Fuente: © European Union
http://europa.eu.int

EU: Operational Programme for the “Grande Région” 2007-2013 (Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg)

/noticias.info/ 1. Operational Programme for Cross-border Cooperation for the “Grande Région” under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective, cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

2. General information

On 12 December 2007, the European Commission approved the Operational Programme for Cross-border Cooperation for the "Grande Région", cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective in Belgium, Germany, France and Luxembourg. The total cost of the programme is around 212 million euros. The maximum contribution from the European Regional Development Fund to the Operational Programme is 106 million euros, which represents around 1.2% of total EU investment under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective.

The programme relates to Wallonia, the German-speaking Community in Belgium, Lorraine in France, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It also has 18 adjacent zones eligible to benefit from up to 20% of the ERDF contribution.

3. Purpose and aim of the programme

The aims of the actions developed in the context of this programme are to:

* make the Grande Région more attractive;
* encourage innovation and economic development, thus leading to the creation of better-quality jobs;
* improve the range and potential of training structures.

This programme is also the concrete implementation for the Grande Région of the European Union’s strategic guidelines for 2007-2013.

4. The expected impact of the investment

The Grande Région enjoys a favourable geographical position. This Programme for Cross-border Cooperation, in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategies, should help to improve the competitiveness of this cross-border region and those living there, with a particular focus on the creation of added value and jobs. It should also boost the sustainable planning and development of the region, with particular emphasis on better management of mobility and the environment, better exploitation of cultural resources and greater social cohesion in the Grande Région.

5. Priorities

The Operational Programme has four priorities:

Priority 1: Economy [around 44% of total investment]

The aim of this priority is to support innovation, research and development, joint activities to develop the economic fabric, entrepreneurship, economic infrastructures, tourism and the cross-border labour market, in order to contribute to economic development and employment in the Grande Région.

Priority 2: Spatial planning [around 25% of total investment]

The aim is to promote sustainable territorial development in order to make the Grande Région a well-structured, attractive and dynamic area with a high level of environmental protection. There are three main objectives in this priority area:

* support for spatial planning policies;
* improving mobility;
* integrated use and protection of the environment.

Priority 3: Investing in people [around 25% of total investment]

The aim is to develop the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, exploit cultural resources and strengthen social cohesion, in particular by supporting cooperation activities in education, initial training, vocational training and higher education. Cooperation in the areas of health care and personal services will also be supported. Furthermore, the programme will promote cross-border activities and projects with a cultural dimension.

Priority 4: Technical assistance [around 6% of total investment]

This priority will provide support for the implementation of an effective management, monitoring and control system to evaluate the programme and its projects and handle its communication and publicity. notas_de_prensa_archivo