Operational Programme CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION SLOVENIA-AUSTRIA 2007-2013
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Objective 3 – European Territorial Cooperation Operational Programme CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION SLOVENIA-AUSTRIA 2007-2013 CCI Number: 2007CB163PO054 December 2007 As approved by Commission Decision no. C(2007) 6607 as of 21/12/2007 LIST OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4 1.1 Relevant background.....................................................................................................................4 1.2 Rules and regulations on European territorial cooperation .............................................................5 1.3 The programming process.............................................................................................................5 2. SOCIAL and ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROGRAMME AREA..........................................7 2.1 Eligible area and regional structure................................................................................................7 2.2 Social and economic framework conditions..................................................................................10 2.3 Demography................................................................................................................................11 2.4 Economy.....................................................................................................................................12 2.5 Research and innovation .............................................................................................................18 2.6 Human resources ........................................................................................................................20 2.7 Culture ........................................................................................................................................24 2.8 Social affairs and healthcare........................................................................................................25 2.9 Local and regional development ..................................................................................................25 2.10 Environment ................................................................................................................................26 2.11 Energy.........................................................................................................................................28 2.12 Transport.....................................................................................................................................29 2.13 ICT and information society .........................................................................................................30 2.14 Cooperation potential in the wider area........................................................................................31 3. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES............................................................................................33 4. EXPERIENCES WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CROSS-BORDER PROGRAMMES ...36 5. STRATEGY OF THE OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME ................................................................38 5.1 Strategic premises.......................................................................................................................38 5.2 Principles of the programme focus...............................................................................................39 5.3 Strategic Objective ......................................................................................................................40 5.4 Justification of the priorities..........................................................................................................42 6. PRIORITIES – OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS............................................................................45 6.1 Description of horizontal themes..................................................................................................45 6.2 Priority 1: Competitiveness, knowledge and economic cooperation..............................................48 6.3 Priority 2: Sustainable and balanced development .......................................................................53 6.4 Priority 3: Technical assistance....................................................................................................58 7. EXTERNAL COHERENCE WITH OTHER POLICIES..................................................................60 7.1 Coherence with EU policies .........................................................................................................60 7.2 Coherence with national policies..................................................................................................61 8. COMPLEMENTARITY WITH OTHER PROGRAMMES...............................................................62 9. FINANCING PLAN......................................................................................................................66 9.1 Breakdown by categories.............................................................................................................66 10. SYNTHESIS OF THE ACCOMPANYING PROCESSES..............................................................67 10.1 Ex ante Evaluation.......................................................................................................................67 11. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME ....................................................................................................72 11.1 Organisational structures for the programme implementation.......................................................73 11.2 Procedural regulations governing the programme implementation (procedural organisation)........77 12. PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATION ..............................................................................................86 ANNEX: CATEGORISATION OF FUNDS..............................................................................................88 2/89 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Programming process ................................................................................................................5 Table 2: List of eligible regions .................................................................................................................8 Table 3: Population of the programme area............................................................................................11 Table 4: Basic economic sectors and employment .................................................................................12 Table 5: GDP per capita in the programme regions ................................................................................13 Table 6: Business subjects by NUTS III regions and sectors ..................................................................14 Table 7: Overnight stays in the programme area ....................................................................................16 Table 8: Unemployment rate (2004) .......................................................................................................20 Table 9: Gender aspects in Steiermark ..................................................................................................21 Table 10: Average gross income of employees in 2004 (per month in €):................................................21 Table 11: Employed according to gender (2005) ....................................................................................22 Table 12: Strengths and weaknesses.....................................................................................................33 Table 13: Financing plan of the programme giving the annual commitment of ERDF in the programme ............................................................................................................................................66 Table 14: Financial plan of the operational programme giving, for the whole programming period, the amount of the allocation of ERDF in the programme, the national public and private contributions and the rate of reimbursement by priority ......................................................................................................66 Table 15: Integration of core recommendations of the ex-ante evaluation during programming...............70 3/89 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Relevant background The European Union cohesion policy intends to strengthen the Community’s economic and social cohesion in order to promote a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of the Community, while at the same time reducing the economic, social and territorial disparities arisen especially in countries and regions lagging behind, and speeding up their economic and social restructuring, in line with Article 158-161 of the Treaty. The current INTERREG Community Initiative supports cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation. Its aim is to promote cooperation between the regions at EU borders, to strengthen economic and social cohesion, as well as balanced and sustainable development of the European territory, to strengthen territorial integration between the Member States, and the candidate and applicant countries. For the next programming period new objectives have been defined in the field of cohesion policy: • The convergence objective • The regional competitiveness and employment objective • The European territorial cooperation objective One of the major changes to be introduced within the framework