The first call for EUSBSR Priority Area Coordinators and Horizontal Action Coordinators support applications (to the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme) was closed on 19 February 2015. At its meeting on 28-29 April 2015 in Stockholm, the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region granted funds to the Priority Area Coordinators and Horizontal Action Coordinators of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region to their support tasks related to role as a coordinator/leader of a thematic area set in the Action Plan of the Strategy. 18 Priority Areas and Horizontal Actions (PA/HA) will receive in total 1.66 million EUR ERDF co-financing. The funds will support PAC/HAL coordination work, e.g. their cooperation with the member states, flagship leaders, as well as will help define and implement the priority area/horizontal action targets and indicators.

Interreg Baltic Sea Region takes an active part in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR, the Strategy) and its Action Plan. For the funding period 2014-2020 the thematic priorities 1-3 of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region have been aligned with the objectives of the Strategy to maximise the synergies and leverage effects on other financing sources in the programme areas. The Interreg Baltic Sea Region offers support to the Strategy implementation for example by financing flagship projects and their preparation (seed money support).

In addition, in this funding period the programme provides direct support to the coordination activities of the macro-regional cooperation. The support is provided through the thematic priority 4 ‘Institutional capacity for macro-regional cooperation’ and its specific objective 4.2 “Coordination of macro-regional cooperation” in particular. The Programme support aims at increasing the capacity of public administrations and pan-Baltic organisations for transnational coordination in implementing the EUSBSR. The Programme provides support to the Priority Area Coordinators and Horizontal Action Coordinators of the EUSBSR, as well as supports the Strategy Forums and other communication activities.