Northern Periphery Programme Call

• European Union
• Northern Periphery Programme
• Maritime

The Northern Periphery Programme 2007-2013, provides funding opportunities for joint projects that focus on the special features of northern, peripheral regions of Europe.

This Programme aims to help peripheral and remote communities on the northern margins of Europe to develop their economic, social and environmental potential. The success of the programme will be built on joint projects creating innovative products and services for the benefit of the programme partner countries and Europe as a whole. It encompasses the EU member states of Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Sweden and Non-EU member states Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway .

The Programme Monitoring Committee has decided to apply a focused call for preparatory project from 1 September 2008. From this date, the Programme Secretariat is only allowed to approve projects dealing with certain identified themes, not yet addressed by the programme.

The implementation of the Northern Periphery Programme 2007-2013 is well underway, since approximately 40% of the funding has been committed to date. At its last meeting, the Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) made an analysis of the themes addressed by the
17 approved main projects. The PMC identified a number of themes that are yet to be addressed by the programme.

The PMC decided that in the future the Programme Secretariat should only accept preparatory projects especially focussing on the identified project themes below. This focused call for prepatatory projects will be applied from 1st of September 2008. So far, the call for preparatory projects was open.

Preparatory projects outside these themes will only be accepted if they are an outcome of the Partenariat on 2-3 September 2008 in Umeå, Sweden.

Themes to be addressed:

In Priority 1, in the Objective " To facilitate development through the use of advanced information and communication technologies and transportation in the programme area" and the four themes:

• i) increased use of ICT to overcome distance
• iii) developing innovative product and service solutions for developing and maintaining transport infrastructure with regard to roads, railways, airports and ports under harsh climatic conditions
• iv) development of transport schemes that benefit rural communities, such as new maritime routes
• v) maritime safety in relation to remote areas with arctic, harsh conditions.

In Priority 2, in the Objective " To strengthen the synergies between environmental protection and growth in remote and peripheral regions and the two themes: 

• ii) Impact and possible implications of climate change and means to reduce it at a community level
• iii) Development of small scale renewable energy solutions

In Priority 2, in the Objective " To improve sustainable development in peripheral regions by strengthening urban-rural relations and enhancing regional heritage" and the two themes:

• i) urban-rural partnerships for new service solutions and
• iv) promotion of natural and cultural heritage that supports the development of sustainable industries

How to apply

Partners from all sectors of society can participate in the programme, including regional and local authorities, national and regional development organisations, research and educational institutions and the private sector.

To be considered eligible for funding, a project must concentrate on issues that require transnational cooperation and are of relevance to the characteristics and priorities of the programme area. A project should demonstrate its innovativeness and result in the development of a product or a service through transnational cooperation.

Teresa Lennon
Programme Manager - INTERREG IVB and IVC
Special EU Programmes Body
EU House
6 Cromac Place
BELFAST
BT7 2JB
Northern Ireland

Direct Tel: + 44 (0) 28 90 266723
Email: teresa.lennon@seupb.eu
w: www.northernperiphery.eu