Portfolio of the South Baltic projects: Part 2 Part-financed by the European Union (ERDF) 2.12.3 1.3 2.1 1.3 2.4 Going local. Meeting your needs. Connecting people and ideas. South Baltic co-operation network SWEDEN Sweden Lithuania Denmark Baltic Sea Germany Poland DENMARK LITHUANIA GERMANY POLAND Lead beneficiary Project partner Portfolio of the South Baltic projects: Part 2 3 Part-financed by the European Union (ERDF) Contents 5 Foreword 6 About the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 7 South Baltic Programme & EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region 1.1 Entrepreneurial Development 8 Eco4Life 9 RespEn 1.3 Transport accessibility 10 SB Global Access 11 INTERFACE PLUS 2.1 Management 12 DredgDikes of the Baltic Sea environment 13 MOMENT UP 2.2 Energy saving 14 WEBSR2 Upgrade and renewable energy 15 RES-CHAINS 2.3 Sustainable use of natural 16 Art Line and cultural heritage 17 Baltic Museums 2.0 Plus for regional development 18 RECReate 2.4 Local Community Initiatives 19 M.A.S.T 20 Wind up the barriers 21 Index of South Baltic Projects 22 Contacts 4 Part- financed by the European Union (ERDF) Going local. Meeting your needs. Connecting people and ideas. I am very pleased to present the publication that illustrates the 13 great ideas implemented under the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme. By adding to this publication the 1st part of the Portfolio you will now get the full picture of the South Baltic projects supported during the 5 Calls for Proposals. The Programme is introducing the key actors – the projects. I hope that the successful implementa- tion of the cross border initiatives that are planned by the projects increases the competitiveness and enhance the integration among people and institutions of the regions in the five South Baltic countries. The co-operation between the regions situated along the coast of the southern part of the Baltic Sea has been developing significantly in the recent years. However there are still disparities between the regions covered by the Programme. Using the available assistance of the Programme, there are still possibilities to provide favourable conditions for growth and job creation over the national borders and to safeguard the favorable social, cultural and natural environment for the res- idents, tourists and investors in the South Baltic area. At present the important reference framework for the Programme is the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region that focuses on the main principle “Working in partnership to move from words to action”. It is expected that the overall coordination of actions across the policy areas will give bet- ter results than individual initiatives. Therefore, the South Baltic Programme seeks to contribute actively to the Stategy and is looking for projects adressing problems or creating opportunities indentified in the priority areas of the Action plan of the Strategy. I would like to highlight that the good feature of this Programme is a very close co-operation with projects during their preparation and implementation. There is also a possibility to use assistance of the external experts from the Capacity building project that supports participation in the Pro- gramme, in particular of the local authorities and NGOs. Therefore, after the next calls for propos- als that are planned in the future I believe that South Baltic Programme will turn the given opportu- nities into tangible results – into the improved quality of the life in the Programme regions. I believe, that the presented ideas will become a model for success of the cross border cooperation or will be an incentive for a generation of the new co-operation activities and partnerships. I wish the project partners to keep their enthusiasm for the future! Enjoy the reading! Deimante Jankunaite Head of Territorial Cooperation Programmes Division of Regional Policy Department in the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (Chairperson of the Steering and Monitoring Committees of the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme in 2010) 5 Part-financed by the European Union (ERDF) About the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 The South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 is a multilateral cross-border cooperation pro- gramme created on the maritime borders between the south- ern Baltic Sea regions. It is a new cooperation area where cross-border cooperation structures have not been set at a full scale yet. The overall objective of the Programme is to strengthen the sustainable development of the South Baltic area through joint actions increasing its competitiveness and enhancing integration among people and institutions. The total budget of the Programme is 75 342 210 EUR (60 735 659 EUR – ERDF contribution). The eligible area of the Pro- gramme is indicated in the map. Eligible area of the Programme The brochure presents 