1. The INTERREG IVB NWE Programme: an overview

2. NWE Eligible Area Ireland UK Belgium Luxembourg Switzerland* Parts of France Germany Netherlands

3. Cooperation Area Characteristics  845,000 km²  21% of the EU territory  180m inhabitants  39.5% of EU population  307 inhabitants per km²  75% of the population lives in densely populated urban areas

4. Programme goal  The INTERREG IVB North-West Europe funding instrument aims to improve employment opportunities, enhance the environmental qualities, improve transport solutions and finally ensure that our cities and rural areas are sustainable.  This can only be done through concrete cooperation projects by using the existing territorial assets as much as possible, thus delivering the maximum result with the highest leverage.  These themes for cooperation are translated into four Programme Priorities which are explained in detail in the Operational Programme, the reference document for NWE.  The Programme will distribute in total 355M ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). Approved projects receive up to 50% ERDF of their total cost.

5. 4 Programme Priorities 1.Developing the NWE knowledge-based economy by capitalising on our capacity for INNOVATION 2.Sustainable management of NATURAL RESOURCES and of natural and technological risks 3.Improving CONNECTIVITY in NWE by promoting intelligent and sustainable transport and ICT solutions 4.Promoting strong and prosperous COMMUNITIES at transnational level

6. The key concept: Transnational Cooperation is essential at all stages of a project! Transnationality Or how to bake the same cake... Are you each bringing a cake to the party? Or bringing unique ingredients to bake a shared cake?

7. The key principles What kind of projects will we fund?  Innovation: positive & sustainable change, include new ideas and cooperation approaches, demonstrate clear added value compared to previous initiatives  Tangibility and transferability of results: S.M.A.R.T. outputs, activities “near the market”, test sites or investments, results applicable to other regions, solutions with long lasting impact  Consistent partnership: representation of key actors and stakeholders, different political and administrative levels  Good Value for money: tangible and measurable outputs that correspond to the EU financial input.

8. www.nweurope.eu