Years
of shaping the region.
Together.
Years
of shaping the region.
Together.
#MadeWithIBSR experience
25 years of the Programme
Our Programme has been funding transnational cooperation in the Baltic Sea region for 25 years already! It created a favourable framework for organisations from around the Baltic Sea to connect as if there were no borders and to work on joint challenges, together. Our region has developed, the Programme has adjusted its objectives, too. However, one thing has always been solid: it is about cooperation among people who care.
Thanks to all the fantastic people who has accompanied the Programme since the early beginning or only shared a few parts of the journey, have we achieved so much. We are greater together and thanks to the different cultures, perspectives and expertise that we bring together, have we manage to get that far.
Listen to our Interreg voices:
Interreg Baltic Sea Region
Evolution over the years
1997 – 1999
Interreg II C
2000 – 2006
Interreg III A+B+C
Interact point coordination
2007 – 2013
Interreg IV A+B+C
2014 – 2020
Interreg V B
2021 – 2027
Interreg VI B
Discover our achievements
in time capsules
Maritime spatial planning
Long before the adoption of the EU Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive in 2014, the Baltic Sea region countries worked together to plan how to use sea and coastal resources. In 2002-2005, project partners showcased how spatial planning could mitigate local conflicts between economic activities and nature protection along the Baltic coast in Germany, Sweden, and Finland. Partners developed recommendations that prompted more systematic work by national spatial planners in the Baltic Sea region. A few years later, in 2009-2014, new projects helped kick-start formal MPS processes in the Baltic Sea region countries.
Later in 2016-2022, project partners worked together to increase the coherence of maritime spatial plans across the Baltic Sea sub-basins. They helped coordinate the development of shipping routes and energy infrastructure, integrate maritime cultural heritage into MSP, and allocate space for aquaculture and algae cultivation. Partners were instrumental in shaping the Regional Maritime Spatial Planning Roadmap 2021-2030 adopted by pan-Baltic organisations HELCOM and VASAB, which set the future agenda for the MSP in the region.
Clean shipping
Maritime transport has always been vitally important for the countries around the Baltic Sea, one of the busiest seas in the world. Yet, increasing maritime traffic posed risks of air and water pollution. In 2003-2005 Interreg united ports and port cities from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Poland. They committed to reducing air emissions and harmonising waste and wastewater management procedures. In 2010-2013 projects coordinated efforts of ports, cities, and researchers in making the Baltic Sea a model area for clean shipping. They looked into new technologies and practices that helped comply with stricter requirements for the Emission Control Area of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
In 2017-2022, ports, shipping companies, shipyards, and technology suppliers continued working in projects to reduce harmful emissions and decarbonise the maritime industry. They looked into alternative fuels and energy sources, onshore power supply, emission abatement technologies, digital monitoring of vessel performance, and cargo stowage optimisation. HELCOM, a regional platform for environmental policymaking, noted that air emissions from shipping had decreased from 1995 to 2018. The positive development is expected to continue as ports around the Baltic Sea in Hamburg, Rostock, Klaipeda, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Bergen, Trelleborg, Esbjerg, and more agreed to take further steps towards applying green technologies and alternative fuels.
Railways
Rail Baltica is a multi-billion-euro infrastructure project in the Baltic Sea region, connecting the Baltic States to the European rail network. The construction is in full swing, with funding from the EU Connecting Europe Facility and national budgets. By 2030, new fast electric railways will transport passengers and freight from Tallinn to Warsaw via Riga and Kaunas/Vilnius. Interreg projects played a role in making Rail Baltica a reality.
