for projects between Italy, Montenegro and Albania. On Wednesday 16 December, the European Commission adopted the cross-border cooperation programme between Italy, Montenegro and Albania for an amount of €79 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), for projects worth a total of €93 million with national co-financing. Linked to the European strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region, the programme will focus on five areas - cross-border cooperation between SMEs and competitiveness; protection of natural and cultural heritage; natural risk management and the transition to a low-carbon economy; promoting connectivity and sustainable transport; and help for implementing the programmes. The Commission says that this is the last cross-border programme adopted for 2015. (PH)