Description of the ERDF Operational Programmes

In the following, only OPs closely aligned with the EUSBSR are mentioned.

The ERDF contribution towards realising the priority axes selected for the joint action by the Community and the Member State, amounts to circa €1.5 billion for the programming period 2007-13.

The Operational Programme priority axes refer to the federal railroads, federal motorways and roads and federal waterways.

Projects co-financed by the OP Transport support the Strategy as they are embedded into its objectives, in particular in improving the accessibility of the Region and the impact on the environment. Every axis of the OP contributes to achieving the objectives of the Strategy.

Highway A 14:

The first module approved: ca. €60 million

Further modules: major project applications in preparation 

Railway Berlin-Rostock:

Programming period 2000-06: ca. €90 million ERDF

2007-13: the first module: €21 million approved

Further modules: major project applications in preparation 

Shift Lift Facility Niederfinow: €48.5 million approved

North Peene River: €15.4 million approved
By the end of 2010, the approved ERDF means from the OP Transport allocated to EUSBSR-relevant projects amounted to €121.6 million. For Flagship Projects: ca. €58 million. 
Tables and figures

Funding capacity of the OP Transport for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	Total EU funding available (€)	Decided projects (€)	Amount remaining available (€)
Axis 1 Federal Railroads	714 550 200	310 100 000	404 450 200
Axis 2 Federal Highways	699 347 350	231 400 000	467 947 350
Axis 3 Federal Waterways	91 219 050	91 219 050	0
Total	1 505 116 600	632 719 050	872 397 550

3.1.4.3. Description of Operational Programme Schleswig-Holstein
Programme Description

The Land Schleswig-Holstein is located in the north-western part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its ERDF programme includes Community support in the framework of the employment and competitiveness objective. The total budget for the Programme amounts to €1 091 083 094 with the Community contribution from the ERDF accounting for €373 888 769 (or approximately 1.41% of overall EU funding disbursed in Germany under the 2007–13 cohesion policy).

Raising regional competitiveness and employment levels is the overriding objective and central pillar of all ERDF measures in Schleswig-Holstein. This objective is pursued through six strategic objectives which take account of the horizontal objectives of environment and equal opportunities.

The strategic objectives are: improving the acquisition of knowledge and knowledge transfer; making Schleswig-Holstein's economy more dynamic; consolidation of existing and developing structure clusters and networks; upgrading of facilities at regional locations; enhancing the role of the municipalities in support of social and economic change; developing the potential for boosting tourism and cultural activities.
Contribution to the EUSBSR

The objectives of the EUSBSR and the ERDF OP of S-H show numerous parallels. Except for pillar IV, Schleswig-Holstein links in with the Strategy. Projects within the areas of R&D, innovation, environment, transport, Small Business Act and tourism, education, culture and health contribute meaningfully to achieving the aims of the Strategy.

The allocation of the ERDF resources has an impact on the 15 priorities of the Action Plan. For the "Labelling", it was differentiated between projects contributing "by trend" and projects with a "concrete" contribution to the Strategy. The concrete contribution was determined on the basis of the descriptions of the respective projects. Those which best complied with the objectives of the Strategy (e.g. projects with more cooperation partners) have been defined as contributing directly and concretely (ERDF volume €44.6 million, total amount €95.2 million; ca. 25% of all supported projects in Schleswig-Holstein are concretely linked to the Strategy).
Tables and figures

Funding capacity of the OP Schleswig-Holstein	Total EU funding available (€)	Decided projects (€)	Amount remaining available (€)
Axis 1 Enhancing knowledge and innovation	142 200 000	82 447 781.85	59 752 218.15
Axis 2 Improving competitiveness of enterprises	117 200 000	74 996 162.74	42 203 837.26
Axis 3 Improving the economic infrastructure and sustainable development	39 000 000	25 532 522.88	13 467 477.12
Axis 4 Development of specific regional potentials	63 600 000	22 326 616.14	41 273 383.86
Total	362 000 000	205 303 083.61	156 696 916.39

3.1.4.4. Description of Operational Programme Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Programme Description

The Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is located in the north-eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its programme covers Community investment under the convergence objective. The overall budget of the Programme is some €1 670 million, including EU investment from the ERDF amounting to approximately €1 252 million (roughly 4.76% of all EU funding invested in Germany under cohesion policy over the period 2007-13).

