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Skåne Association of Local Authorities joins Euroregion Baltic

Over the last few years Euroregion Baltic has been constantly developing its activities as an important and active cooperation platform not only in the South Baltic area but in the wider Baltic Sea Region. These activities resulted not only in the improved visibility of the organisation but also started to deliver concrete results based on the involvement of ERB in several cross-border projects. This development momentum culminated in 2018 when on its 20th anniversary ERB has been approached by the Skåne Association of Local Authorities (Kommunförbundet Skåne – KFSK) to discuss a potential membership in the organisation.

Having concluded almost one year of concrete negotiations and fruitful meetings, in September 2018 the KFSK decided to apply for a membership in Euroregion Baltic. Following this request, the Executive Board of ERB decided to approve the KFSK membership and welcomed the Association as its new member effective starting from 1st January 2019.

The Skåne Association of Local Authorities (Kommunförbundet Skåne – KFSK) is a nonprofit organisation with the task of supporting and developing the local self-governance, protecting local interests, promoting collaboration between municipalities and assisting them in their activities. With all 33 municipalities in Skåne being members of the Association, KFSK works in important cooperation areas of energy and climate, environment and community planning, labour market and business, local authority management, education, public health and welfare as well as research, innovation and development.

The Association is also very active in cross-border cooperation, supporting their municipalities in international projects and directly joining some of them as an important and very experienced actor. This will undoubtedly provide a added value in ERB cooperation, opening the platform to new ideas and cooperation initiatives, especially in the area of green tech and sustainable development.

Over the recent years Euroregion Baltic has been developing steadily as one of the important cross-border and international cooperation platforms in the Baltic Sea Region. Acting through its International Permanent Secretariat based in Elbląg, Poland, which has been the coordinating structure within Euroregion Baltic since 2004, the organisation has managed to become a more effective lobbying and knowledge-sharing platform. At the same time it has been constantly increasing its impact through implementation of international projects, most of them within the INTERREG South Baltic Programmme.

To continue on the path of constant development we are currently looking for a new Head of the International Permanent Secretariat who will be responsible for the strategic and day-to-day management of the organisation. This is a full-time position requiring excellent managerial, administrative and social skills, as well as a good deal of travelling, but offering exciting international work environment and attractive conditions. We are looking for a reliable, well-organised person who will be able to lead a small team of dedicated project managers and interns in an international working environment.

For more information about the requirements and application procedure, please read the official vacancy announcement.

The deadline for submissions is 20th January 2019.

In case of questions regarding the recruitment, please contact the ERB International Secretariat.

At the beginning of July 2018 the Polish Minister of Investment and Economic development, Mr Jerzy Kwieciński, sent an open letter to the European Commission (EC) on the future the South Baltic Programme.

The Minister also presented the overview and maritime cooperation benefits of the Programme for the last 11 years. In this brochure are presented the joint actions of coastal regions of five countries – Poland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and the achievements of the Programme for the last two programming periods. (more…)

Do you work as strategists, regional developers, or national S3 coordinator with Smart Specialisation? Is your region working with Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) with an interest in developing Interregional Value Chains and Entrepreneurial Discovery?

Application Call of Baltic Leadership Programme is now open until 19 August. Eligible countries:  Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, as well as the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg.

More details about this BLP oraganised by the Swedish Instiute can be found in the flyer and on SI website.

Registration link is available here.

For more information please contact Gabor Schneider, gabor.schneider@si.se, Tel: +46-8-453 78 59, Mobil: +46-732-318521

Are you interested in renewing and innovating the field of Bioeconomy and taking part in an intergenerational dialogue?

An entirely unique leadership training programme to tackle the challenges of youth participation in the Bioeconomy sector, for participants from the Baltic Sea Region.

BLP Youth addresses the need to better integrate younger generations into the field of Bioeconomy. Youth (up to 30 years of age) are vital for renewing and innovating the sector, which is necessary in the transition from a fossil based to a bio based society/economy, but today necessary links and methods for attracting and involving youth are lacking.

The programme is targeting representatives from youth organisations as well as representatives from organisations working with Bioeconomy. We are looking forward to receiving applications from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Iceland, as well as the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg.

The application period is open until  22nd August. For detailed information check the website of the Swedish Institute or follow the link to submit your application. In case of questions, please contact Gabor Schneider at:gabor.schneider@si.se, Tel: +46-8-453 78 59, Mobile: +46-732-318521.

The Programme flyer can be found here.

We are very happy to announce that the Baltic Sea Tourism Center (BSTC) has now online presence at www.bstc.eu. The Baltic Sea Tourism Center is a permanent center of expertise for improved communication and cooperation in tourism in the Baltic Sea Region.

