Estonia-Russia Programme

Estonia-Russia Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) Programme 2014-2020 fosters cross-border cooperation between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation to raise the competitiveness and living standards on both sides of the common borders through joint actions.

The Programme will complement overall European Union – Russia relations focusing on the eligible border regions on both sides of the border.

The Programme will complement overall European Union – Russia relations focusing on the eligible border regions on both sides of the border.

The Programme area in Estonia covers Kirde-Eesti, Lõuna-Eesti, Kesk-Eesti regions and in Russia St.Petersburg, Pskov region and Leningad region. In addition the Programme area includes Põhja-Eesti (also Tallinn) in Estonia as an adjoining region.

Meetings of the Joint Monitoring Committee pave the way for Estonia-Russia Programme practical implementation

Meetings of the Joint Monitoring Committee pave the way for Estonia-Russia Programme practical implementation

The 1st meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme took place on 30-31 March 2016 in Narva-Jõesuu, Estonia. The whole set of important decisions and documents was adopted paving the way for practical implementation of the Programme, including: Annual Work Programme for implementation of the Programme for 2016, Technical Assistance budget for 2016 and for 2017-2023, key documents for developing Large Infrastructure Projects, establishment of the Joint Technical Secretariat and also elements of the Programme’s visual identity.

On 1-2 November 2016 the 2nd meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme was held in Rakvere, Estonia. During the meeting numerous documents required for the progress of the Programme were discussed.

Second meeting of the Joint Moniroring Committee in Rakvere, Estonia

Decision was made to approve the selected chapters of the Guidelines for the 1st Call for Proposals. The final approbation of the document will take place after signing the Financing Agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation. With the decision of the JMC the time limit for submission of Project Summary Forms for the first Call for proposals is predetermined from 17th January 2017 till 3rd April 2017. Next meeting of the JMC is planned to take place in June 2017 in Pskov, Russia.

During the first meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme in March 2016 the decision to establish the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) for the implementation of the Programme was taken. The JTS has started its functions in April 2016.

Main office of the JTS is located in Tartu, Estonia and hosted by Enterprise Estonia. Programme has two branch offices in Russia - in Pskov and St.Petersburg.

The JTS is responsible for day day-to-day management of the Programme and is the main contact point for applicants, beneficiaries and all others interested in the Programme. The tasks of the Joint Technical Secretariat are carried out in line with the CBC Implementation Rules under the responsibility of the Managing Authority, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia.

Joint Technical Secretariat of the Estonia-Russia Programme and the head of the Managing Authority of the Programme Ms Silja Lipp

1st Call for Proposals

The 1st Call for Proposals will be launched from 17th January 2017 until 3rd April 2017.

Available amount of funds for the Calls for proposals is 10 million EUR. Grant to the project may not exceed 90% of the total eligible costs of the project.

Thematic objectives of the 1st Call for proposals are:

• supports for business and SME development,
• environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaption,
• support to local and regional good governance.

To provide assistance to the Applicants, partners elaborating the application documents (Project Summary Form and Full Application Form) of the 1st Call for proposals of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme the Guidelines has been developed and approved by chapters by the Joint Monitoring Committee.

For the technical support for potential Applicants and partners the informational seminars will be organized in February 2017 in Pskov (Russia) and Viljandi (Estonia) as well the consultations on daily basis are ensured by the Joint Technical Secretariat. Guidelines and relevant documents for the preparation of the project summaries and full application forms are published on the Programme website.

Five Large Infrastructure Projects of Estonia-Russia CBC Programme are proposed for European Commission approval.

Joint Monitoring Committee of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme at the 2nd meeting held on 1-2 November 2016 in Rakvere, Estonia, decided to propose five Large Infrastructure Projects (LIPs) summaries what have been submitted to the Programme by 31 August 2016 for approval to the European Commission within the available Programme financing (approx. € 4 000 000 per project).

