baltic sea region programme newsletter, june 2009
DESCRIPTION
The June issue of the newsletter from the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007 - 2013 has the following highlights: - Five transport projects approved in the 2nd call - The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region - a common vision for development - State aid & extension stage - Strategic project: Bioenergy promotionTRANSCRIPT
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2007
Accessibility in the EU and in the Baltic Sea regionWhat is accessibility about
Five transport projects approved in the 2nd call
1
The Monitoring Committee of the Programme approved fivetransport projects in Priority 2ldquoInternal and external accessibi -lityrdquo at its meeting in Vilnius on8-9 June 2009 In total 228 million Euro (out of re quested 51 million Euro) or 46 of thetotal available EUNorwegianprogramme co-financing for thePriority 2 were committedAround 164 Million Euro fromERDF 072 MEUR from Norwe -gian and 0144 MEUR from ENPIfunds were allocated For thecoming calls around 25 millionEuro of Programme funding isstill available in the Priority 2
The approved transport projectsinvolve around 97 project part-ners from the Baltic Sea area
Newsletter June 2009
Highlights1 Five transport projects approved
in the 2nd call 1 The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
ndash a common vision for development 1 State aid amp extension stage1 Strategic project Bioenergy promotion
Project title
Increase the use of biogas buses in
public transport to reduce the
emissions in urban areas in the
Baltic Sea Region
Scandinavian-Adriatic Corridor for
Growth and Innovation
Towards an integrated transport
system in the Baltic Sea Region
East West Transport Corridor II ndash a
green corridor concept within the
Northern Transport Axis approach
Connecting Authorities for Safer
Heavy Goods Traffic in the Baltic
Sea Region
Lead Partner country
Sweden
Germany
Sweden
Sweden
Finland
Lead Partner institution
Stockholm Public Transport
Company
Joint State Planning
Department repr the capital
region Berlin-Brandenburg
Region Skaringne
Region Blekinge
Turku School of Economics
Approx projecttotal budget million Euro
417
378
549
599
338
Project Acronym
Baltic Biogas Bus
SCANDRIA
TransBaltic
EWTC II
CASH
on your project idea from theJTS at any time For more information check eubalticnetFeedback2649html1
Project TransBaltic was selectedas a strategic project of the Pro gramme In total 86 projectap plications were received in the 2nd call that was closed on 31 March 2009 More statisticsand approved project summa riesyou will find at eubalticnet
Decisions on the 2nd call projectsin Priorities 1 3 and 4 will betaken in Oslo on 15-16 Septem -ber 2009 Information about the 3rd call for applications will be published on eubalticnetin autumn 2009
Project consultations for pro -jects applying in the 3rd call areplanned to be offered startingfrom November 2009 Howeveryou can receive written feedback
Approved transport projects (Priority 2)
Newsletter June 2009
2
Part-financed
by the EU
Financial seminarMore than 50 financial man-agers and first level controllersrepresenting twenty first callapproved projects took part in the financial seminar inRostock on 3 June The partici-pants discussed and sharedexperience on first level controlprojects reporting system available calculation tools eligibility of expenditure andreimbursement and otherissues Presentations can bedownloaded at httpeubalticnetFinancial_seminar_in_Rostock_review6540html
Communication seminarThe communication seminar forthe communication managers ofthe first 24 approved projectswas held in Berlin on 26-27 May2009 During the first day Pro -gramme communication require-ments project communicationplans and examples were dis-cussed During the second dayparticipants got training in writing skills media relations
Review of the latest Programme events - Communication amp Financial seminars
Communication seminar
Financial seminar
Project Idea Cafeacute and theBSSSC annual conference
The Project Idea Cafeacute will offer the forum forthose who want
to pre sent and discuss their project
ideas look for partners andwant to learn more about thefunding programmes in theBaltic Sea region The Cafeacute willbe facilitated by the Baltic SeaRegion Programme and will be
organising events and internalcommunications Presentationscan be downloaded athttpeubalticnetSnapshots_from_the_Communication_seminar5916html
Reminder the final project com munication plans have to be submitted to the JTS (tocommunicationeubalticnet)latest by 31 July 20091
open on 14 October 2009 backto back with the BSSSC annualconference in Ringsted Den -mark on 13-15 October 2009
If you fill in the project ideaform from the conference web site and send it to infoeubalticnet by 7 October you will be given an opportunity to display youridea at the exhibition and pre sent it to other parti cipants of the Cafeacute Project ideas from the whole region irrespective
of the programme they areplanning to apply to are invited to the Cafeacute
The BSSSC annual conferencewill concentrate on the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion and the ClimateChange If you want to partic-ipate in the Cafeacute andor theconference you are welcometo register at the conferencewebsite wwwregionsjaellanddkBSSSC
Newsletter June 2009
3
Part-financed
by the EU
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region ndash a common vision for development
ldquoThe European Unionrsquos BalticSea Strategy is a new way ofworking togetherrdquo stated DirkAhner Director General of theEuropean Commissionrsquos DGRegional Policy in his openingmessage About 200 representa-tives of managing authoritiesand joint technical secretariatsas well as ministerial delegatesfrom the Baltic Sea region hadcome together to discuss thepractical implications of imple-menting the Strategy at a con-ference in Visby on the Swedishisland of Gotland on 11 and 12 June 2009
Mr Ahner had more to say ldquoA new way of working togetherrequires openness participationand wide partnership includingfriendshiprdquo he said As therewas neither new funding nornew EU legislation provided forthe Strategy it would only workif partners agreed he addedPartners are understood to beall those institutions and organi-sations taking responsibility foractively implementing the fourobjectives of the Strategy its 15 priority areas and its numer-ous flagship projects ldquoTheStrategy is an integrated frame-workrdquo Mr Ahner added It wasdesig ned to overcome speciali-sation ndash or segregation of workof line ministries or organisa-tions dealing with only one particular priority topic such astransport He also suggested the Strategy to be a guidancedocument for policy makers inthe region Can the EU Strategybecome the common ldquovisionrdquo of development in the Baltic Searegion
