Introduction 5 Chapter 1: a description of the organisational structure set up for the implementation of the Strategy 6

In Western Finland, public funding contributes to the following Priority Areas of the EUSBSR: A1 (to reduce nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable levels), A2 (to preserve natural zones and biodiversity), A5 (to mitigate and adapt to climate change), B7 (to exploit the full potential of the Region in research and innovation), B8 (implementing the Small Business Act: to promote entrepreneurship, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and increase the efficient use of human resources), C10 (to improve access to, and the efficiency and security of the energy markets), C11 (to improve internal and external transport links) and C12 (to maintain and reinforce the attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education, tourism and health). The greatest amount of funding contributes to the A1, A2, B5 and B7 Priority Areas.

Examples of projects that support the EUSBSR in the Western Finland OP:

Food consumption research project, Route for coastal tourism, Development of cultural heritage related to maritime issues

The total budget of the Programme is around €6.25 million, the Community assistance through the ERDF amounting to €3.125 million.

The programme aims to improve competitiveness in 50 existing enterprises and create 10 new enterprises. 30 new jobs will be created and 10 new products developed. 96% of the investment available has been earmarked for Lisbon-related expenditure, which is above the Community objective of 75% for regional competitiveness and employment regions.

The programme will be implemented through one main priority plus a technical assistance priority.

Priority 1 Business and innovation aims at developing productivity, creating more jobs and safeguarding existing jobs through supporting entrepreneurship, innovation and growth of enterprises by developing new products and ensuring that the added value among existing products is increased. Know-how and the technology level will be increased through skills transfer and investment in increasing international contacts.

Priority 2 Technical assistance will provide support for programme management and implementation, including technical support, communications and publicity, research and evaluation actions.

All projects of the OP are supporting the EUSBSR. In total there are 18 projects and the ERDF amount totals €1.0 million.

Examples of projects that support the EUSBSR in the Åland Finland OP:

Biogas plant

Funding capacity of the OP Åland Finland	Total EU funding available (€)	Decided projects (€)	Amount remaining available (€)
Axis 1 Business and innovation	3 000 530	1 000 000	2 000 530
Axis 2 Technical Assistance	125 022	12 000	113 022
Total	3 125 552	1 012 000	2 113 552

3.1.3.5. Contribution of the competitiveness and employment objective Operational Programme "Eastern Finland" to the EUSBSR

Programme description

The total budget of the Programme is around €1.5 billion, the Community assistance through the ERDF amounting to €365.6 million, which accounts for approximately 21% of the total amount invested in Finland during programming period 2007-13. Eastern Finland has a "phasing-in" status, which means a strongly diminishing financing profile over the years 2007-13. Due to its permanent handicap caused by a sparse population and remoteness, the region benefits from a special allocation for sparsely populated areas of €35 per inhabitant per year from the ERDF, totalling €186 million during the programming period. The special allocation amount is included in the total amount of ERDF investment for the Programme.

The programme aims to create over 13 000 new jobs and over 2 000 new enterprises. The aim is to use 35% of the financial framework for research and development (R&D) projects creating 800 new R&D jobs. 86% of the investment available has been earmarked for Lisbon-related expenditure, which is well above the Community objective of 75% for regional competitiveness and employment regions.

The programme will be implemented through three main priorities and a technical assistance priority.

Priority 1 Promotion of business activity aims at developing productivity, creating more jobs and safeguarding existing jobs through supporting entrepreneurship and growth of enterprises and through improving access to business services and finance.

Priority 2 Promotion of innovation activity and networking, and reinforcing knowledge structures aims to activate expert networks with strong links to the national and international development projects of enterprises, universities, research institutes as well as regional businesses, and to support the creation and development of centres of excellence for key sectors.

Priority 3 Improving regional accessibility and operational environments aims to improve the accessibility and attractiveness of the Region for businesses, employees and tourists by improving logistics and transport connections, services, the environment and tourist attractions.

Priority 4 Technical assistance will provide support for programme management and implementation, including technical support, communications and publicity, research and evaluation actions.

In Eastern Finland the public funding contributes to the following Priority Areas of the EUSBSR: A1 (to reduce nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable levels), A2 (to preserve natural zones and biodiversity), A3 (to reduce the use and impact of hazardous substances), A5 (to mitigate and adapt to climate change), B7 (to exploit the full potential of the Region in research and innovation), B8 (implementing the Small Business Act: to promote entrepreneurship, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and increase the efficient use of human resources) and C12 (to maintain and reinforce the attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education, tourism and health). The greatest amount of funding contributes to the B7, A1 and C12 Priority Areas.

Examples of projects that support the EUSBSR in the Eastern Finland OP:

ENWIN (applied environmental technology innovation and knowledge building), best practices in the Baltic Sea Area (networking, operational models)

Main Priority Area ERDF million €

The total budget of the Programme is around €345.2 million, the Community assistance through the ERDF amounting to €138.1 million, which accounts for approximately 8% of the total Structural Fund money invested in Finland during programming period 2007-13.

