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Themis Christophidou Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy European Commission [email protected] Ours 05.09.2023 no 11.1-13/23/2908-1 Updated Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027 - CCI 2021TC16RFCB043 Dear Ms Christophidou The European Commission suspended its cooperation programmes with Russia and Belarus on 4 March 2022. The Minister of Public Administration of Estonia stated in his letter on 26 April 2022, that the €1 863 180 of the Interreg IV-A NEXT Estonia-Russia programme 2021-2027 will be re- allocated to the Programme Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia 2021-2027. Therefore, the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027 had a discussion of the re-allocated budget and priorities in its meeting on 21 June 2023. There are several Interreg programmes with overlapping territory, activities and objectives. These include the Interreg Baltic Sea Region and Interreg Central Baltic Programme, that include North-East Estonia, which geographically matches the previous Estonia-Russia programme. Geographically the previous Estonia-Russia programme overlaps also with the Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027 as regards South-East Estonia. The Monitoring Committee took into account the focus of planned activities, potential target groups, as well as potential synergies and complementarities identified by both programmes. Hence the focus of the re-allocated budget and priorities is in smaller projects that are a perfect tool for bringing together local people and municipalities to give them possibility to strengthen the border area along the external border of the European Union. Likewise, tourism is one of the pre- requisites for wider development initiatives in the area, as the development of the tourism sector supports the improvement of the living environment and socio-economic situation of the region. Secondly, in order to increase the volume of tourism, efforts need to be made to improve the living environment, condition of tourism sites and their surrounding areas. On 29 August 2023 the Monitoring Committee decided to re-allocate the additional funding to the Priority Objective 1 (ISO1 (ii) and (iii)) and Priority Objective 4 (SO (vi)) of the Programme Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia 2021-2027. Lõkke 4 / 10122 Tallinn / 663 8200 / [email protected] / www.rtk.ee / Registrikood 70007340 It was highlighted during the Monitoring Committee meeting that the €300,000.00 limit for ISO1(ii) project activities is insufficient, and similarly, the consultations of the first call for proposals showed that the applicants are interested in larger projects. Five projects were submitted in the first call for proposals, which means that setting the target value to 10 strategies and action plans jointly developed and implemented, is already a challenge. The re-allocated funding of ISO1(ii) gives the programme an opportunity to finance additionally either two smaller projects or one bigger project. The Monitoring Committee agreed not to increase the target values of the Output Indicator and Result Indicator as the first call showed that ISO1 objective, its logic and Programme expectations are challenging for the applicants, and there are risks related to the achievement of the desired results. When amending the target values of Priority Objective 4 so(vi) enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development, social inclusion and social innovation, we took into account the experience of the first call for proposals, where we expected in total 7 projects, at least 1 pilot and 1 solution per project. However, as a result of the first call for proposals, the Monitoring Committee approved more than 29 pilots and cooperation between more than 46 organisations. Despite the fact that some pilots and solutions may fail, the Monitoring Committee agreed to correct the indicators. We are happy to inform you that the climate-related expenditure forms about 26% with the new allocation. We submit the Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027, updated and approved by the Monitoring Committee on 29 August 2023, for the review and approval of the European Commission. Yours sincerely, (signed digitally) Ege Ello Head of the Managing Authority Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme Grants Development Department c.c: Simona Pohlova, Deputy Head of INTERREG, Cross-Border Cooperation, Internal Borders Unit D.2, European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy, [email protected] Additional recipients: Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy European Commission Külli Kaare 663 1950 [email protected]