The website addresses the BSTC network as well as political decision makers, institutions, destination management organisations, other Interreg projects etc,on national and regional levels.

Apart from presenting information about the BSTC project itself, the website highlights the future BSTC’s core competencies – partnerships, insights, and skills. The BSTF as well as further events and the latest news will be updated regularly. The current website version will be filled with more content in the course of the next months.

 

 

During the last month meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg South Baltic Programme taking place on Bornholm, the Committee decided to approve 10 new projects for funding.

The following project were approved:

Specific Objective 2.1. Increased development of the South Baltic area’s natural and cultural heritage assets into sustainable tourist destinations

  • ArcheoBalt – Laying fixed foundations for innovative Archeotourism – a new “green” Archeoroute in the Southern Baltic Sea Region
  • SB WELL – Wellbeing Tourism for the South Baltic Region – Guidelines for best practices and Promotion
  • SOUTH BALTIC MANORS – Valorisation of manors for tourism development in rural areas of the South Baltic area

Specific Objective 2.2. Increased use of green technologies in order to decrease the pollution discharges in the South Baltic area

  • COASTAL Biogas – Cluster On Anaerobic digestion, environmental Services and NuTrients removAL
  • WASTEMAN – Integrated Sustainable Waste Management Systems decreasing pollution discharges in the South Baltic area

Specific Objective 3. Improve the quality and environmental sustainability of transport services in the South Baltic area

  • Connect2SmallPorts – South Baltic Small Ports as Gateways towards Integrated Sustainable European Transport System and Blue Growth by Smart Connectivity Solutions
  • INCONE60 – Inland Blue Transport Connector E60
  • PARKING GETS SMART – Improved & digitalised parking management as tool to foster green and multimodal transport in the South Baltic area

Specific Objective 4. Increase the share of skilled labour force working in blue and green economy sectors of the South Baltic area through joint cross-border actions

  • BFA – BALTIC FOR ALL
  • SB BRIDGE – building bridges for green-tech future

 

The resources from the European Regional Development Fund to be allocated to these projects amount to 15 066 852,69 EUR (19% of the Programme financial capacity).

The Monitoring Committee decided also to open the 6th call for proposals from 1 October until 18 December 2018 for the Specific Objectives: 2.2, 3, 4 and 5.

Please visit the Programme’s website for more detailed information about the results of the call.

An interesting year ahead for Interreg Baltic Sea Region. As underlined by Susanne Scherrer, Director of the Managing Authority/ Joint Secretariat, in the course of 2018 projects of the first call will deliver their main outputs, project platforms will pick up their work to maximise the effects of projects’ results and the vast majority of the Programme’s funds will be allocated to the third call project selection. From 5 October 2017 to 15 January 2018, Interreg Baltic Sea Region was accepting new project ideas for a more innovative, better accessible and sustainable Baltic Sea region in the third call for project applications. As many as 269 project idea forms have been submitted throughout this time period.

As for the Baltic Sea cooperation with Russia, the Financing Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Commission has successfully been concluded and signed. A total of EUR 8.8 million of EU and Russian funding is now available to enable full participation of Russian partners in our cooperation projects and thus closes the circle of countries bordering the Baltic Sea. According to the Financing Agreement, the European Commission allocated EUR 4.4 million from the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) to Interreg Baltic Sea Region for Russian beneficiaries. In parallel, Russia earmarked EUR 4.4 million for the Programme budget. The funding rate for Russian partners is up to 85%. All funds will be implemented based on the same set of Programme rules.

At the same time, the foundation of Transnational Cooperation funding after 2020 is being laid. The document is a good opportunity to take a look at the role that Interreg transnational programmes actually play in the context of the EU’s cohesion policy and at the added value of transnational cooperation from the Baltic Sea region and across Europe.

For more information, subscribe the newsletter.

 

On February 14-15 UMBRELLA kick-off meeting took place in the frame of the celebrations for ERB 20th Anniversary. UMBRELLA, within whom ERB plays the role of Lead Partner, aims at developing know-how capacities for small local and regional organisations in the South Baltic Programme area to initiate their active participation in the cross-border cooperation in daily activities.

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As CBSS aims at developing and fostering the concept of a belonging to the Baltic Sea Region through engagement, dialogue, people-to-people contacts, networks and multilevel governance, it has just released a call that put culture at the heart of  Baltic Sea cooperation.

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The content of this website is the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union, the Managing Authority or the Joint Secretariat of the South Baltic Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. The project UMBRELLA is partly financed from the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 through the European Regional Development Fund.