Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

This own-initiative report (INI) has been produced in the wake of the Special Report of the European Court of Auditors which found that cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries provided valuable support, but pointed out that the programmes started late and that their complementarity with other EU-funded programmes was insufficient. The own-initiative report covers cross-border cooperation (CBC) between EU Member States and the neighbourhood region that are co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), owing to Türkiye’s participation in the Interreg NEXT MED and Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin programmes.

Cross-border cooperation is a key element of the EU’s policy towards its neighbours, promoting cooperation between EU countries and neighbouring countries sharing a land or sea border. CBC contributes to sustainable development along the EU’s external borders, and helps reduce differences in living standards and address common challenges.

Cross-border cooperation programmes have brought relevant and valuable support to regions on both sides of the borders. This report illustrates the benefits and challenges of working together. It also highlights the role of the European Union in the development of border regions.

The report turns the spotlight on cross-border cooperation following the dramatic developments in Ukraine. As a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Belarus’s support of that aggression, the implementation of the ENI-CBC programmes with Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and Belarus has been significantly disrupted. The Commission has suspended all financing agreements with Russia and Belarus, meaning that no payments could be made to partners in Russia and Belarus after the hostilities began. Mitigating measures have been adopted at EU level to establish the specifics of the programmes experiencing ‘implementation disruption’, thus allowing these cross-border programmes to continue solely on Member State territory.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to cancellations or delays in some projects. Since cross-border regions suffered severe consequences following the introduction of restrictive measures due to the pandemic, project implementation has often been uneven and deadlines have been postponed.

Your rapporteur proposes an INI report divided into 7 chapters which seek to present the key features of cross-border cooperation in the light of the most recent events.

The report begins by presenting some key features of the Interreg NEXT programmes and the main changes as compared to the ENI-CBC programmes, such as the simplification of procedures through the alignment of Interreg NEXT programmes with Interreg programmes.

Your rapporteur also highlights the specific issues relating to cooperation with the Eastern Neighbourhood, stressing the importance of using the new Interreg NEXT cross-border programmes to deliver tangible projects that contribute to Ukraine’s connectivity with the regions of the European Union and also make the transport of goods and grain more efficient. In addition, the report emphasises the importance of the programmes when it comes to post-war reconstruction.

In particular, the report covers the challenges of cooperation in the Black Sea area and the Mediterranean basin. Those challenges include issues such as regional development, the environment, transport infrastructure, migration and security. The report highlights the importance of the Interreg NEXT programmes both for managing migration flows and for achieving energy security.

Your rapporteur identifies administrative and language barriers and legal uncertainties as the main obstacles to project implementation. The uncertain political situation in many countries in the Mediterranean basin, the war in Ukraine and, not least, the current security situation in the Black Sea, are all serving to exacerbate the challenges to cooperation.

Last but not least, the policy recommendations made focus on greater complementarity between projects and synergies between funds, as well as the maximum simplification of procedures.

Your rapporteur believes that the Interreg NEXT programmes are not just an opportunity to contribute to sound cooperation between border regions, but also have what it takes to address the real challenges facing contemporary society, be this the war in Ukraine or migration issues in the Mediterranean basin.