Schick, G: The European Cross-border Funding Programmes in S

The Cohesion Policy of the European Union has developed over decades and is currently implemented in the 2007 - 2013 funding period covering every region throughout the EU. The cross-border funding initiative called INTERREG exists since 1990. In the 2007 - 2013 period it was upgraded to one of the three Objectives of the Cohesion Policy, named European Territorial Cooperation. A framework of regulations and strategic guidelines was set up to define the contents and the implementation of the Objectives of the Cohesion Policy. In the State of Salzburg in Austria the programme areas of INTERREG Germany/Bavaria - Austria and INTERREG Italy - Austria overlap, and two different implementation structures are applied for programme management and for projects funded in the two programmes. In the period 2007 - 2013 the Lead Partner Principle is mandatory and new in both programmes. The implementation systems of the Lead Partner Principle at the programme administration level and at the project partner level are different in the two programmes.