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European Cooperation Day celebrated on 21st September 2013
September 2013
Territorial cooperation programmes and projects celebrated European Cooperation Day for the second consecutive year on 21 September 2013.
The aim of this campaign, supported by the INTERACT programme, the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions, is to highlight the results of the cross-border projects funded by the European funds. This year more than 150 events were organised for the general public in some thirty countries. The objective: show the benefits of territorial cooperation.
For MEP Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid, who supports this day, “the border is still regarded as an area of competition and fracture: neither the citizens, nor the public authorities, nor the political decision-makers know or appreciate the potential and the added value of cross-border cooperation, despite the fact that since 2007 Europe has allocated more than 8.5 billion euros to such cooperation to help local authorities meet their common challenges. In these times of crisis and cutbacks in public spending, cross-border cooperation generates economies of scale and sources of competitiveness. Thus, it enables, for example, the implementation of joint clusters and facilities in the fields of health, employment, culture, transport, risk management and the environment.”
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