European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), better known as Interreg, is one of the two goals of the EU Cohesion Policy and provides a framework for the implementation of joint actions and policy exchanges between national, regional and local actors from different Member States.
The overarching objective of European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) is to promote a harmonious economic, social and territorial development of the Union as a whole.
Interreg is built around three strands of cooperation:
- Cross-border (Interreg A)
- Transnational (Interreg B)
- Interregional (Interreg C)
Five programming periods of Interreg have succeeded each other from 1990 onwards.
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The EU Cohesion Policy
The Interreg programmes are financed in the framework of the EU Regional Policy, also referred as Cohesion Policy due to its aim to dissolve regional disparities between Europe’s regions. This investment policy consumes around one third of the EU’s budget. It targets all regions and cities in the European Union in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth, sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life.
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