The primary objective of the Programme is a sustainable increase in economic growth in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, by improving companies' innovativeness, entrepreneurial competitiveness and the attractiveness of the region as a place to conduct business.

Safeguarding and enhancing the competitiveness of the economy in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is an important part of ERDF support. The investments focus more heavily on innovation (EUSBSR Action Plan, pillar II). Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's development strategy for using ERDF funding reflects the objectives set out in Lisbon and Gothenburg (pillar I, II). The ERDF programme is also designed to stimulate equality of opportunity, to ensure non-discrimination and to boost sustainable urban development. Furthermore, development measures also take into account the challenges posed by demographic change. The aims of the Operational Programme are to strengthen and support innovation in business and society, make the regional economy more competitive and flexible, create a dynamic environment for investment and employment and make the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region more attractive as a location for business and tourism activities (pillar III).
Contribution to the EUSBSR

The objectives of the EUSBSR and the ERDF OP of M-P show numerous parallels. Except for pillar IV, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern links in with the Strategy. Projects within the areas of R&D, innovation, environment, transport, Small Business Act and tourism contribute meaningfully to achieving the aims of the Strategy.

To find the best ways to comply with the EUSBSR priorities, regular consultation between the Managing Authority and the EU Commission as well as with the German ministries at the federal level takes place. Beside this, information events, communication and publicity actions, and the internet, are used to present the Strategy. Specific questions are being addressed in the Monitoring Committee for the ERDF OP.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern coordinates the area "tourism" within PA 12 of the EUSBSR Action Plan (http://www.baltic-sea-strategy-tourism.eu)
Tables and figures

ERDF investments contributing to the EUSBSR

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is located on the banks of the estuary of the River Elbe which flows to the North Sea. Its programme involves Community support under the regional competitiveness and employment objective. The programme's total budget is around €74.05 million, the Community assistance through the ERDF amounting to around €35.269 million (approximately 0.13% of the total EU Structural Funds available for Germany in 2007-13).

Hamburg has identified four strategic objectives for the Operational Programme: 'Reinforcing Hamburg as a location for application-oriented research and development', 'Increasing the competitiveness of the Hamburg economy', 'Consolidating existing and developing cluster structures and networks' and 'Integrated development of individual city areas'. The overall objective of the ERDF programme is to 'consolidate the position of Hamburg as an innovation-oriented city and enhance its international attractiveness for investors and workers' in conjunction with the image of Hamburg as a 'growing and green city'. In this respect, projects chosen for financing contribute significantly to the EUSBSR.

Hamburg is one of the more prosperous regions of the European Union. It is, however, conscious of the challenges set by demographic change, structural change and globalisation. Targeted investment support for business start-ups and SMEs in technological and scientific areas, promotion of investment in protection of the environment and in higher energy productivity, strengthening of existing and planned clusters, taking particular account of the industrial application of advanced and high technology, and also support for local economies in developing the potential of SMEs are the objectives of the OP. Through these objectives, Hamburg will make a noticeable contribution to the achievement of the Lisbon strategy objectives and the Gothenburg objectives of sustainability as well as to the EUSBSR.

The OP amount for Hamburg is strongly limited. Nevertheless, Hamburg actively contributes to achieving the goals of the Strategy by supporting projects which are at the same time in line with its ERDF OP. The networking between research, the economy and enterprises shall be enhanced and the technology transfer improved. Projects directly contributing to the Strategy have also been identified within the environmental pillar.

