Cross-border cooperation in Barents area

Päivi Ekdahl 20.11.2013

Implementation of cross-border programmes

• In the Barents area, cross-border cooperation is natural way of people-to-people communication

• Willigness to cooperate is often strong but people/ organisations quite often lack the needed resources

• Barents working groups are a good working tool for building up systematic cooperation between the regional actors

• In future it is important to find the correct tools and ways to cooperate, in order to create stability which does not depend on time frames of financing instruments

Financing Instruments in Barents region

• Cooperation between the nordic countries has been active already for decades

• EU programmes have been implemented since Finland and Sweden have become EU Member States 1995

• Interreg Programmes, Tacis programmes and ENPI Programmes

• ENPI Programmes - expecially Kolarctic ENPI CBC Programme with four participating countries - brought the financing to a different level, since financing from the programme can be allocated to the whole Barents area with one decision

12.04.2023 Etunimi Sukunimi

4

Cooperation is active

Strengths or weaknesses?

• low number of active organisations (and people?) implementing the projects

• low number of people on the decision-making level

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• overlap of the regions participating to the programmes

• similarity of programmes’ objectives and activities

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Thank you!