Not all participants were readyto follow what General DirectorAhner and other speakers fromDG Regio said It turned outthat in particular national pro-
grammes including their imple-menting bodies are little infor -med about the Strategy and donot yet feel concerned at allAlmost all programmes startedimplementation along their pri-orities and found it difficult tochange direction towards thespecific actions of the Strategyat this stage Many were con-fused about the way currentldquoflagship projectsrdquo of the Stra -tegy were selected Some foundthe Strategy too general Theywere afraid that ldquoanything goesrdquowould devaluate the Strategyand its actions ldquoThe Strategyshould fly but it must not flyawayrdquo recalled Krista Kampusof the Estonian Ministry of Inte -rior Others said that as long asthe architecture for implement-ing the Strategy was not clear it was difficult to see the role ofdifferent actors and the ldquowhodoes whatrdquo However it was alsopointed out that having thesediscussions have already madea difference There was no clearmap among the EU MemberStates of what is already goingon e g regarding environmentprotection activities So insteadof duplicating efforts there wasa need to exchange views andcoordinate activities in particu-lar in times of scarce publicfinances and in particularacross national borders Thiswould make available meansmore efficient
The Baltic Sea Region Program -me had started to pick up ideasfrom the Strategy right from thebeginning The Monitoring Com -mittee (MC) debated possibleimplications on our programmealready in early 2009 The JointTechnical Secretariat (JTS) pre-pared a project brochure point-ing out the link between ourprojects and the priority actionsof the Strategy This brochure
was distributed at the Com mis -sionrsquos official press conference in all capital cities of the BalticSea region as well as in Brusselson 10 June 2009 when annou n -cing the launching of the Stra -tegy Applications of the 2nd callwere screened in relation to theStrategy and put to the MC forconsideration The JTS will askprojects to prepare a ldquoroadmaprdquofor future investments and willinitiate cooperation with inter -national financing institutionssuch as the European Invest -ment Bank
Vivid discussions showed thatthe Visby conference marked a milestone in the developmentof the Strategy All involvedincluding the Commission themanaging bodies of EU financedprogrammes as well as thenatio nal coordinators under-stood that there was a greatneed to first of all come to ajoint understanding of the Stra -tegy in order to make peoplefeel involved and motivated tobe active Ten years from nowwe should be able to explainvery clearly the difference theStrategy has made to ourregion1
More info about
the Strategy at
httpeceuropaeu
regional_policy
cooperationbaltic
index_enhtm
Interface between the Baltic Sea Region Programme
priorities and the objectives of the EU Strategy for the
Baltic Sea Region
Newsletter June 2009
4
Part-financed
by the EU
State aid
Free movement of goods services and people is one ofthe basic principles of the Euro -pean Union Therefore the EUgenerally prohibits public grantsthat distort free competition and trade among the MemberStates Such distortive grantsare referred to as ldquostate aidrdquo
The Baltic Sea Region Pro gram -me does not co-finance stateaid relevant activities By this itshould be avoided that organi-sations receiving Programmefunding obtain an unfair advan-tage over their competitors
How does the Programme en -sure this In general terms ifstate aid relevant activities arefound in a project proposalthese have to be excluded incase the project is approvedApproved projects will get nocost reimbursement of state aidrelevant activities In practicalterms the Secretariat followstwo step approach to ensurethat all lead partners and pro -ject partners comply with theState aid law
STEP 1 Assessment of project activities
1Does a partner or end user ofthe project carry out economicactivities
2Does the Programme fundingprovide a partner or end user of the project with an unfairadvantage over their competi-tors
3Does the Programme fundingaffect trade between theMember States
Activities are only recognized asstate aid relevant if they fulfillall criteria
STEP 2 Check of the com -pliance with the followingconditions
1 Public procurement rules havebeen observed which shouldguarantee that services are provided at market conditions
1 Other competitors in the rele-vant market can use the projectoutput in the same way andunder the same conditions asthe project eg open-sourcesoftware
1 Business operators involved inthe project activities (eg pilotprojects trainings) and resultsare selected in a non-discrimi-natory and transparent way
1 All project results are madeavailable to the public egsecure public access to the project results
1 The project costs are paid by an eligible project partner andproved by delivery of worksservices or supplies (principle of real costs)
During the quality assessmentand project implementationthese conditions are closelymonitored by the Secretariat As the experience shows pro ducts with high potential forstate aid risks are mainly ICTtools software investmentstrainingeducation etc Riskareas are mostly is vaguelydescribed project activities and complex projects
What other tools are there to follow up on state aid Throughthe signature of the Partner declaration and later of the GrantContract and the Part ner shipagreement the lead partner andall project partners declare thatthey comply with the State aidlaw and the conditions of theProgramme More informationabout the state aid in the Pro -gram me will be soon available(autumn 2009) in the Program -me Manual version no 31
The basis of EU State aid policy is Article 87 of the Treatyestablishing the EuropeanCommunity which defines stateaid Based on this article the EU developed a complex Stateaid law Hundreds of rules andregulations exist These areexpended by even more deci-sions on state aid cases taken by the Commission and theEuropean Court of Justice
More information is availableunder httpeceuropaeucompetitionstate_aidoverviewindex_enhtml
