Ready, Steady, Go….
Most operational programmes were adopted by the European Commission by the end of 2016, opening up many possibilities to people wanting to cooperate across the EU’s external borders. As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2017, ENI CBC programmes are taking off.
The geographical area of ENI cross border cooperation programmes stretches from the Arctic Circle in the North to the East and the Caucasus, down to the South in the Mediterranean. All around Europe, there is an incredible history of cooperation between member states and their neighbouring countries. This period is crucial for ENI CBC programmes, as it marks the launch of many calls for proposals at the EU’s external borders.
Some programmes have already closed their calls…
The 1st call for project proposals was launched by the Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus Programme on 21 September 2016. The call was closed on 20 December 2016. Poland-Belarus-Ukraine launched its own on 11 October 2016, closing the submission for concept notes on 31 December 2016. The important number of applications received in both cases shows how much these calls have been successful so far. The relevant programmes are already evaluating project proposals.
While others are launching now…
It is now time to look for good partnerships to tackle joint challenges across the borders. The Kolarctic and South-East Finland – Russia Programme calls are open with deadlines for submission of 15 and 17 March 2017 respectively. The Karelia Programme has launched three calls for proposals on 16 January 2017 with deadlines of 23 March and 31 March. The Estonia-Russia Programme’s deadline for submission of project applications (project summary forms) is 3 April 2017. The Black Sea Basin launched its first call on 31 January and is expecting project proposals by 31 May. Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine launched a call specifically for large infrastructure projects on 15 February, with a deadline of 15 November 2017. In most cases, information events and partner search fora are organised in the eligible regions by the programme authorities with the assistance of TESIM when required. Other calls for proposals are expected in spring.
Living in one of the eligible regions? You can also be part of the many men and women sharing values and cooperating across the EU’s external borders to improve their daily life. For more information on all the ENI CBC calls for proposals, please see here.