Interreg POCTEFA (Spain – France – Andorra)

Description

The Spain-France-Andorra (POCTEFA 2014-2020) cooperation program aims to promote and co-finance cooperation projects carried out by French, Spanish and Andorran socio-economic agents located in the eligible cross-border area. It constitutes the fifth generation of financial support for the promotion of economic and social integration projects in this cross-border area. This European financial support offers new opportunities for cooperation between institutions and agents from both sides of the Pyrenees.

The program improves the life of the population living in the cross-border area. One of the stakes is to enhance local, regional or interregional strategies to a cross-border scale by fostering exchanges and common knowledge. The financed projects are acting on both sides of the frontier and are preserving the territory resources.

The POCTEFA 2014-2020 is organized in calls for projects. Throughout each one of them, the actors of the territory interested in developing cross-border projects that fall into the cooperation zone must submit their candidatures to the Program. Once presented, the Program managing authority chooses the projects that suit the requirements of the territory and the proposal criteria. These projects will then be programmed and would be eligible for co-financing from the ERDF.

The cooperation zone unites these areas :

• Spain: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba / Álava, Navarra, La Rioja, Huesca, Zaragoza, Lleida, Girona, Barcelona et Tarragona
• France : Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales
• Andorra : the entire territory

All these areas are eligible-except for Andorra which is not a UE member-  to receive the ERDF.

This Program is organized in five strategic axis:

1. Research and Innovation: in order to strengthen the innovative capacity of the cross-border region as well as to increase cross-border cooperation between SMEs and the research and development sector.
2. Climate change: to promote adaptation to climate change as well as prevention and risk management.
3. Environment and resource efficiency: to enhance the protection, valorization and sustainable use of local resources.
4. Sustainable transport: to improve the mobility of people and goods
5. Employment and mobility: to reinforce the local professional potential in order to promote employability in the territories.

Throughout the previous program, POCTEFA 2007-2013, 152 projects were undertaken thanks to the 168 million euros with which this European cooperation tool was equipped.

For the current period 2024-2020, 173 projects have been programmed for a global budget of 177 million Euros.