About Interreg

Interreg is a series of five programmes developed to stimulate cooperation between regions in the EU, funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Lighting Metropolis is supported by Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak.

Interreg-ÖKS

The programs are designed to stimulate cooperation between member states of the European Union on different levels. One of its main targets is to diminish the influence of national borders in favor of equal economic, social and cultural development of the whole territory of the European Union.

The Interreg initiative is designed to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion throughout the European Union, by fostering the balanced development of the continent through cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation. Special emphasis has been placed on integrating remote regions with those that share external borders with the candidate countries.

 

Programme administration

Interreg is not managed centrally by the European Commission. In each border region, each transnational programme area, representatives of the national and regional authorities of the member states involved come together with representatives of local authorities and non-governmental organisations and with business and social partners and define the development priorities of their relevant programmes. A programme is then realised via concrete projects. Partners from both sides of a border or, in the case of transnational programmes, even from several countries have to team up and participate in such projects. Within the projects as well, defining objectives, realising projects and reviewing performance is jointly done by the partners.

It has a budget of EUR 10.1 billion, which represents 2.8% of the total of the European Cohesion Policy

You can read more about the wider programmes here, and specifically about the regional programme here (in Swedish).