RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE FUTURE OF INTERREG AFTER 2027
The European Commission has called on all Interreg programmes to consult their partners, beneficiaries and citizens on how to make European territorial cooperation work better in the future period 2028-2034.
During the months of September and October 2024, the Interreg MAC programme opened a public consultation process to gather stakeholders’ views on our programme and to identify proposals for improvements to be implemented in the next programming period.
You can consult the results of the Public Consultation on the following link:
Consultation Results
PRESENTATION OF THE NEW INTERREG MAC PROJECTS IN SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
On 12 December 2024, the second seminar of presentation of the projects approved under the 1st call of the Interreg MAC 2021 – 2027 Programme was held in Sao Tome, with the participation of partners from Sao Tome and Principe.
The conference, organised in the framework of the ATLANTE strategic project, was opened by representatives of the European Commission, the Portuguese Embassy and the Spanish Consulate in the country, as well as the Minister of Planning and Finance of the Government of Sao Tome, the focal point of the MAC Programme in the country. The Managing Authority of the Programme, the General Director of European Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands, representatives of the Government of the Azores, headed by its Vice-President, and the Regional Director of European Affairs and External Cooperation of the Government of Madeira will also take part in the event.
The 15 projects approved, for the first time, with the participation of Sao Tome and Principe entities in the Green MAC and Smart MAC priorities were presented.
The European entities, main partners of the projects, presented the projects with the participation of local partners who presented their activities in the framework of the projects. This opens the new stage of territorial cooperation with this country, one of the new countries included in the programme’s cooperation area.
At the end of the day, a networking session was set aside to allow participants to continue establishing connections for the next calls for proposals and to strengthen the links already created between partners.
PRESENTATION OF NEW INTERREG MAC PROJECTS IN SENEGAL
On 4 December 2024, the seminar of presentation of the projects approved in the 1st Interreg MAC call with the participation of Senegalese partners was held in Dakar.
The event took place within the framework of the ATLANTE strategic project and was opened by representatives of the European Commission, the Spanish and Portuguese embassies in Senegal, the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation of Senegal, the regional governments of the Azores and Madeira and the Government of the Canary Islands through the Directorate General for Relations with Africa and the Directorate General for European Affairs, the Managing Authority of the Interreg MAC programme.
In an intense and very interesting day, the 14 new approved projects were presented, innovative projects in areas such as blue economy, food security, competitiveness of SMEs, climate resilience, circular economy, protection of biodiversity or mobility.
The Senegalese partners actively participated in the presentation of the proposed actions, noting the commitment to work together to address common challenges and highlighting the importance of territorial cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and experience between European and African partners.
The day concluded with a networking session that allowed the participants to establish valuable connections for future initiatives and strengthen the ties between the partners.
NEWS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
INFOREGIO-INTERREG GO 2025 Event
DG Regional and Urban Policy invites cooperation stakeholders and Interreg programmes to participate in the Interreg GO! event on 27-28 March 2025. The event will conclude the broad consultation process on Interreg post-27, launched during the last Interreg Annual Event in Santiago de Compostela in October 2023.
The programme combines the annual Interreg event, dedicated to the review and debate on burning issues for the current Interreg programmes for 2021-2027, with a high-level event presenting the key messages of the Interreg post-27 consultation, taking into account broader political and policy perspectives.
More information: Inforegio – Interreg GO 2025.
The European Commission launches a new course for journalists to strengthen training on EU and cohesion policy.
The Commission has launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled “Cohesion Policy Coverage in Europe”. The course is a collaboration with six European universities and two journalists’ associations.
Students who have completed the Massive Open Online Course on EU and Cohesion Policy by 25 December will be eligible for a prize draw to win 5 cameras: New competition for student journalists.
The European Commission is launching a call for proposals for information measures for EU cohesion policy.
The European Commission has launched its eighth call for proposals to support media activities focusing on cohesion policy. With a total budget of €3.5 million, this initiative invites media, universities, communication agencies and both private and public entities to submit proposals to produce editorially independent content on the theme.
Applications must be submitted via the funding portal before the deadline of 7 January 2025 at 17:00 CET . Inforegio – Call for proposals for information measures for EU cohesion policy .
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE INTERREG PROGRAMMES JOINTLY DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF INTERREG
The Interreg post-27 Harvesting Event, organised by the Interact programme together with DG Regio of the European Commission, took place in Brussels on 25-26 November.
More than 200 representatives of the 86 Interreg territorial cooperation programmes of the European Union and the Member States discussed the seven key issues affecting the future of Interreg in the coming period 2028-2034: cooperation at the external borders of the Union, improved governance, flexibility and adaptability of the programmes, synergies and cooperation (capitalisation/macro-regional and sea basin strategies), performance-based implementation, simplified costs and other elements such as the maritime dimension of Interreg, data management, common indicators, etc.
Furthermore, experiences have been exchanged on the public consultations carried out by the programmes on the future of Interreg and some provisional conclusions have been put forward. The work will be continued with a further pooling of experience between the Commission and the Interreg programmes in March 2025 at the Interreg GO! meeting.
In addition to actively participating in the Harvesting Event, representatives of the Managing Authority and the Joint Secretariat of the INTERREG Madeira-Azores-Canary Islands (MAC) programme held a meeting with the other Interreg programmes of the EU’s Outermost Regions (ORs) and the European Commission at the Canary Islands Government office in Brussels. At this meeting, specific issues were discussed on the future of the Interreg ORs programmes as external borders of the Union and progress was made on the materialisation of the ERDF-NDICI funds through joint calls for proposals between the two funds.
