South East Europe Programme 2007-2013
The transnational cooperation has a considerable tradition in the Danube area, reaching back to 1996 with the CADSES Programme. This was followed by CADSES II until 2007, when the South-East Europe Programme (SEE) was set up with some geographical adjustments. This can be considered as a direct predecessor of the Danube Transnational Programme.
The SEE aimed to improve integration and competitiveness in an area as complex and diverse as the area of the Danube Transnational Programme. Taking the positive and appreciated experiences as a proof, one can state that it succeeded. They became best practices and were also considered for the future. One of the earliest examples of success is the decision made to support the maintenance in the DTP of the integrated management system for IPA II and ENI funds established within SEE.
The SEE involved 16 participating countries, out of which several are not a part of Danube Transnational Programme but continue their cooperation in the frame of Adriatic-Ionian programme (Albania, Greece, Italy) and Balkan-Mediterranean (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). In the Danube Transnational Programme, the German Länder of Baden-Württemberg and Bayern and the Czech Republic are included, compared to the previous SEE.
The SEE addressed four major priority axes: Innovation, Environment, Accessibility and Sustainable Growth. The success of the programme is emphasised by the large number of projects financed – 122, most of them being based on large partnerships of ten or more organisations. This number shows that beyond the complexity of the programme area, there is a strong need and will for cooperation on transnational level in the region. The Danube programme grasps these cooperation energies and channel them towards the strategic objectives drawn on EU and macro-regional level. The doors knocked by the SEE can be opened by the Danube Transnational Programme through capitalising the results achieved and the cooperation initialised.
More information about the South East Europe Programme: http://www.southeast-europe.net
Outputs library with the results produced by the 122 SEE projects: http://www.southeast-europe.net/en/achievements/outputs_library/
