Background

About the North Sea Region
The 7 North Sea Region Programme countries are Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the Flemish Region of Belgium, the UK and Norway.

The region is connected by the North Sea, and the Programme area is made up of regions in the 6 member states and Norway that border the North Sea. In size the region covers an area of 664.000 km2, 14% of the EU25 area and a population of approximately 60 million, 13% of the EU25.

The areas in the region share many of the same problems and challenges. By working together and sharing knowledge and experiences it is hoped that a sustainable and balanced future will be secured for the whole region.

Interreg
The Interreg programmes aim at stimulating transnational cooperation in the EU. The programmes are divided into different strands, according to size and geographical span. There are A, B and C strands.

The North Sea Region Programme is a B strand programme. It focuses on encouraging and supporting transnational cooperation in the North Sea Region. The North Sea Region Programme began its work in 2000 and the current Programme is a continuation of the IIC pilot Programme, which ran 1997-1999, and the IIIB Programme, which formally ran 2000-2006.

Funding
The Programme is financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), a Norwegian equivalent and contributions from all of the countries involved. Decisions are taken by committees made up of national and regional representatives from all seven countries and the day-to-day running of the Programme is taken care of by the international staff at the Secretariat in Denmark.

The Programme finances a wide range of projects concerned with regional development. Projects must include partners from at least three different countries within the cooperation area, two of which must be from an EU member state. More detailed information can be found in the section About the Programme.