Newsletter June 2009
5
Part-financed
by the EU
We are proud to present theofficial name and logo of DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programme ndash thesoftware tool that helps us tomanage projects You couldlearn more about this projectmanagement database in theprevious issue of the newsletterThe DEEP is used in theSecretariatrsquos daily work as wellas by other programmes acrossEurope
DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programmes is thetool for efficient handling of the approved projects and pro-ject applications
DEEP serves to process a widerange of data as
bullproject applicationsbulldocuments of the quality assessment
bull information on funding decisionsand grant contracts
bullprogress reports and their annexes and
bullinformation on payments to the projects
DEEP ndash Database for Efficient European Programmes
DEEP supports the programmebodies in
bulladministrating and assessingapplications
bullthe monitoring of project andprogramme level
bullcommunicating with projectsbullthe financial management and handling payment requests
bulladministrating requests forchanges and
bulldata and indicator analysis
DEEP will be used by all important programme bodiessuch as the Joint TechnicalSecretariat (JTS) the CertifyingAuthority (CA) the ManagingAuthority (MA) the AuditAuthority (AA) and the members of the MonitoringCommittee
For more information aboutDEEP please contact Robert Schulz-BruumlcknerInformation Coordinator(rsbeubalticnet Phone +49 381 45484 5279)1
Extension stage for projects
At its meeting in Vilnius on 8-9 June the Monitoring Com mittee confirmed that the possibility for an extensionstage should be offered to allapproved projects as planned in the Programme
The extension stage means thatapproved projects can receivefunding for max additional 24 months for the realisation ofspecific follow up activities iaimplementation of transnationalinvestments The activities inthe extension stage should be a result of a joint planning pro -cess that was realised duringthe project implementation The applicants will follow a sim-plified procedure and regularprogramme funds will be usedA project can apply not earlierthan one year after they havestarted their activities and notlater than 6 months before theend of original project activities
Although the first applicationsfor an extension stage couldalready be submitted in the first half of 2010 several appli-cations are expected only in 2-3 years from now At themoment the JTS is preparingprocedures and the necessarydocuments for the extensionstage It is planned that theApplication Package will beready and the instrument will be operational in early 20101
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
Newsletter June 2009
2
Part-financed
by the EU
Financial seminarMore than 50 financial man-agers and first level controllersrepresenting twenty first callapproved projects took part in the financial seminar inRostock on 3 June The partici-pants discussed and sharedexperience on first level controlprojects reporting system available calculation tools eligibility of expenditure andreimbursement and otherissues Presentations can bedownloaded at httpeubalticnetFinancial_seminar_in_Rostock_review6540html
Communication seminarThe communication seminar forthe communication managers ofthe first 24 approved projectswas held in Berlin on 26-27 May2009 During the first day Pro -gramme communication require-ments project communicationplans and examples were dis-cussed During the second dayparticipants got training in writing skills media relations
Review of the latest Programme events - Communication amp Financial seminars
Communication seminar
Financial seminar
Project Idea Cafeacute and theBSSSC annual conference
The Project Idea Cafeacute will offer the forum forthose who want
to pre sent and discuss their project
ideas look for partners andwant to learn more about thefunding programmes in theBaltic Sea region The Cafeacute willbe facilitated by the Baltic SeaRegion Programme and will be
organising events and internalcommunications Presentationscan be downloaded athttpeubalticnetSnapshots_from_the_Communication_seminar5916html
Reminder the final project com munication plans have to be submitted to the JTS (tocommunicationeubalticnet)latest by 31 July 20091
open on 14 October 2009 backto back with the BSSSC annualconference in Ringsted Den -mark on 13-15 October 2009
If you fill in the project ideaform from the conference web site and send it to infoeubalticnet by 7 October you will be given an opportunity to display youridea at the exhibition and pre sent it to other parti cipants of the Cafeacute Project ideas from the whole region irrespective
of the programme they areplanning to apply to are invited to the Cafeacute
The BSSSC annual conferencewill concentrate on the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion and the ClimateChange If you want to partic-ipate in the Cafeacute andor theconference you are welcometo register at the conferencewebsite wwwregionsjaellanddkBSSSC
Newsletter June 2009
3
Part-financed
by the EU
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region ndash a common vision for development
ldquoThe European Unionrsquos BalticSea Strategy is a new way ofworking togetherrdquo stated DirkAhner Director General of theEuropean Commissionrsquos DGRegional Policy in his openingmessage About 200 representa-tives of managing authoritiesand joint technical secretariatsas well as ministerial delegatesfrom the Baltic Sea region hadcome together to discuss thepractical implications of imple-menting the Strategy at a con-ference in Visby on the Swedishisland of Gotland on 11 and 12 June 2009
Mr Ahner had more to say ldquoA new way of working togetherrequires openness participationand wide partnership includingfriendshiprdquo he said As therewas neither new funding nornew EU legislation provided forthe Strategy it would only workif partners agreed he addedPartners are understood to beall those institutions and organi-sations taking responsibility foractively implementing the fourobjectives of the Strategy its 15 priority areas and its numer-ous flagship projects ldquoTheStrategy is an integrated frame-workrdquo Mr Ahner added It wasdesig ned to overcome speciali-sation ndash or segregation of workof line ministries or organisa-tions dealing with only one particular priority topic such astransport He also suggested the Strategy to be a guidancedocument for policy makers inthe region Can the EU Strategybecome the common ldquovisionrdquo of development in the Baltic Searegion
