Cooperation wins: 21 projects selected for funding!

The Monitoring Committee meeting held on 13-14 November 2024 ended successfully with several important decisions on shaping the future of the Programme, with the highlights being the selection of 21 new projects for funding and paving the way for upcoming funding opportunities. ​

Best project ideas for the best of the region!

The Monitoring Committee members from the whole Programme area met already for the seventh time in the current Programme to advance on the Programme implementation. The meeting took place in the heart of Copenhagen and was chaired by Hannah Nagler-Olesen from the Danish Business Authority. One of the most awaited moments of the meeting was when the representatives of the Programme countries discussed and selected 21 new projects for funding in the third call for core project applications.

As many as 249 project partners coming from all Programme area countries, with 36% being the newcomers to the Interreg family, will work in joint transnational project contribute to building a green and resilient region.

In this call, applicants could only apply for funding in two Programme priorities: Innovative Societies and Climate-Neutral Societies.

In Priority 1 Innovative Societies, 11 projects received the highest notes from the Monitoring Committee: six in the Programme Objective Resilient Economies and Communities and five in Responsive Public Services. The selected projects will address, among others, the topics of increasing disaster resilience, sustainable tourism, genetic biodiversity as well as several aspects of people’s health and well-being.

In Priority 3 Climate-neutral Societies, ten projects will receive Programme co-financing with an equal split: five projects will advance Circular Economy in the region, and five projects – Energy Transition. For example, new projects will work on advancing energy independence, local energy plans and heat transition, green public procurement, glass fibre recycling or boosting circularity in households.

All in all, as much as EUR 46.1 million from the European Regional Development Fund and EUR 0.7 million from the Norwegian National Fund have been allocated to the projects.

The next step for the approved projects encompasses contracting, which also means bringing to life the recommendations and improvements suggested by the Monitoring Committee during the meeting.

New year, new funding opportunities

Recently, the first 17 small projects have recently finished their implementation. This financial instrument has successfully opened the Interreg door to multiple newcomers and allowed for reinforcing networks, swift response to shared challenges and bringing Interreg closer to citizens in the region. To provide applicants with new funding opportunities, the Monitoring Committee agreed to open the next call for small projects in the first quarter of 2025.

Additionally, the Monitoring Committee agreed to extend financial support to the Baltic Sea Strategy Point and policy area coordinators of the EU Strategy of the Baltic Sea Region to actively contribute to strengthening the macro-regional dimension and policy impacts of the EU Strategy upon the region.

The Monitoring Committee meetings are regular occasions to check on the status of the Programme implementation and agree on the upcoming steps. The members received insights into recent surveys run among applicants and ongoing projects. An overall high mark given to the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat indicates a clear service-oriented path to continue.

Members of the Monitoring Committee also took their time to exchange on the future of Interreg in the new post-2027 reality. In this context, they also reflected upon the importance of communicating the added value of Interreg transnational cooperation and providing convincing examples of Interreg projects and #MadeWithInterreg solutions.

It was the last meeting chaired by Denmark; next year’s meetings will be chaired by Finland. The Finnish chairmanship coincides with an event highlight in May 2025: the Programme Conference taking place in Tampere, Finland, which will uncover the magic of transnational cooperation and the unique mechanism driving cooperation in the region.

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