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Cross-border
economic
development
18
Practical guide : building partnerships
Providing funding for cross-border initiatives
One of the problems in implementing cross-border economic development strategies is the limited number
of truly cross-border funding mechanisms. INTERREG, the reference tool, may not be sufficient, because
of limited resources or funding oriented towards other priorities. However, there are few alternatives to
INTERREG programmes. Indeed, the tools are generally designed within a national framework, be they
government aid, tax incentives, private or public-sector investment funds, etc.
It is necessary to increase funding options for cross-border projects by coordinating national mechanisms,
or by establishing cross-border funds.
The national mechanisms
(ERDF-ESF regional
programmes), investment banks,
etc. should be able to grant
funding to economic players
with cross-border projects.
E x a m p l e :
In Austria, ERDF regional
programmes
fund businesses to
develop cross-border projects.
Cross-border coordination of
national mechanisms
makes it
possible to fund both halves of a
single project on either side of a
border. This could be by linking
national and local innovation
or SME support programmes,
parallel financing by public
banks, etc. It is also possible
to coordinate ordinary state
aid for exports (for example,
Bpifrance, Coface and regional
aid) with ordinary state aid for
investments in regions on the
other side of the border
(in France for example, territorial
planning and development
grants and the reindustrialisation
aid programme).
E x a m p l e :
For the 2014-2020 period,
the partner regions of the
Pyrenees-Mediterranean
Euroregion
agreed in principle
to finance the activities of the
Euroregion through their ERDF-ESF
regional programmes.
The
establishment of cross-
border funds
(subsidies, loans,
loan guarantees, shareholding
programmes, etc.) that comply
with rules on state aid and do
not hamper competition makes
it possible to meet the specific
needs of cross-border projects.
E x a m p l e
:
The objective of the cross-
border fund managed by the
Aquitaine-Euskadi Euroregion
is to grant small subsidies to launch
a project which, once underway,
may seek other types of financing.
Coordinating different sources of funding
Synergies between the different funding mechanisms must be sought to overcome the difficulties created
by multi-level structures and partnerships covering partially overlapping territories.
It is important to
identify
complementarities between
European programmes.
This
makes it possible to direct the
different projects towards the
most useful funding tools.
E x a m p l e
:
The Aquitaine-Euskadi
Euroregion
conducted a
comparative analysis
of regional programmes (ERDF-
ESF, EAFRD and EMFF) in the two
partner regions and of cooperation
programmes (POCTEFA, SUDOE,
Atlantic Area Programme and
INTERREG EUROPE).
Further,
coordinated strategic
financing decisions must
be made
for projects led by
economic players.
E x a m p l e
:
As part of the EURES-T Upper
Rhine activity programme
,
DIRECCTE Alsace chose to finance
two cross-border “Apprenticeship”
project officers hired by the Baden-
Württemberg regional directorate
of the German federal employment
agency. This is in line with a win-win
rationale, because Alsace wishes
to solve the problem of youth
unemployment while
Baden-Württemberg has available
apprenticeship positions and a
need for labour.