The LIPs identified by the Joint Programming Committee of the Programme are:

Räpina Harbour, Estonia

• Development of historical riverside protection area in Narva/Estonia and Ivangorod/Russia III stage /River Promenades III.
• Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Lake Peipsi area 2 / Common Peipsi 2.
• Complex reconstruction of border crossing points in Shumilkino (the Russian Federation) and in Luhamaa (the Republic of Estonia).
• Development of the unique Narva-Ivangorod trans-border fortresses ensemble as a single cultural and tourist object. 2nd stage.
• Improvement of the accessibility of the remote areas in South-East Estonia and Pskov region for traditional entrepreneurship and sustainable development / SME ACCESS.

Launching Event

More than 140 delegates from Estonia and Russia attended the Launching Event “New Chapter of CBC” of the Estonia-Russia CBC Programme 2014-2020 what was held on 22 November 2016 in Tartu, Estonia. The event was broadcasted via online streaming and you can follow the recording on our website until the 31 December 2016.

Event was opened by representatives of two countries - Mr Priidu Ristkok, the Ministry of Finance of Estonia presenting the history of the Programme development and steps done and Mr Ilya Subbotin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stressing the need for prioritizing sustainable results and importance of visibility of the Programme in the current Programme period.

During the conference new perspectives and opportunities for cross-border cooperation between the stakeholders from the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation were presented and discussed. The participants of the event were involved in different interactive entertaining to discover peculiarities of Estonia and Russia and their cooperation partners. Programme key requirements for the Call for Proposals were presented by the Joint Technical Secretariat.

The presentations delivered during the Launching Event can be downloaded on the Programme website here. Photo Gallery of the event can be visited here.

European Cooperation Day 2016 widely celebrated in three countries

European Cooperation Day (EC Day) celebrated by the Programme in Estonia, Latvia and Russia had put focus on raising awareness about environmental challenges among school children and general public at large.

EC Day celebration began on 17 September 2016, in Tartu Environmental Education Centre (TEEC). The event was officially opened by Ms Unda Ozolina, the Head of the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) of the Estonia-Russia Programme, Ms Dace Krupenko, Acting Head of the JTS of the Estonia-Latvia-Russia Programme, Ms Tiia Teppan, Vice-Mayor of Tartu, and Ms Piret Pungas-Kohv, a member of the board of TEEC. Throughout the day children had a chance to test their strength by joint apple juice making, participate in an adventure game with elements of hunting and other activities that promote environmentally friendly attitude. In the framework of the EC Day, an opening ceremony of the wooden xylophone took place in the park area of nature centre. The xylophone is made of various type of woods grown in Estonia, Latvia, and Russia symbolizing cooperation, where each wooden key sounds differently but together nice music can be produced.

Photo Gallery of the event can be visited here.

On 24 September 2016, a family day “Surrounded by Nature” was organised in Līgatne Nature Trails that offered opportunity to participate in creative educational workshops, explore characteristic landscapes and wild animals of Latvia. A range of enjoyable and memorable hands-on activities were delivered to teach children effectively about the outdoors and bring them closer to nature.

EC Day celebration activities were concluded on 5 October 2016 in a centre for youth creativity "Zerkalnij" in Leningrad region, Russia where more than 150 school children and 37 teachers gathered for a nature education camp. The event was opened by Ms Dace Krupenko, Acting Head and Mr Sergey Balanev, Information Manager of the JTS of Estonia-Latvia-Russia Programme, Ms Veronica Spiridonova, representative of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, and Ms Yulia Danilova, a member of the Commission on Education and Education of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. For teachers a workshop on instrumental methods of studying wildlife was organized. This workshop introduced teachers with such tools as mobile education centre, various online programmes, materials and applications for smart phones and tablets. In a meanwhile, school children were able to join diverse games and educational tasks on the topic of the Baltic Sea. Lecture-quiz “Secrets of the Baltic Sea” and game “Sea that is close” made them work closely together in order to find the correct answers and win the competition. At any time during the event children had a chance to join workshops and drawing master classes.

Photo Gallery of the event can be visited here.

This year the ECDay activities were organised in a close cooperation with Estonia-Russia Programme 2014-2020, Estonia-Latvia-Russia Programme 2007-2013 and the project "Promoting nature education as efficient mean of awareness raising" that have been supported by the Estonia-Latvia-Russia Programme. The main aim of this trilateral project was to raise public awareness of nature, raising the profile of conservation issue.