The programme aims to create 4 200 new jobs and 920 new enterprises. The aim is to use 15.5% of the financial framework for research and development (R&D) projects creating 290 new R&D jobs. From the investment available, 81.6% has been earmarked for Lisbon-related expenditure, which is above the Community objective of 75% for regional competitiveness and employment regions.

The programme will be implemented through five main priorities plus a technical assistance priority.

Priority 1 Promotion of business activity aims at developing productivity, creating more jobs and safeguarding existing jobs through supporting entrepreneurship and growth of enterprises and through improving access to business services and finance.

Priority 2 Promotion of innovation activity and networking, and reinforcing knowledge structures aims to activate expert networks with strong links to the national and international development projects of enterprises, universities, research institutes as well as regional businesses, and to support the creation and development of centres of excellence for key sectors.

Priority 3 Improving regional accessibility and operational environments will concentrate on three central areas of emphasis concerning regional competitiveness: a) Improvement of logistics connections, including ICT connections; b) Environmental risk management and improvement of tourism operating conditions; and c) Accessibility and development of services and applications.

Priority 4 Development of larger urban areas will provide support to promote the attractiveness, sense of community and social cohesion of towns and create a pleasant and safe urban environment.

Priority 5 Thematic development at regional level aims to develop knowledge clusters in the area through broad, interregional umbrella projects. The themes are associated with the development of clusters, networks or sectors and pilot actions, for example to provide and ensure various services are in place.

Priority 6 Technical assistance will provide support for programme management and implementation, including technical support, communications and publicity, research and evaluation actions.

In Southern Finland the public funding contributes to the following Priority Areas of the EUSBSR: A1 (to reduce nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable levels), A2 (to preserve natural zones and biodiversity), A3 (to reduce the use and impact of hazardous substances), A4 (to become a model region for clean shipping), A5 (to mitigate and adapt to climate change), B6 (to remove hindrances to the internal market in the BSR, including to improve cooperation in the customs and tax area), B7 (to exploit the full potential of the Region in research and innovation), B8 (implementing the Small Business Act: to promote entrepreneurship, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and increase the efficient use of human resources), C11 (to improve internal and external transport links), C12 (to maintain and reinforce the attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education, tourism and health), D13 (to become a leading region in maritime safety and security) and D14 (to reinforce protection from major emergencies at sea and on land).

The greatest amount of funding contributes to the A5, B7, C12 and B8 Priority Areas.

Tables and figures

Examples of projects that support the EUSBSR in the Southern Finland OP:

SÖKÖ II (action plan for maritime oil accidents), safety at sea projects (several), improvement of transport corridors in Southern Finland (including links to Russia)

Main Priority Area ERDF million €

Germany hosted inter alia the International Stakeholder Conference on the EUSBSR in February 2009, (Rostock) and the BSSSC-BALTEX Conference on 'Adapting to Climate Change – Case Studies from the Baltic Sea Region' in May 2011 (Hamburg).

Examples of projects:

– Clean Overspray – Development of an innovative, environment-friendly method for ship painting

– Maritime Cluster Schleswig-Holstein

– Rail Berlin-Rostock (T-Net) and additionally part of a new highway connecting the port in Rostock with transport nodal points

– Shift Lift Facility Niederfinow (T-Net)

– Highway A14 (T-Net)
Main problems encountered

No problems are specifically reported by the German authorities, but it appears that coordinating the development and the implementation of the process between NCPs, respective ministries and PACs, particularly the delivery mechanism and alignment of funding sources, are the main difficulties to overcome in Germany. In order to improve the coordination and cooperation between ministries, relevant meetings took place.

Beside this, the Länder repeatedly indicate that the extensive reporting on the basis of special indicators increases the administrative burdens and hinders the smooth flow of administrative actions. Additionally, in the current funding period, this requirement is difficult to fully meet as the monitoring systems were set up before the Strategy was launched. They would welcome an obligatory set of core indicators which is binding on the respective OPs and is proposed far enough in advance of the new programming period starting, so that sound OP preparation and comparability of results can take place. At the same time, this indicator set should fit in with macro-regional strategies.
Main lessons learned and what should be done in the future to improve links between programmes and the EUSBSR

There is a strong commitment to the Strategy on the political level. The political level deals with the Strategy through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the federal level and the Chancelleries in the respective German Länder, whereas the implementation of the ERDF OPs and the Baltic Sea Strategy on the operative level stays with the Managing Authorities (MAs) under the responsibility of the respective Ministries for Economics. The relationship between them is constructive, but there are some different priorities to be followed. Therefore a more coherent approach to the Strategy when preparing the next programming period OPs constitutes a significant attempt to improve the overall coherence of the strategic framework, the functioning of the delivery system and the performance in achieving the targeted results. For the upcoming programming period, it would be recommended that clear rules be set out for the use of Article 37 6) b) of Regulation 1083/2006.

MAs should reflect the increasing attention paid to the EUSBSR by giving the potential project applicants/beneficiaries concise information on how they can practically profit within the Strategy framework.