The INTERREG VA Programme is making a call for applications for projects.
Objective 2.1 of the Programme is to promote cross-border co-operation to facilitate the recovery of selected protected habitats and priority species. The total value of call is €11 million.
The call will be published shortly on the website of the Special EU Programmes Body .
The Closing Date for applications is expected to be 08 January 2016.
The eligible area for the INTERREG VA Programme is:
- Northern Ireland;
- The Border Counties of Ireland (Monaghan, Leitrim, Cavan, Louth, Sligo and Donegal); and
- Parts of western Scotland
Projects must comply with the cross border requirements of Article 12 of 1299/2013 as detailed in the Programme rules.
Objective 2.1 is based upon the need to protect the environment, one of the key themes in the EU 2020 Strategy. It is also one of the needs and priorities identified in Socio Economic Profile of the Region and in the Position Papers from the European Commission for the United Kingdom and Ireland. The investment by the programme in this important area will be aimed at ensuring that designated habitat sites of cross-border importance will achieve or be approaching favourable conditions. These include areas of specific scientific interest (ASSI), special protection areas (SPAs) and special areas of conservation (SAC), as well as some important areas for breeding wader species and marsh fritillary that may not be designated. In many cases sites will be close to, or straddle, the border. However other sites further from the terrestrial border, including those in Western Scotland, may be included, where the site is of cross-border significance.
The three jurisdictions have prioritised 7 protected habitats and 7 priority species. These have been selected from habitats and species common to all three jurisdictions and include habitats that have an important role in connectivity between protected areas and protected species that migrate across the eligible region.
In the Additional Resources for Applicants document you will find further links to the INTERREG VA Application Form, a Guide for Applicants, Business Plan Guidance, Programme Rules, etc.
Further information and mapping on eligible sites in Ireland can be accessed here