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European Neighbourhood Policy in action: launch of cross-border co-operation programmes with Russia
18-11-2009The EU and Russia have signed Financing Agreements for five cross-border co-operation programmes (CBC) at the EU-Russia Summit in Stockholm on 18 November.
Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner and the Russian Minister for Regional Development, Viktor Basargin, signed the agreements, which are central to the implementation of cooperation programmes between the border regions of the European Union and Russia.
The programmes have a total budget of approximately €437 million until 2013, and are funded by different sources: European Commission (€267m), Member States (€67m) and the Russian Federation (€103m). A Commission press release said the co-financing by the Russian Federation “confirms the spirit of partnership at the core of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI)”.
“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 Ferrero-Waldner declared. She added: “The border regions will jointly promote economic and social development, address common environmental challenges and ensure efficient and secure borders. 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.”
The programmes involving Russia are:
- Kolarctic-Russia (Sweden Finland, Norway, Russia) – €70.48m
- Karelia-Russia (Finland, Russia) – €46.40m
- South East Finland-Russia (Finland, Russia) – €72.36m
- Estonia-Latvia-Russia – €73.08m
- Lithuania-Poland-Russia (the Kaliningrad programme) – €176.13m (ENPI Info Centre).