The Managing Authority of the Hamburg OP cooperates actively with Hamburg's Senate Chancellery which is responsible for the Strategy within the Land of Hamburg. Beside this, a partnership with an INTERREG programme has been established in order to develop sustainable projects and create synergies.

Hamburg coordinates the area "education" within PA 12 of the EUSBSR Action Plan.

The ERDF, CF and ESF budget for 2007-13 in Latvia is €4.53 billion.

In total, 2 232 out of 2 606 (or 85.64%) projects with valid contracts and ongoing activities in 2010 were identified within the three OPs – “Human Resources and Employment”, “Entrepreneurship and Innovations”, and “Infrastructure and Services”, covering the country at national level – which contributed to the EUSBSR in 2010 in Latvia. The division by co-funding source is as follows: 1 880 ERDF projects, 205 ESF projects, and 147 Cohesion Fund projects. The total ERDF investments in the respective projects in 2010 was €282 933 693.29; ESF – €46 456 734.31; Cohesion Fund – €218 913 119. 68.

Organisational measures taken in order to implement the EUSBSR

In 2009, all three Operational Programmes (OPs) were reviewed with the aim being to identify priorities and activities that could be labelled as contributing to the implementation of the EUSBSR Action Plan priorities. The Managing Authority has designed a “labelling” system, which follows some basic rules – if the objective of the activity contributes to the EUSBSR Action Plan priorities, each particular project of this activity also contributes to the EUSBSR. Therefore, no special criteria are needed to evaluate project contributions to the EUSBSR, because each project in the EUSBSR-earmarked activities would get an equal maximum number of points.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia coordinates Latvia's involvement in implementing the Strategy at national level. A working group for the Strategy implementation was established by the Government in October 2009. The main task of the working group has been to ensure internal exchange of information, facilitate national Priority Area contact points’ cooperation with PACs, coordinate actions to identify and promote projects for inclusion in the Strategy’s Action Plan and better link Strategy-related initiatives with national strategic planning documents.

In order to promote the visibility of the Strategy, several communication and publicity actions have been carried out in Latvia. For example, on 9 June 2010 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turku INTERACT contact point jointly organised a seminar on the implementation of the EUSBSR. In September 2010, the 11th Baltic Economic Forum "The European Union Baltic Sea Strategy for the competitiveness of the Region" was organised in Riga. In September 2010, a study/book on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region was presented by the Latvian Association of Political Scientists. The study was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Commission Representation in Latvia and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

In 2010, technical assistance was used for participation in significant events in line with the implementation of the EUSBSR and its Action Plan.

The necessary steps have been taken to inform Latvian society about the EUSBSR. Information regarding the EU funds’ contribution to the EUSBSR implementation is included within annual reports on implementation of the OPs. Information is available on the EU funds’ homepage: http://www.esfondi.lv and on the homepage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.lv/lv/eu/sadarbiba-baltijas-juras-regiona/bjs/.

No problems are specifically reported, but it appears that coordination of the implementation of the Strategy must be improved.

A platform for discussion among the Strategy’s stakeholders has existed since the beginning of 2008 and has observed constantly growing awareness among the stakeholders regarding the Strategy. An initially cautious attitude and general interest in direct/immediate funding have been replaced by a deeper understanding of the Strategy’s regional role and tasks.

Main lessons learned and what should be done in the future to improve links between programmes and the EUSBSR

Real international cooperation within the EUSBSR has still not been achieved. The main lessons learned so far are: project ideas must be substantial, with a macro-regional scope; and project partners have to have adequate managerial experience and skills in regional networking, and an ability to attract and use different financial resources. For some line-ministries, the recent shortage of both human and financial resources has been an obstacle to enough active involvement to promote the projects eligible for the Action Plan. In this regard, there is still a clear need for further political support within the national, regional and EU framework to maintain the current momentum and the stakeholders’ interest.