CAPITALISATION CALL FOR PROPOSALS (1ST PHASE) OF THE INTERREG MAC 2021-2027 PROGRAMME IS NOW OPEN. CALL IS NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSION!
The call for proposals for the 1st phase of the Capitalisation Call of the Interreg MAC 2021-2027 programme, focused on the presentation of capitalisable results of projects developed under the previous Interreg MAC 2014-2020 programme, is now open for submission.
The deadline for submission of proposals will be from 25 November to 13 December 2024 (inclusive) by submitting project applications through the e-MAC IT system.
On 21 November 2024, an online workshop was held to present the 1st phase of the Call for the capitalisation of results.
You can download the presentations:
- Presentation ‘The concept of capitalisation in the framework of the Interreg MAC programme’.
- Presentation ‘The basis of the capitalisation call for proposals - 1st phase’.
You can access the recording of the session on the YouTube channel of the programme:
Link to the recording: https://youtu.be/ugIxu-93nFQ
THE KICK-OFF SEMINARS FOR THE PROJECTS APPROVED UNDER THE 1ST INTERREG MAC CALL FOR PROPOSALS WAS HELD IN THE AZORES AND MADEIRA
On 5 November in Funchal (Madeira) and on 7 November in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira (Azores), the respective kick-off seminars for the projects approved under the 1st INTERREG MAC 21-27 call took place, attended by a total of 80 people (around 40 people in each of them).
The conference was opened in Madeira by Maria João Monte, President of the Regional Development Institute of the Autonomous Region of Madeira and in the Azores by Nuno Melo Alves, Regional Director of Planning and Structural Funds of the Government of the Azores, and was attended by representatives of the Managing Authority of the programme (Elsa Casas) and the Joint Secretariat (Irene Ruiz).
During these sessions, crucial issues for the beneficiaries were discussed: the fundamental aspects of the ERDF grant contract, the financial management of the projects, the details of the rules of eligibility of expenditure, communication obligations and other fundamental aspects for an efficient implementation of the projects.
You can download in the section ‘1st call for proposals’ the presentations of the seminars
Azores
Madeira
LAUNCH DAY OF THE CAPITALISATION CALL (1ST PHASE) INTERREG MAC PROGRAMME 2021-2027 ONLINE, ZOOM, 21/11/2024
The Managing Authority of the Interreg MAC 21-27 programme invites you to participate in the Launch Day of the Capitalisation Call on 21 November at 10:00 Canary and Madeira time (9:00 Azores time).
The event will take place online and will explain the basis of the 1st phase of the call, focused on the presentation of the capitalisable results of projects developed in the framework of the previous Interreg MAC 2014-2020 programme. Therefore, the event is aimed at ERDF beneficiary entities from the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira that implemented those projects.
Download:
Link to the ZOOM meeting: https://zoom.us/j/96462594554?pwd=wOdGf5szfD4e7hE0d5v6wO1DIypOYb.1
INTERREG MAC SEMINARS IN MADEIRA AND AZORES (5 and 7 NOVEMBER 2024): LAUNCHING OF PROJECTS APPROVED UNDER THE 1ST CALL OF THE INTERREG MAC TERRITORIAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME 2021-2027
The kick-off seminars for Portuguese partners of projects approved under the 1st call of the Interreg MAC 21-27 programme will be held on 5 November in Funchal (Madeira) and 7 November in Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira).
Representatives of the Managing Authority, the Joint Secretariat and the Regional Governments of Madeira and the Azores will participate. Fundamental issues for the correct implementation and management of the approved projects will be discussed.
REGISTRATION: Please fill in the following application form until Monday 4th November, due to limited capacity.
Link registration forms:
- MADEIRA: https://forms.gle/bgNZ5otizmPBHJuq5
- AZORES: https://forms.gle/k7r45AMFSm7PTRCC9
Download the AGENDAS:
THE EVENT FOR THE SIGNING OF CONTRACTS AND THE LAUNCH OF THE PROJECTS APPROVED UNDER THE 1ST INTERREG MAC CALL FOR PROPOSALS WAS HELD IN THE CANARY ISLANDS
On Friday 25 October, the launch event for the 34 projects approved under the 1st INTERREG MAC call took place in the Canary Islands. The event was attended in person by more than 100 people and was broadcast live via streaming, which was followed by another hundred people.
The conference was opened by Ms. Matilde Asián González, Minister of Finance and Relations with the European Union of the Government of the Canary Islands and was attended by representatives of the Directorate General of European Funds of the Government of Spain and the Directorate General for Regional Policy of the European Commission.
Firstly, the signing of the ERDF grant contracts took place between the Managing Authority of the programme, Ms. Celia Alberto Pérez, General Director of European Affairs, and the legal representatives of the main partner entities of the approved projects. The contracts for a total of 13 projects were signed in person, while the rest will be signed electronically.
The basic content of the contract, the main features of the financial management of the projects and the details of the rules of eligibility of expenditure, project modifications, communication obligations and implementation reports were explained during the day.
You can download in the section ‘1st call’ the presentations of the conference and watch the recording of the conference on our YouTube channel.
Please do not forget to give your feedback on the conference by filling in the following questionnaire: https://forms.gle/LdEkC3FfYEQA7Erj9
Thank you very much to everyone for your attendance and participation!
