- The CBC programmes with Russia will allow the regions on both sides of the border to intensify co-operation in the areas of common interest that have been jointly identified., Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner declared, according to a press-release after the Stockholm EU-Russian Summit on Wednesday.
-Direct people-to-people contact is an essential element of these programmes, so joint actions in areas as education, culture, civil society are a central component. I am convinced that the CBC programmes will bring tangible benefits to people in the regions on both sides of the EU border, Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
In addition to the Kolaarctic program, the financial agreements for four other cross-border cooperation programmes were signed. The programmes have a total budget of €437 million an last until 2013.
The other programmes are Karelia-Russia with €46 million, South-east Finland-Russia with €72 million, Estonia-Latvia-Russia with€73 million and Lithuania-Poland-Russia (Kaliningrad) with €176 million.
The funding comes from different sources: European Commission (€267 million), individual member states (€67 million) and the Russian Federation (€103 million).
There is a wide array of issues that can be addressed in Cross-Border-Cooperation programmes – examples include promotion of small and medium enterprises, business and trade, transport, technology, research, and tourism. The regions will address common challenges in the areas of environment, nature protection and renewable energy, culture or protection of historical heritage.
