‘Cohesion Policy is at the heart of European Cooperation, and Interreg is its backbone’: Karsten Uno Petersen on Interreg post-2027

In this interview, Petersen shares his views on the importance of Interreg for EU cohesion and solidarity, as well as his perspective on its future.

The Committee of the Regions has called Interreg ‘the epitome of European added value.’ From your point of view, what makes it so important for EU cohesion and solidarity?

Cohesion Policy is at the heart of European Cooperation, and Interreg is its backbone. That’s because the EU is based on cooperation and Interreg is a key part of that, whether through cross-border, interregional, transnational or outermost regions cooperation. Their projects are extremely important, because they allow us to learn from each other, inspire each other. That’s real cooperation. 

In my region, Southern Denmark, we have a lot of cross-border cooperation with Germany in education, culture and other fields. 

If we mean something about cooperation in the EU, we must have Cohesion and Interreg programmes. They are essential. 

How do you see its role evolving over the next few years?

Over the next few years, it will be important to ensure that regional and local authorities remain fully involved in managing EU funds. Previous funding arrangements have shown that maintaining strong regional engagement is essential to the success of Interreg and Cohesion programmes. We are working to ensure that future funding structures provide clear opportunities for regional participation, so that local actors can continue to contribute to effective cross-border and transnational cooperation.

How do you think Interreg can support EU enlargement and help build good relations with neighbouring countries in the years ahead?

The countries with a long history of cooperation can teach new countries and give them ideas. Of course, new countries can also give us some perspective. We can learn from each other and help each other where needed. Interreg is a very good system for this, as it allows work across a variety of fields. Our imagination is the only limit. 

We can see it along the Danish-German border. A lot of German people living near the border work in Denmark, and vice versa. This was not always easy in terms of taxation and other matters. But now, with Interreg programmes, we have helped solve this type of problem.

Looking to the new EU budget period, what political or legal measures do you see as most important to make sure regions and cities keep a strong role in Interreg?

It’s important to ensure that regions and local authorities remain actively engaged in Interreg cooperation. In Southern Denmark, for example, legal provisions allow the region to continue this type of cooperation work. Preserving opportunities for regional participation across Europe will be key to ensuring that Interreg programmes continue to deliver tangible benefits.

The Committee of the Regions has also highlighted the need to strengthen the link between Interreg and regional cohesion programmes, especially through closer coordination among Member States, regions, and cities. In your view, what’s the best way to make that coordination work when designing future programmes?

It's difficult to see because Interreg depends on ideas from people. A strong idea about Interreg is that it works in a bottom-up way. We still need to have this bottom-up way of working and if other programmes can do that, it’s great, but that’s specific for Interreg and that’s how we can solve a lot of small problems that need to be fixed while they are small so that they don’t become big problems. 

Based on Denmark’s experience (and more broadly the Nordic–Baltic region) are there lessons or ways of cooperating that could inspire Interreg programmes in other parts of Europe? For example, any projects or networks that stand out?

What we have done, and I believe can be replicated elsewhere, is to start by focusing on the main common problem we want to tackle. We sit with our cooperation partners to decide on the main task and what we want to improve, whether it is on health, education or other areas. Then we share the idea with local actors, asking them to identify problems and suggest ways to address them. Only then do we consider how to finance it. It is very important that people in the field know they can access Interreg funds to help solve their issues.

If you could make one change in the next period to help Interreg deliver lasting benefits for regions and citizens, what would it be?

Bureaucracy. We need less bureaucracy because it can demotivate many people. Keep it simple. I know it has improved in the past few years but it can be better. There’s still too much paper. That is my wish. Of course, we need to ensure the money is used in the right way, but I trust people and I think we can do it better, simpler.