INTERREG-IPA CBC Bulgaria – Turkey Programme 2014-2020 - Objectives

The Interreg - IPA CBC Bulgaria – Turkey Programme is designed in the framework of the European strategy for a smart, inclusive and sustainable growth and the relevant national strategic documents.

Smart growth is fostered amongst others through cooperation measure in the field of environment and low-carbon economy, as well as through activities in the field of tourism (measures in the area of natural and cultural heritage). In addition, strengthening the region’s capacity, improving research and competitiveness and promoting R&D are regarded as cross-cutting issues for synergies with the selected thematic priorities of the Programme. Sustainable growth, sustainable use of resources, is directly tackled by the Programme’s priority axis 1 “Environment”, covering the preservation of the environment as one of the most important assets of the area as well as disaster management, depicting a typical cross-border issue of major relevance for the area; sustainable development is therefore one of the main principles of the CBC Programme. A strong relation to inclusive growth can be observed in priority axis 2 “Sustainable Tourism” aiming at capitalising the region’s natural, cultural and historical heritage.

The overall objective of the Programme is to strengthen the Bulgaria-Turkey cross-border cooperation capacity in the field of nature protection and sustainable tourism, leading to enhancement of European territorial cohesion.