Programme

Interreg was developed as a Community Initiative in with a budget of just 1 billion EUR covering exclusively cross-border cooperation in 1990. Later, Interreg has been extended to transnational and interregional cooperation. For 2014-2020 European Territorial Cooperation is one of the two goals of Cohesion Policy besidesinvestment for Growth and Job. Over the years Interreg has become the key instrument of the European Union to support cooperation between partners across borders. The aim: to tackle common challenges together and find shared solutions - whether in the field of health, research and education, transport or sustainable energy. Interreg programmes are funded by the European Regional Development Fund to support the harmonious development of the European Union's territory at different levels.

In the 2014-2020 programming period of the European Union, the cohesion policy is the main investment instrument for supporting the main priorities of the Union as envisaged in the Europe 2020 Strategy, i.e. smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and linked targets. The European Territorial Cooperation is one of the goals of cohesion policy and provides a framework for cooperation on internal borders of the EU.