Not all participants were readyto follow what General DirectorAhner and other speakers fromDG Regio said It turned outthat in particular national pro-
grammes including their imple-menting bodies are little infor -med about the Strategy and donot yet feel concerned at allAlmost all programmes startedimplementation along their pri-orities and found it difficult tochange direction towards thespecific actions of the Strategyat this stage Many were con-fused about the way currentldquoflagship projectsrdquo of the Stra -tegy were selected Some foundthe Strategy too general Theywere afraid that ldquoanything goesrdquowould devaluate the Strategyand its actions ldquoThe Strategyshould fly but it must not flyawayrdquo recalled Krista Kampusof the Estonian Ministry of Inte -rior Others said that as long asthe architecture for implement-ing the Strategy was not clear it was difficult to see the role ofdifferent actors and the ldquowhodoes whatrdquo However it was alsopointed out that having thesediscussions have already madea difference There was no clearmap among the EU MemberStates of what is already goingon e g regarding environmentprotection activities So insteadof duplicating efforts there wasa need to exchange views andcoordinate activities in particu-lar in times of scarce publicfinances and in particularacross national borders Thiswould make available meansmore efficient
The Baltic Sea Region Program -me had started to pick up ideasfrom the Strategy right from thebeginning The Monitoring Com -mittee (MC) debated possibleimplications on our programmealready in early 2009 The JointTechnical Secretariat (JTS) pre-pared a project brochure point-ing out the link between ourprojects and the priority actionsof the Strategy This brochure
was distributed at the Com mis -sionrsquos official press conference in all capital cities of the BalticSea region as well as in Brusselson 10 June 2009 when annou n -cing the launching of the Stra -tegy Applications of the 2nd callwere screened in relation to theStrategy and put to the MC forconsideration The JTS will askprojects to prepare a ldquoroadmaprdquofor future investments and willinitiate cooperation with inter -national financing institutionssuch as the European Invest -ment Bank
Vivid discussions showed thatthe Visby conference marked a milestone in the developmentof the Strategy All involvedincluding the Commission themanaging bodies of EU financedprogrammes as well as thenatio nal coordinators under-stood that there was a greatneed to first of all come to ajoint understanding of the Stra -tegy in order to make peoplefeel involved and motivated tobe active Ten years from nowwe should be able to explainvery clearly the difference theStrategy has made to ourregion1
More info about
the Strategy at
httpeceuropaeu
regional_policy
cooperationbaltic
index_enhtm
Interface between the Baltic Sea Region Programme
priorities and the objectives of the EU Strategy for the
Baltic Sea Region
Newsletter June 2009
4
Part-financed
by the EU
State aid
Free movement of goods services and people is one ofthe basic principles of the Euro -pean Union Therefore the EUgenerally prohibits public grantsthat distort free competition and trade among the MemberStates Such distortive grantsare referred to as ldquostate aidrdquo
The Baltic Sea Region Pro gram -me does not co-finance stateaid relevant activities By this itshould be avoided that organi-sations receiving Programmefunding obtain an unfair advan-tage over their competitors
How does the Programme en -sure this In general terms ifstate aid relevant activities arefound in a project proposalthese have to be excluded incase the project is approvedApproved projects will get nocost reimbursement of state aidrelevant activities In practicalterms the Secretariat followstwo step approach to ensurethat all lead partners and pro -ject partners comply with theState aid law
STEP 1 Assessment of project activities
1Does a partner or end user ofthe project carry out economicactivities
2Does the Programme fundingprovide a partner or end user of the project with an unfairadvantage over their competi-tors
3Does the Programme fundingaffect trade between theMember States
Activities are only recognized asstate aid relevant if they fulfillall criteria
STEP 2 Check of the com -pliance with the followingconditions
1 Public procurement rules havebeen observed which shouldguarantee that services are provided at market conditions
1 Other competitors in the rele-vant market can use the projectoutput in the same way andunder the same conditions asthe project eg open-sourcesoftware
1 Business operators involved inthe project activities (eg pilotprojects trainings) and resultsare selected in a non-discrimi-natory and transparent way
1 All project results are madeavailable to the public egsecure public access to the project results
1 The project costs are paid by an eligible project partner andproved by delivery of worksservices or supplies (principle of real costs)
During the quality assessmentand project implementationthese conditions are closelymonitored by the Secretariat As the experience shows pro ducts with high potential forstate aid risks are mainly ICTtools software investmentstrainingeducation etc Riskareas are mostly is vaguelydescribed project activities and complex projects
What other tools are there to follow up on state aid Throughthe signature of the Partner declaration and later of the GrantContract and the Part ner shipagreement the lead partner andall project partners declare thatthey comply with the State aidlaw and the conditions of theProgramme More informationabout the state aid in the Pro -gram me will be soon available(autumn 2009) in the Program -me Manual version no 31
The basis of EU State aid policy is Article 87 of the Treatyestablishing the EuropeanCommunity which defines stateaid Based on this article the EU developed a complex Stateaid law Hundreds of rules andregulations exist These areexpended by even more deci-sions on state aid cases taken by the Commission and theEuropean Court of Justice
More information is availableunder httpeceuropaeucompetitionstate_aidoverviewindex_enhtml
Newsletter June 2009
5
Part-financed
by the EU
We are proud to present theofficial name and logo of DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programme ndash thesoftware tool that helps us tomanage projects You couldlearn more about this projectmanagement database in theprevious issue of the newsletterThe DEEP is used in theSecretariatrsquos daily work as wellas by other programmes acrossEurope
DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programmes is thetool for efficient handling of the approved projects and pro-ject applications
DEEP serves to process a widerange of data as
bullproject applicationsbulldocuments of the quality assessment
bull information on funding decisionsand grant contracts
bullprogress reports and their annexes and
bullinformation on payments to the projects
DEEP ndash Database for Efficient European Programmes
DEEP supports the programmebodies in
bulladministrating and assessingapplications
bullthe monitoring of project andprogramme level
bullcommunicating with projectsbullthe financial management and handling payment requests
bulladministrating requests forchanges and
bulldata and indicator analysis
DEEP will be used by all important programme bodiessuch as the Joint TechnicalSecretariat (JTS) the CertifyingAuthority (CA) the ManagingAuthority (MA) the AuditAuthority (AA) and the members of the MonitoringCommittee
For more information aboutDEEP please contact Robert Schulz-BruumlcknerInformation Coordinator(rsbeubalticnet Phone +49 381 45484 5279)1
Extension stage for projects
At its meeting in Vilnius on 8-9 June the Monitoring Com mittee confirmed that the possibility for an extensionstage should be offered to allapproved projects as planned in the Programme
The extension stage means thatapproved projects can receivefunding for max additional 24 months for the realisation ofspecific follow up activities iaimplementation of transnationalinvestments The activities inthe extension stage should be a result of a joint planning pro -cess that was realised duringthe project implementation The applicants will follow a sim-plified procedure and regularprogramme funds will be usedA project can apply not earlierthan one year after they havestarted their activities and notlater than 6 months before theend of original project activities
Although the first applicationsfor an extension stage couldalready be submitted in the first half of 2010 several appli-cations are expected only in 2-3 years from now At themoment the JTS is preparingprocedures and the necessarydocuments for the extensionstage It is planned that theApplication Package will beready and the instrument will be operational in early 20101
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
Newsletter June 2009
3
Part-financed
by the EU
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region ndash a common vision for development
ldquoThe European Unionrsquos BalticSea Strategy is a new way ofworking togetherrdquo stated DirkAhner Director General of theEuropean Commissionrsquos DGRegional Policy in his openingmessage About 200 representa-tives of managing authoritiesand joint technical secretariatsas well as ministerial delegatesfrom the Baltic Sea region hadcome together to discuss thepractical implications of imple-menting the Strategy at a con-ference in Visby on the Swedishisland of Gotland on 11 and 12 June 2009
Mr Ahner had more to say ldquoA new way of working togetherrequires openness participationand wide partnership includingfriendshiprdquo he said As therewas neither new funding nornew EU legislation provided forthe Strategy it would only workif partners agreed he addedPartners are understood to beall those institutions and organi-sations taking responsibility foractively implementing the fourobjectives of the Strategy its 15 priority areas and its numer-ous flagship projects ldquoTheStrategy is an integrated frame-workrdquo Mr Ahner added It wasdesig ned to overcome speciali-sation ndash or segregation of workof line ministries or organisa-tions dealing with only one particular priority topic such astransport He also suggested the Strategy to be a guidancedocument for policy makers inthe region Can the EU Strategybecome the common ldquovisionrdquo of development in the Baltic Searegion
Not all participants were readyto follow what General DirectorAhner and other speakers fromDG Regio said It turned outthat in particular national pro-
grammes including their imple-menting bodies are little infor -med about the Strategy and donot yet feel concerned at allAlmost all programmes startedimplementation along their pri-orities and found it difficult tochange direction towards thespecific actions of the Strategyat this stage Many were con-fused about the way currentldquoflagship projectsrdquo of the Stra -tegy were selected Some foundthe Strategy too general Theywere afraid that ldquoanything goesrdquowould devaluate the Strategyand its actions ldquoThe Strategyshould fly but it must not flyawayrdquo recalled Krista Kampusof the Estonian Ministry of Inte -rior Others said that as long asthe architecture for implement-ing the Strategy was not clear it was difficult to see the role ofdifferent actors and the ldquowhodoes whatrdquo However it was alsopointed out that having thesediscussions have already madea difference There was no clearmap among the EU MemberStates of what is already goingon e g regarding environmentprotection activities So insteadof duplicating efforts there wasa need to exchange views andcoordinate activities in particu-lar in times of scarce publicfinances and in particularacross national borders Thiswould make available meansmore efficient
The Baltic Sea Region Program -me had started to pick up ideasfrom the Strategy right from thebeginning The Monitoring Com -mittee (MC) debated possibleimplications on our programmealready in early 2009 The JointTechnical Secretariat (JTS) pre-pared a project brochure point-ing out the link between ourprojects and the priority actionsof the Strategy This brochure
was distributed at the Com mis -sionrsquos official press conference in all capital cities of the BalticSea region as well as in Brusselson 10 June 2009 when annou n -cing the launching of the Stra -tegy Applications of the 2nd callwere screened in relation to theStrategy and put to the MC forconsideration The JTS will askprojects to prepare a ldquoroadmaprdquofor future investments and willinitiate cooperation with inter -national financing institutionssuch as the European Invest -ment Bank
Vivid discussions showed thatthe Visby conference marked a milestone in the developmentof the Strategy All involvedincluding the Commission themanaging bodies of EU financedprogrammes as well as thenatio nal coordinators under-stood that there was a greatneed to first of all come to ajoint understanding of the Stra -tegy in order to make peoplefeel involved and motivated tobe active Ten years from nowwe should be able to explainvery clearly the difference theStrategy has made to ourregion1
