Programme IT-CH

PROJECT

Since 1989, with the launch of INTERREG, European regions have been supported by European Union in their efforts to adapt  to the situation created by the integrated market  and have benefited from financial instruments aimed at strengthening the economic and social cohesion inside the Union.
For the Italian territories belonging to the  national border areas the CIP (Community Initiative Programme) INTERREG G IIIA  Italy- Switzerland was created: a way to enhance the cooperation between neighboring countries areas and a tool to fight the trend toward marginalization of border districts.
The area involved in the Programme includes the whole territory  of the Autonomous Region Valle d'Aosta; the provinces of Vercelli, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Biella and Novara for Piedmont; the provinces of Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio for Lombardy; the autonomous province of Bolzano and the Swiss cantons of Valais, Ticino and Graubünden.
It is a territory with a composite situation from the geographical, social, economic and institutional point of view. Therefore the European Commission wanted to aim for a balanced development including the creation of socio-economic transboundary poles, through sustainable development strategies able to lead to a qualified and lasting development in order to fight the marginalization and to strengthen the local institutions.
The program INTERREG 2007-2013 refers to three axes which consider these territorial needs:

  1. Environment and territory with the goals to promote and improve the joint management of the protection and enhancement of the prevention of natural and technological hazards.
  2. Competitiveness with the goals of promoting entrepreneurship and, in particular, the development and innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises for  tourism, culture and cross-border trade and the improvement of networks and services for sustainable transport.
  3. Quality of life with the goals of strengthening the common identity through the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and developping the ability to cooperate in the fields of communication, education, training and of the institutions.

PROGRAMME IT-CH

With its 700 km long, covering an area of ​​about 38,000 km2 and a population of 4,181,879 inhabitants, the territory between Italy and Switzerland involved in cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 is one of the external borders of the European Union and is located in a very central and strategic position ofEurope. The new program aims to activate projects to strengthen cooperation between the two sides developing the Lisbon priorities (making the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010) and Gothenburg (launching a European strategy for sustainable development).
The three priorities that the Programme 2007-2013 indicates for  the development of the projects are:

Priority 1: Environment and territory
Priority 2: Competitiveness
Priority 3: Quality of life

The program has been approved by  European Commission Decision 6556 of 20 December 2007 .
The areas eligible for the program are:  the provinces of Como, Lecco, Sondrio and Varese (Lombardy Region), the Provinces  of Vercelli, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola,  Biella and Novara (Piedmont Region), the Province of Bolzano, Region Valle d'Aosta and the three Swiss cantons of Ticino, Valais and Graubünden.
Are allowed to participate as adjacent areas  the provinces of Milan, Monza and Brianza, Bergamo, Brescia, Pavia (Lombardy Region), Turin and Alessandria (Piedmont Region).

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