Territorial Cooperation
Territorial Cooperation
Territorial Cooperation Programmes are divided into:
Bilateral Programme Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) – as a rule, two countries that share common borders participate in these Programs. There may be joint programs between: i) two IPA countries; iii) an IPA country and an EU member state; iii) two EU member states (ERDF funds).
Trilateral Cross Border Cooperation Programemes – Three countries that share common border participate in these projects, with at least one partner from each country.
Transnational Programmes are major programs with over five participating countries. In any case, they are a mix of EU and non-EU member states (ERDF + IPA).
Territorial Cooperation programs are drafted by the participating coutries and approved by the EU Commission: The programs are compiled once in seven years. Each Program has its Operational Document, a voluminous material setting out the eligible areas where projects can be implemented (Counties), funding priorities, total Program budget, Program management structures, potential beneficiaries (applicants), project implementation, etc.
After the drafting of the Program and its approval by the European Commission, the way is paved to open calls for projects for each priority and in this way a program generates a significant number of projects that are implemented.
Implementation: Each Program has its own structures that facilitate implementation. One of the structures taking care of the day-to-day implementation of the Program is the Technical Secretariat, a dedicated staff structure. The most important structure of the Territorial Cooperation Programs is the Monitoring Committee in which each participating country appoints its representatives.
Potential Applicants / Beneficiaries: The entities that can mainly apply for and implement projects under the Territorial Cooperation Programs are local government units (Municipalities, Counties, Regional Development Agencies), state agencies, Regional Director, civil society organizations (NGOs), Centers, Foundations) Universities, Research Centers, as well as central institutions (Ministries) in smaller numbers. In order for these entities to benefit from financial support from the Programs concerned, they must collaborate with partners from other participating countries in the Program and must propose joint projects.
As set out in European Commission Regulation 231/2014 (IPA Regulation), territorial cooperation is one of the five policy areas of the IPA Instrument. This policy area made concrete through the participation of IPA countries in various programs funded by the European Union. During this implementation period, Albania participates in eight Territorial Cooperation Programs, as follows:
4 bilateral programme:
- Interreg IPA CBC Greece - Albania 2014-2020
- IPA II CBC North Macedonia – Albania 2014-2020
- IPA II CBC Montenegro – Albania 2014-2020
- IPA II CBC Albania – Kosovo 2014-2020
1 trilateral Programme:
- Interreg IPA CBC Italy – Albania – Montenegro 2014-2020
3 transnational Programmes
- Interreg ADRION (Adriatic-Ionian) 2014 - 2020
- Interreg Mediterranean
- Interreg BalkanMed (Balkan-Mediterranean)
IPA II CBC PROGRAMME ALBANIA - KOSOVO 2014-2020
Eligible Areas in Albania for the implementation of the program are Kukës and Lezha Region, with a total budget amounting up to 9,734,118 Euro.
The priorities of this Program are as follows:
- Protection, conservation and evaluation of environmental resources;
- Promotion of natural, cultural and tourism heritage as an opportunity for economic development of the area;
- Promoting youth socio-economic integration.
The Contracting Authority is EU Delegation in Tirana.
The Technical Secretariat is located in Lezha and the Antenna Office (support branch) is located at Pristina.
For more information please visit the official website of the program: http://albaniakosovo.org/?lang=sq and the contact point page: http://albaniakosovo.org/contact/?lang=sq
Download the Winning Projects list of IPA II CBC Programme Albanian- Kosovo IPA II
IPA II CBC PROGRAMME NORTH MACEDONIA - ALBANIA 2014-2020
Eligible Areas for the implementation of the program in Albania are Dibra, Elbasan and Korça Regions, with a total budget amounting up to 13,790,000 EUR.
The priorities of this program are as follows:
- Developing tourism potential by promoting cultural heritage and values;
- Strengthening SMEs production capacity and access to markets;
- Promote awareness of a greener economy, a cleaner environment and adaptation to climate change.
The Contracting Authority is EU Delegation to Skopje.
The Technical Secretariat is located in Struga, NMK, while Antenna Office (support branch) is located in Elbasan, AL.
For more information please see the official website of the program: http://ipacbc–mk-al.net/sq/ and the contact point page: http://ipacbc–mk-al.nt/sq/na-kontaktoni.html
Download List of Projects of IPA II Programme North Macedoni-Albania
IPA II CBC PROGRAMME MONTENEGRO - ALBANIA 2014-2020
Eligible areas for the implementation of the program in Albania are Shkodra and Lezha Region and Tropoja Municipality, with a total budget amounting up to 13,790,000 EUR (National Co-financing 1,890,000 EUR, and EU contribution 11,900,000 EUR).
The program priorities are:
- Axis 1 - Supporting Tourism, Culture and Natural Heritage;
- Axis 2 - Environmental Protection, Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Prevention and Management;
- Axis 3 - Promotion of employment and social and cultural inclusion.
The Technical Secretariat is located in the city of Podgorica and the Support Office (Antenna) in Shkodra.
For more information please visit the official website of the program: https://www.cbc-mne-alb.org/sq/ and the contact point page: https://www.cbc-mne-alb.org/sq/na-kontaktoni/
Download List of Projects of IPA II Programme Montenegro-Albania
INTERREG IPA II CBC PROGRAMME GREECE - ALBANIA 2014-2020
Eligible Cross-Border zones for the implementation of the program in in Albania include: the Districts of Vlora, Gjirokastra, Korça and Berat, with a total budget abounting uo to 42,312,029 EUR. According to the Greek Managing Authority, the European Commission is expected to increase the budget by 5-7 million Euros. EC officials took the decision at the executive level, but it is not yet formalized.