More info about
the Strategy at
httpeceuropaeu
regional_policy
cooperationbaltic
index_enhtm
Interface between the Baltic Sea Region Programme
priorities and the objectives of the EU Strategy for the
Baltic Sea Region
Newsletter June 2009
4
Part-financed
by the EU
State aid
Free movement of goods services and people is one ofthe basic principles of the Euro -pean Union Therefore the EUgenerally prohibits public grantsthat distort free competition and trade among the MemberStates Such distortive grantsare referred to as ldquostate aidrdquo
The Baltic Sea Region Pro gram -me does not co-finance stateaid relevant activities By this itshould be avoided that organi-sations receiving Programmefunding obtain an unfair advan-tage over their competitors
How does the Programme en -sure this In general terms ifstate aid relevant activities arefound in a project proposalthese have to be excluded incase the project is approvedApproved projects will get nocost reimbursement of state aidrelevant activities In practicalterms the Secretariat followstwo step approach to ensurethat all lead partners and pro -ject partners comply with theState aid law
STEP 1 Assessment of project activities
1Does a partner or end user ofthe project carry out economicactivities
2Does the Programme fundingprovide a partner or end user of the project with an unfairadvantage over their competi-tors
3Does the Programme fundingaffect trade between theMember States
Activities are only recognized asstate aid relevant if they fulfillall criteria
STEP 2 Check of the com -pliance with the followingconditions
1 Public procurement rules havebeen observed which shouldguarantee that services are provided at market conditions
1 Other competitors in the rele-vant market can use the projectoutput in the same way andunder the same conditions asthe project eg open-sourcesoftware
1 Business operators involved inthe project activities (eg pilotprojects trainings) and resultsare selected in a non-discrimi-natory and transparent way
1 All project results are madeavailable to the public egsecure public access to the project results
1 The project costs are paid by an eligible project partner andproved by delivery of worksservices or supplies (principle of real costs)
During the quality assessmentand project implementationthese conditions are closelymonitored by the Secretariat As the experience shows pro ducts with high potential forstate aid risks are mainly ICTtools software investmentstrainingeducation etc Riskareas are mostly is vaguelydescribed project activities and complex projects
What other tools are there to follow up on state aid Throughthe signature of the Partner declaration and later of the GrantContract and the Part ner shipagreement the lead partner andall project partners declare thatthey comply with the State aidlaw and the conditions of theProgramme More informationabout the state aid in the Pro -gram me will be soon available(autumn 2009) in the Program -me Manual version no 31
The basis of EU State aid policy is Article 87 of the Treatyestablishing the EuropeanCommunity which defines stateaid Based on this article the EU developed a complex Stateaid law Hundreds of rules andregulations exist These areexpended by even more deci-sions on state aid cases taken by the Commission and theEuropean Court of Justice
More information is availableunder httpeceuropaeucompetitionstate_aidoverviewindex_enhtml
Newsletter June 2009
5
Part-financed
by the EU
We are proud to present theofficial name and logo of DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programme ndash thesoftware tool that helps us tomanage projects You couldlearn more about this projectmanagement database in theprevious issue of the newsletterThe DEEP is used in theSecretariatrsquos daily work as wellas by other programmes acrossEurope
DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programmes is thetool for efficient handling of the approved projects and pro-ject applications
DEEP serves to process a widerange of data as
bullproject applicationsbulldocuments of the quality assessment
bull information on funding decisionsand grant contracts
bullprogress reports and their annexes and
bullinformation on payments to the projects
DEEP ndash Database for Efficient European Programmes
DEEP supports the programmebodies in
bulladministrating and assessingapplications
bullthe monitoring of project andprogramme level
bullcommunicating with projectsbullthe financial management and handling payment requests
bulladministrating requests forchanges and
bulldata and indicator analysis
DEEP will be used by all important programme bodiessuch as the Joint TechnicalSecretariat (JTS) the CertifyingAuthority (CA) the ManagingAuthority (MA) the AuditAuthority (AA) and the members of the MonitoringCommittee
For more information aboutDEEP please contact Robert Schulz-BruumlcknerInformation Coordinator(rsbeubalticnet Phone +49 381 45484 5279)1
Extension stage for projects
At its meeting in Vilnius on 8-9 June the Monitoring Com mittee confirmed that the possibility for an extensionstage should be offered to allapproved projects as planned in the Programme
The extension stage means thatapproved projects can receivefunding for max additional 24 months for the realisation ofspecific follow up activities iaimplementation of transnationalinvestments The activities inthe extension stage should be a result of a joint planning pro -cess that was realised duringthe project implementation The applicants will follow a sim-plified procedure and regularprogramme funds will be usedA project can apply not earlierthan one year after they havestarted their activities and notlater than 6 months before theend of original project activities
Although the first applicationsfor an extension stage couldalready be submitted in the first half of 2010 several appli-cations are expected only in 2-3 years from now At themoment the JTS is preparingprocedures and the necessarydocuments for the extensionstage It is planned that theApplication Package will beready and the instrument will be operational in early 20101
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
Newsletter June 2009
4
Part-financed
by the EU
State aid
