A key milestone: Draft Programme for the Baltic Sea Region approved by Programme countries

The draft Operational Programme of the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020 was approved on Tuesday, 3 December 2013 by the Joint Programming Committee (JPC) in Tallinn. This decision by the Programme countries was a milestone, as the draft Programme is now ready to enter a process of consultation and approval steps yet to be taken before the Programme can be launched. The draft Programme text will be published for a public consultation process starting end of January 2014. Follow the news on eu.baltic.net for the details of the consultation.

23 representatives of the Programme countries and the EU discussed the Operational Programme

The draft Operational Programme is approved for public consultation

Strategy described - budget to be discussed

The Operational Programme is the core document for the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020. It holds descriptions of the strategic aims and of priority areas that will receive funding (see diagram below). The budget for the future Programme is not yet finally decided. According to latest information from the Programme Countries, the budget is expected to be higher than in the current funding period.

Objectives of the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020

Background information: The Operational Programme

The Programme countries with support of the Joint Technical Secretariat/ Managing Authority (JTS/MA) developed the Operational Programme document over more than one and a half years with great support from numerous stakeholders. After its first meeting in March 2012, the JPC and JTS/MA carried out surveys among transnational organisations and institutions as well as beneficiaries of the current programme to identify the major needs and opportunities. Based on the results, the major priorities were chosen in fall 2012. Constructive and critical discussions with various stakeholders during thematic programing workshops helped to specify the priorities. The Programme Countries including the national sub-committees then discussed and decided about details of the funding priorities over the summer of 2013. Read more about the programming process in the section Future period 2014-2020.