13 projects approved during 2010 in the framework of 4th and 5th calls for proposals of the Programme. Priorities and measures of the Programme can be seen below. The number of projects belonging to each measure is indicat- ed in brackets. Priorities and measures of the South Baltic Programme I Economic competitiveness Sweden 1.1. Entrepreneurial development (2 projects) Lithuania 1.2. Integration of higher education and labour markets Denmark Baltic Sea 1.3. Transport accessibility (2 projects) Germany Poland II Attractiveness and common identity 2.1. Management of the Baltic Sea environment (2 projects) 2.2. Energy saving and renewable energy (2 projects) 2.3. Sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage for regional development (3 projects) 2.4. Local community initiatives (2 projects) 6 Part- financed by the European Union (ERDF) South Baltic Programme & EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region presents ways to I. To Make the Baltic Sea Region an Environmentally cooperate for implementing EU legislation and policy Sustainable Place instruments in a coordinated manner in all the coun- 1. To reduce nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable tries of the region. Not only that, it also seeks to levels y enable a sustainable development, to enhance region’s 2. To preserve natural zones and biodiversity, prosperity and increase accessibility and attractiveness. including fisheries The EU SBSR focuses also on ensuring safety and 3. To reduce the use and impact of hazardous security in the Baltic Sea Region. substances 4. To become a model region for clean shipping This is the new way of working together in the Euro- 5. To mitigate and adapt to climate change y pean Union on each level to decrease the differences II. To Make the Baltic Sea Region a Prosperous Place between countries, to improve communication and to 6. To remove hindrances to the internal market develop the co-operation between the regions. in the Baltic Sea Region including to improve cooperation in the customs and tax area The Action Plan was developed as the implementation 7. To exploit the full potential of the region in tool for the EU SBSR. The Commission officially launched the research and innovation Strategy and its Action Plan on 10 June 2009. Since y 8. Implementing the Small Business Act: to promote this time the Strategy has been implemented within 15 entrepreneurship, strengthen SMEs and increase Priority Areas containing Flagship Projects introduced the efficient use of human resources in the Action Plan. The projects approved in the frame- y 9. To reinforce sustainability of agriculture, work of the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation forestry and fisheries Programme 2007-2013 support some of the Priority Areas of the EU SBSR (marked y). III. To Make the Baltic Sea Region an Accessible and Attractive Place 10. To improve the access to, and the efficiency and security of the energy markets 11. To improve internal and external transport links y 12. To maintain and reinforce attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education, tourism and health y IV. To Make the Baltic Sea Region a Safe and Secure Place 13. To become a leading region in maritime safety and security 14. To reinforce protection from major emergen- cies at sea and on land y 15. To decrease the volume of, and harm done by, cross border crime. 7 Part-financed by the European Union (ERDF) 1.1 Entrepreneurial development Eco4Life – South Baltic Network for Environmental and Life Sciences to Boost Cross Border Cooperation (Eco4Life) © FikMik – Fotolia.com The overall idea of the project is to decrease existing differ- ences within the South Baltic area with regard of access to knowledge, technologies and development in the field of knowledge based bio economy (KBBE). There are three main strands of activities within the project: 1. Building up regional Eco4Life contact points in Klaipeda, Szczecin and Greifswald. They act as support structures and networks of cooperation between science and business in the eco-/bio-sector. 2. The joint elaboration of modular trainings for businesses and start-ups in the eco-/life-sector. They are based on regional needs and made available for other project regions. 3. An internationalisation of the regional Eco4Life networks and their integration into Baltic Sea Region ScanBalt struc- tures. For this purpose, three international conferences will take place in each of the involved regions. They serve as a vehicle for matchmaking of international business and sci- ence partners, and should initiate new enterprises in the sector. Experience from the best European and world lead- ing bio-regions shall be gathered through study visits to the Lead Beneficiary BioCon Valley GmbH (DE) Duration July 2010 – June 2013 Swedish bio-cluster in Lund and to the cradle of innovative Overall project budget _ 934 789,66 eco-/bio-industry (USA).