Brussels, 5 March 2022 (TDI): European Commission has suspended the cooperation with Russia and Belarus in the European Neighborhood Instrument Cross Border Cooperation (ENI CBC).
Likewise, the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programs were suspended by European Commission. Furthermore, it has been said that the effect of the suspension will be immediate.
We have suspended the cooperation with Russia and its ally Belarus in the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation programmes as well as in the Interreg Baltic Sea region programme.
The suspension has immediate effect.#StandWithUkraine
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) March 4, 2022
The European Commission continues to show solidarity with Ukraine and is trying to stop Russia. The European Union is using all possible sanctions to prevent Russia from launching a military offensive against Ukraine.
A recent EU press release announced that the EU was suspending its cooperation with Russia in these programs. The suspension is effective immediately for the nine ENI CBC programs involving Russia and Belarus.
The transnational program Interreg Baltic Sea region under the programming period 2014-2020 is also suspended. EU funding is €178 million for Eight Programmes with Russia and €257 million for two programs with Belarus.
The suspension was made under the rules of the ENI CBC. The rule allows suspension of cooperation with countries if they breach international law, human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law.
European Neighborhood Instrument Cross Border Cooperation (ENI CBC)
ENI CBC works with the EU’s external borders for economic and social development. They cooperate to face joint challenges of health, environment, crime, and movement of people.
Moreover, ENI CBC is sharing experiences to strengthen competitiveness in the border areas, the creation of international networks, and economic growth.
Interreg Baltic Sea Region
Interreg Baltic Sea Region is an EU funding program for the development of the Baltic region. Primarily, this program’s main objective is to foster cooperation among countries for a better accessible and sustainable Baltic Sea Region.
Furthermore, This program aims to enhance the integration among regional countries and their territorial development. The transnational cooperation and integration are done by various projects.
These projects address common key challenges and opportunities of the Baltic Sea Region. The Programme is divided into four priority axes:
- Capacity for innovation
- Efficient management of natural resources
- Sustainable transport
- Institutional capacity for macro-regional cooperation
In this way, Interreg Baltic Sea Region ensures that beneficial innovative projects are put into practice to improve the lives of all citizens around the Baltic Sea.
