PRIORITY AXIS 1: FACILITATION OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Although competitiveness and innovation is present in every debate on regional development policies, South East Europe is rarely associated with those two terms. However, the cooperation area is undergoing fundamental changes in economic and production patterns after the 1990 changes. Some regions, especially capital cities are adapting well to the new challenges, others are trying to re-orientate themselves to find the right strategies for catching the opportunities of the global market.The objective of this Priority Axis is fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, the knowledge economy and to enhance integration and economic relations in the cooperation area.

This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

AoI 1.1: Develop technology and innovation networks in specific fields

AoI 1.2: Develop the enabling environment for innovative entrepreneurship

AoI 1.3: Enhance the framework conditions and pave the way for innovation

PRIORITY AXIS 2: PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Environment is one of the basic pillars of the EU Cohesion Policy as defined in the Gothenburg Priorities, underlining the environmental dimension of the EU interventions and the need for protection and enhancement of environmental resources as a pre-condition for sustainable growth. South East Europe is characterised by rich biodiversity and various landscapes but it is also heavily affected by industrialisation.The objective of this Priority Axis is to override the constraints imposed by national barriers, to foresee future environmental threats and opportunities and to develop common transnational action for the protection of nature and humans within the SEE.

This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

AoI 2.1: Improve integrated water management and flood risk prevention

AoI 2.2: Improve prevention of environmental risks

AoI 2.3: Promote cooperation in management of natural assets and protected areas

AoI 2.4: Promote energy and resource efficiency

PRIORITY AXIS 3: IMPROVEMENT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY

Accessibility is considered to be one of the prime requirements for economic development and growth and finally for territorial cohesion. It facilitates the movement and interaction of people and the exchange of goods and ideas . All these aspects are of immense importance in South Eastern Europe.
Existing networks in South East Europe are in most cases heavily fragmented or face inwards mainly serving single states and regions. In most cases these networks are of inferior quality, with a high congestion of existing infrastructure but without the development of viable alternatives, and cannot cope with the constant increase in transport needs. The objective of this priority axis is to promote physical and virtual accessibility to the programme area.

This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

AoI 3.1: Improve co-ordination in promoting, planning and operation for primary and secondary transportation networks

AoI 3.2: Develop strategies to tackle the "digital divide"

AoI 3.3: Improve framework conditions for multi-modal platforms

PRIORITY AXIS 4: DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSNATIONAL SYNERGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AREAS

The development of transnational synergies for sustainable growth areas focus on the future development of South East Europe. To encourage South East Europe to become a place of sustainable and polycentric development of metropolitan areas and regional settlement systems this Priority facilitates the development and implementation of integrated strategies for metropolitan areas and regional systems of settlements, working towards optimal polycentric structures in the programme area and the use of cultural values for sustainable development. The objective of this Priority Axis is to take different forms of preventive measures and development factors, showing a specific cross-sectoral character strongly interlinking economic, environmental, social and governance issues in sustainable urban and regional settlement development.

This objective will be achieved through the following Areas of Intervention (AoI):

AoI 4.1: Tackling crucial problems affecting metropolitan areas and regional systems of settlements

AoI 4.2: Promoting a balanced pattern of attractive and accessible growth areas

AoI 4.3: Promoting the use of cultural values for development.