European territorial cooperation applied to the case of Austria

The INTERREG III Community Initiative Programmes finance cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation actions throughout the European Union. The Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, concerning the 2000-2006 programming period, published by the European Commission in February 2004, recognises the usefulness of INTERREG programmes. They promote innovation and partnership between Member States. They help to reduce the effect of internal borders by encouraging public and private authorities on both sides of borders to work together. This is why the European Commission is proposing to make these cross-border, transnational and interregional interventions one of the three objectives of the European Union's cohesion policy for the 2007-2013 programming period. This objective will be entitled "European territorial cooperation".