Free movement of goods services and people is one ofthe basic principles of the Euro -pean Union Therefore the EUgenerally prohibits public grantsthat distort free competition and trade among the MemberStates Such distortive grantsare referred to as ldquostate aidrdquo
The Baltic Sea Region Pro gram -me does not co-finance stateaid relevant activities By this itshould be avoided that organi-sations receiving Programmefunding obtain an unfair advan-tage over their competitors
How does the Programme en -sure this In general terms ifstate aid relevant activities arefound in a project proposalthese have to be excluded incase the project is approvedApproved projects will get nocost reimbursement of state aidrelevant activities In practicalterms the Secretariat followstwo step approach to ensurethat all lead partners and pro -ject partners comply with theState aid law
STEP 1 Assessment of project activities
1Does a partner or end user ofthe project carry out economicactivities
2Does the Programme fundingprovide a partner or end user of the project with an unfairadvantage over their competi-tors
3Does the Programme fundingaffect trade between theMember States
Activities are only recognized asstate aid relevant if they fulfillall criteria
STEP 2 Check of the com -pliance with the followingconditions
1 Public procurement rules havebeen observed which shouldguarantee that services are provided at market conditions
1 Other competitors in the rele-vant market can use the projectoutput in the same way andunder the same conditions asthe project eg open-sourcesoftware
1 Business operators involved inthe project activities (eg pilotprojects trainings) and resultsare selected in a non-discrimi-natory and transparent way
1 All project results are madeavailable to the public egsecure public access to the project results
1 The project costs are paid by an eligible project partner andproved by delivery of worksservices or supplies (principle of real costs)
During the quality assessmentand project implementationthese conditions are closelymonitored by the Secretariat As the experience shows pro ducts with high potential forstate aid risks are mainly ICTtools software investmentstrainingeducation etc Riskareas are mostly is vaguelydescribed project activities and complex projects
What other tools are there to follow up on state aid Throughthe signature of the Partner declaration and later of the GrantContract and the Part ner shipagreement the lead partner andall project partners declare thatthey comply with the State aidlaw and the conditions of theProgramme More informationabout the state aid in the Pro -gram me will be soon available(autumn 2009) in the Program -me Manual version no 31
The basis of EU State aid policy is Article 87 of the Treatyestablishing the EuropeanCommunity which defines stateaid Based on this article the EU developed a complex Stateaid law Hundreds of rules andregulations exist These areexpended by even more deci-sions on state aid cases taken by the Commission and theEuropean Court of Justice
More information is availableunder httpeceuropaeucompetitionstate_aidoverviewindex_enhtml
Newsletter June 2009
5
Part-financed
by the EU
We are proud to present theofficial name and logo of DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programme ndash thesoftware tool that helps us tomanage projects You couldlearn more about this projectmanagement database in theprevious issue of the newsletterThe DEEP is used in theSecretariatrsquos daily work as wellas by other programmes acrossEurope
DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programmes is thetool for efficient handling of the approved projects and pro-ject applications
DEEP serves to process a widerange of data as
bullproject applicationsbulldocuments of the quality assessment
bull information on funding decisionsand grant contracts
bullprogress reports and their annexes and
bullinformation on payments to the projects
DEEP ndash Database for Efficient European Programmes
DEEP supports the programmebodies in
bulladministrating and assessingapplications
bullthe monitoring of project andprogramme level
bullcommunicating with projectsbullthe financial management and handling payment requests
bulladministrating requests forchanges and
bulldata and indicator analysis
DEEP will be used by all important programme bodiessuch as the Joint TechnicalSecretariat (JTS) the CertifyingAuthority (CA) the ManagingAuthority (MA) the AuditAuthority (AA) and the members of the MonitoringCommittee
For more information aboutDEEP please contact Robert Schulz-BruumlcknerInformation Coordinator(rsbeubalticnet Phone +49 381 45484 5279)1
Extension stage for projects
At its meeting in Vilnius on 8-9 June the Monitoring Com mittee confirmed that the possibility for an extensionstage should be offered to allapproved projects as planned in the Programme
The extension stage means thatapproved projects can receivefunding for max additional 24 months for the realisation ofspecific follow up activities iaimplementation of transnationalinvestments The activities inthe extension stage should be a result of a joint planning pro -cess that was realised duringthe project implementation The applicants will follow a sim-plified procedure and regularprogramme funds will be usedA project can apply not earlierthan one year after they havestarted their activities and notlater than 6 months before theend of original project activities
Although the first applicationsfor an extension stage couldalready be submitted in the first half of 2010 several appli-cations are expected only in 2-3 years from now At themoment the JTS is preparingprocedures and the necessarydocuments for the extensionstage It is planned that theApplication Package will beready and the instrument will be operational in early 20101
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
Newsletter June 2009
5
Part-financed
by the EU
We are proud to present theofficial name and logo of DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programme ndash thesoftware tool that helps us tomanage projects You couldlearn more about this projectmanagement database in theprevious issue of the newsletterThe DEEP is used in theSecretariatrsquos daily work as wellas by other programmes acrossEurope
DEEP ndash Database for EfficientEuropean Programmes is thetool for efficient handling of the approved projects and pro-ject applications
DEEP serves to process a widerange of data as
bullproject applicationsbulldocuments of the quality assessment
bull information on funding decisionsand grant contracts
bullprogress reports and their annexes and
