Brussels, 12/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday the European Commission approved a cross-border cooperation programme funded by Interreg III for regions on the south coast of Finland and all of Estonia for the period up until 2006. The programme will provide aid from FEDER to the tune of EUR 14.1 million along with a further EUR 14.1 million from national and regional authorities and private sector funding of EUR 3.2 mil. An additional EUR 10.8 mil will be available on the Estonian side from the Phare programme's section for cross-border cooperation (Phare CBC). The programme will focus on interaction and networks in various industries (EU contribution of EUR 3.67 mil); employment and competitiveness particularly in transport, communications and services (EU contribution EUR 5.36 mil) and environmental protection (EU contribution of EUR 3.95 mil).