In 2005, ministries of transport and interior from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, and Germany joined forces in an Interreg project with national railway companies and regions to plan the construction of the new railway line and propose the optimal route. Later, in 2010-2013, a project initiated by Helsinki and Berlin brought together cities, regions, and transport and logistics companies along the planned route. New voices from local and regional levels helped further shape the transnational preparation process. In 2016-2022, partners developed a joint spatial vision for the North Sea-Baltic corridor, which includes the Rail Baltica line. They proposed measures like harmonising railway speeds, extending Rail Baltica to Helsinki via a tunnel, and enhancing intermodal terminals. They also provided input for the future of the EU’s trans-European transport network policy, advocating for the regional needs in the new funding period of the Connecting Europe Facility and other funds.
Wastewater management
The Baltic Sea is one of the most heavily eutrophicated seas in the world. Interreg projects helped improve wastewater treatment, which is one of the factors influencing eutrophication. At the beginning of the 2000s, more than 20 cities collected best practices in water management and shared them with other city administrations around the Baltic Sea region. In 2009-2013, projects showcased that it was possible to reduce discharges of nutrients from wastewater treatment facilities to the level set in the Baltic Sea Action Plan of HELCOM. The HELCOM Action Plan targets were stricter than the EU requirement.
In 2016-2021, projects in cities and villages focused on improving the treatment of wastewater from residents and industries. Partners in projects tested new technologies that increased nutrient removal and reduced energy consumption in cities such as Daugavpils, Gdańsk, Tartu, Jūrmala, Kaunas, and Grevesmühlen. Rural municipalities benefitted from solutions like septic tanks and soil infiltration in Kolgaküla, Gennarby, Ainaži, and Leitgiriai. In other projects, partners tested the pre-treatment of wastewater at poultry, meat, and dairy factories in Leszno, Doruchów, Põltsamaa, and Jelgava. Following this joint work, the partners synthesised more than a hundred examples of smart water operations. Using this knowledge, they helped develop the new Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy of HELCOM, and revise the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. These two strategic documents help achieve a healthy state of the Baltic Sea.
Water management
The Baltic Sea is a large brackish water area with 85 million inhabitants in its catchment area. It is crucial to protect its waters, including inland waters like rivers, lakes, and groundwater. At the beginning of the 2000s, Interreg projects helped implement the EU Water Framework Directive in the Baltic Sea catchment. Project partners developed management plans for pilot river basins in all Programme countries.
In 2009-2012, project partners helped streamline river basin management planning across the BSR countries, and prepared investment plans for water protection measures. They pointed out the importance of coordinating water management planning among different governance levels and policy sectors and engaging stakeholders. Later projects, in 2019-2021, tested multi-actor and cross-sector engagement in water management on the catchment level, focusing on agriculture and forestry. Together, landowners, local municipalities, government agencies, advisory services, catchment officers, and private companies identified solutions for complex water management challenges. Buffer zones along waters, constructed wetlands, or controlled drainage brought benefits for water, climate, drought prevention, food security, and rural development. The catchment area perspective proved crucial, as each measure had a limited effect, but together they made a difference.
Agriculture
Agriculture brings food to us all. But it is also a major source of nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea, contributing to high levels of eutrophication. Interreg projects helped find win-win solutions on how to support farmers and care for the environment. In 2003-2006, projects encouraged organic and ecological recycling-based agriculture with a focus on local and regional processing, distribution, and consumption. These practices helped reduce resource consumption and nutrient leakages. In 2009-2014, project partners shared nearly 100 agri-environmental measures that helped farmers improve practices, invest in technology, and reduce nutrient losses while saving money.
In 2016-2021, project partners continued to promote dialogue between environmental and agricultural interests. Farmers in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden tested slurry acidification techniques, the effectiveness of treated slurry as fertiliser, and running costs. Partners also helped farmers and their advisors make better use of manure resources on nearly 100 farms in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden. Leveraging years of transnational cooperation in agriculture and nutrient management, partners helped develop the new Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy by HELCOM. This Strategy guides regional efforts to reduce nutrient losses from agriculture and recycle nutrients till 2030.
#MadeWithIBSR in 25 years
#IBSRmemories
#HappyBirthdayIBSR
#GetToKnowInterreg
Our projects
Benefits for cities
Our objectives