bullinformation on payments to the projects
DEEP ndash Database for Efficient European Programmes
DEEP supports the programmebodies in
bulladministrating and assessingapplications
bullthe monitoring of project andprogramme level
bullcommunicating with projectsbullthe financial management and handling payment requests
bulladministrating requests forchanges and
bulldata and indicator analysis
DEEP will be used by all important programme bodiessuch as the Joint TechnicalSecretariat (JTS) the CertifyingAuthority (CA) the ManagingAuthority (MA) the AuditAuthority (AA) and the members of the MonitoringCommittee
For more information aboutDEEP please contact Robert Schulz-BruumlcknerInformation Coordinator(rsbeubalticnet Phone +49 381 45484 5279)1
Extension stage for projects
At its meeting in Vilnius on 8-9 June the Monitoring Com mittee confirmed that the possibility for an extensionstage should be offered to allapproved projects as planned in the Programme
The extension stage means thatapproved projects can receivefunding for max additional 24 months for the realisation ofspecific follow up activities iaimplementation of transnationalinvestments The activities inthe extension stage should be a result of a joint planning pro -cess that was realised duringthe project implementation The applicants will follow a sim-plified procedure and regularprogramme funds will be usedA project can apply not earlierthan one year after they havestarted their activities and notlater than 6 months before theend of original project activities
Although the first applicationsfor an extension stage couldalready be submitted in the first half of 2010 several appli-cations are expected only in 2-3 years from now At themoment the JTS is preparingprocedures and the necessarydocuments for the extensionstage It is planned that theApplication Package will beready and the instrument will be operational in early 20101
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
6
In Europe and in the rest of theworld energy consumption isgrowing Yet huge biomaterialresources are not utilised to theextent possible The interest in these resources is increasingTherefore it is necessary to ba lance the competition bet -ween the usage of biomaterialresources for food fibre andfuel
The project ldquoBioenergy Pro -motionrdquo aims at strengtheningthe sustainable use of bio-energy in the Baltic Sea Region It will contribute to acommon understanding of theopportunities and challengesThe project will serve as amajor regional platform forcross-sectoral and transnationalnetworking to facilitate coordi-nated policy developmentdesign and application of in -struments which promote bioenergy
Bioenergy Promotion was ap -proved as a strategic project of the Programme It as wasalso selected as a Baltic 21Lighthouse project The con -sortium includes national andregional authorities researchinstitutions experts in the field of forestry and agricultureand biomass companies
The project will develop criteriafor sustainable biomass supplyuse and trade These policyguidelines will contribute to thedevelopment and implementationof national and regional biomassaction plans The action plansand feasibility studies will facili-tate bioenergy investments in the Baltic Sea Region The pro -ject will also establish a virtualbrokerage platform to meet theneeds of all players of the bio-mass market by contributing to the fair trade options in the re gion It will also provide a possi bility to create networksclusters and public-private part-nerships in the bioenergy sector1
Part-financed
by the EU
Newsletter June 2009
Strategic project ldquoBioenergy Promotionrdquo ndash The Baltic Sea Region Bioenergy Promotion Project
Partnership National andregional authorities universitiesenvironmental and forestrydevelopment centers agenciesfor renewable resources fromBelarus Denmark EstoniaFinland Germany LatviaLithuania Norway Poland andSwedenNumber of partners 34Lead partner Swedish Energy Agency SwedenApproximate total budgetEUR 51 million ERDF funding EUR 33 million Norwegian fundingEUR 04 million ENPI funding EUR 01 million Duration 36 months (January 2009 ndash January 2012)Contact personSonja EwersteinPhone +46 16 5442207Email sonjaewerstein energimyndighetense
Energy centre
Pellet in the hand
Biomass
Creating a critical mass
for competitiveness and
technology innovation
in the bioenergy market
Website
bioenergypromotionnet
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation
7
Newsletter June 2009
For Further Informationplease go to eubalticnetor feel free to contact theJoint Secretariat
Rostock officePhone +49 381 45484 5281email infoeubalticnetRiga officePhone +371 67357368
News from the JTS staff
News
Meeting of the Monitoring
Committee
Project Idea Cafeacute at the
BSSSC conference
Date
15-16 September
2009
14-15 October
2009
Place
Oslo
Norway
Ringsted
Denmark
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bullbull
bull
Event Calendar
ww
wm
edie
nd
esig
nbu
ero
com
Ronald LieskeProject Officer
After several years of workingfor INTERREG IIIC and laterIVC Ronald re-joined the Pro -gramme team He is involved inproject development assess-ment and monitoring In addi-tion he is still responsible forthe INTERREG IVC and South Baltic InfoContact Points at the Rostock office
Secretariatrsquos staff assists elections in Rostock
The Secretariatrsquos project officer Bartlomiej Wierzbickiassisted in the 2009 European elections in Rostock on 7 June
Paolo FornoFinance OfficerPaolo will leave the Secretariatat the end of June and will starta new assignment at his homearea in Genoa Italy JTS teamwould like to thank Paolo for hisexcellent work and personaldedication during the last years
Vacancies Before the end ofJune the JTS in Rostock willlaunch two calls for appli cationsa Finance Officer at the JTSand a Project Adviser for the IVC North Info Point Closingdate for applications will be 4 September 2009 Please check the News section ateubalticnet
bull New brochure ldquoFirst 24 trans -national cooperation projectsand their contribution to theEU Strategy for the Baltic SeaRegionrdquo
This brochure provides anoverview of the projectsapproved in the 1st call anddemonstrates how concreteprojects contribute to im -plementation of the EU Stra tegy for the Baltic SeaRegion E-version is avail-able at eubalticnet Hard copies can be requestedfrom Ms Liga Bronowski(lbeubalticnet +49 381 45484 5288)
Part-financed
by the EU
bull The JTS offices in Rostock and Riga will be open duringsummer vacation