The program Priorities are as follows:
- Axis 1 - Support for the environment, sustainable transport and public infrastructure;
- Axis 2 - Promoting the local economy.
The Managing and Contracting Authority is the Greek Managing Authority under the Greek Ministry of Economy.
The Technical Secretariat (ST) is located in Thessaloniki where the offices of the Managing Authority are also located. The program also has a Support Office (Antenna) in Saranda, with one responsible person.
For more information please click the official website of the program: https://greece-albania.eu/
Download List of Projects of IPA II Programme Greece-Albania
INTERREG IPA II CBC PROGRAMME ITALY-ALBANIA-MONTENEGRO 2014-2020
Eligible Areas to implement the project are in Albania (all territory), Montenegro (all territory), and Italy (Apulia Region: Foggia, Bari, Lecce, Barletta – Andria - Trani and Taranto and Molise Region, Isernia and Campobasso), with a total budget amounting up to 93 million Euro.
The Managing and Contracting Authority is the Region of Puglia, Italy.
The Technical Secretariat is located in Bari where the offices of the Managing Authority are also located. The Secretariat has one Contact Office in Tirana and one in Montenegro (known as the National Contact Point).
The program Priorities are as follows:
- Strengthening cross-border cooperation and competitiveness of SMEs;
- Intelligent management of cultural and natural heritage for promoting tourism;
- Environmental protection, risk management and low carbon strategy;
- Promotion of cross-border accessibility, promotion of transport.
For more information please see the official website of the program: https://www.italy-albania-montenegro.eu/ and the contact point page: https://www.italy-albania-montenegro.eu/contact-us
Download List of Projects of IPA II Programme Italy-Montenegro-Albania
INTERREG IPA II ADRION PROGRAMME 2014-2020
Eligible areas for the implementation of the program are four EU member states (Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Croatia) as well as four candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia).
The total budget of the program is 99.1 million Euros, of which ERDF allocations are 83.4 Million Euro and IPA allocations are 15.7 Million Euro. Currently the European Commission is considering increasing this allocation and balancing the two instruments (IPA and ERDF). We underline that the ADRION Program is considered the most important financial instrument for implementing projects that are in synergy with the EU Adriatic and Ionian Strategy (EUSAIR).
The Managing and Contracting Authority is Region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.
The Technical Secretariat is located in Bologna where the offices of the Management Authority are also located.
The program Priorities are as follows:
- Protecting the environment and promoting climate change adaptation;
- Promoting sustainable transport and improving public infrastructure;
- Promoting competition, business environment and SME development, trade and investment.
For more information please see the official website of the program: https://www.adrioninterreg.eu/ and the contact point page: https://www.adrioninterreg.eu/index.php/contacts/contact-point/
INTERREG IPA II PROGRAMME BALLKAN-MEDITERRAN 2014-2020
The eligible areas for the implementation of the program are three EU countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and two IPA countries: Albania and North Macedonia.
Buxheti Total i Programit is 39,727,654.00 euros, out of which €33,456,246.00 are ERDF funds while 5,526,138.00 euros are IPA funds (for Albania and North Macedonia). The amount of EU funding is 85% for all priorities except for Technical Assistance, with 75%.
The Managing and Contracting Authority is the Greek Managing Authority under the Ministry Greek Economy.
The Technical Secretariat is located in Thessaloniki, where the offices of the Managing Authority are located.
For more information please see the official website of the program: http://www.interreg-balkanmed.eu/ and the contact point page: http://www.interreg-balkanmed.eu/com/25_National-Coordination- Points
INTERREG IPA II MEDITERRANEAN (MED) PROGRAMME 2014-2020
Eligible Areas to implement this program are the EU countries (ERDF instrument): Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom and Croatia; and the Candidate Countries (IPA Instrument): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
The total Program Budget is 233,678,791 euros (IPA of which approximately EUR 9.3 million and ERDF approximately EUR 224.3 million).
The Managing and Contracting Authority is the Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur Region (France).
Technical Secretariat is located in Marseilles where the offices of the Managing Authority are also located. There are no Albanians in this Secretariat.
The Program Priorities are as follows:
- Promoting innovation capacity;
- Energy efficiency;
- Encouraging and promotion of culture and tourism;
For more information please see the official website of the program: https://interreg-med.eu/ and the contact point page: https://interreg-med.eu/about-us/national-information/pages/albania/
PANORAMED PROJECT
Axis 4 - Governance of the Interreg Mediterranean Program (MED) 2014-2020
The Panoramed project is Co-financed the Transnational Cooperation Program "Mediterranean 2014-2020" under the priority of Axis 4 - Governance of the Interreg Mediterranean Program (MED). The main purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the capacity of national and public authorities to contribute in a coordinated manner to the strategies undertaken in the Mediterranean basin.
Eligibile Areas: The Panoramed Platform is an innovative initiative bringing together 12 partners (21 ministries and regional authorities of European countries on the Mediterranean coast):
EU countries (ERDF instrument): Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Malta, Greece and Cyprus
Candidate Countries (IPA Instrument): Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Associate Partners represented by the main Mediterranean actors participate in this project in order to make concrete strategic projects and contributing to policy and framework of the joint action.
The lead partner is the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, Spain.
The budget for the implementation of the platform project is 9 milion Euros for 5 years of implementation.
The Program Priorities are as follows:
- Coastal and marine tourism,
- Improving Policies and Planning (Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Marine Space Beach, Regional Development Policies)
- Marine Monitoring,
- Governance of coastal and marine space monitoring (data sharing) as well as environmental risk.
For more information please refer to official project website: https://governance.interreg-med.eu/ and the contact point page: https://governance.interreg-med.eu/special-pages/contact/
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