The Monitoring Committee of the Programme during its meeting on 30 October 2023 has approved for funding 34 projects, and will allocate up to 15,524 mln. EUR of ERDF co-funding.
To see the list of Decisions of the Meeting please click here.
It was decided to launch Second Call for Proposals from 2nd April 2024 to 21 June 2024.
The 1st call for project proposals attracted a total of 96 applications, reflecting the strong interest and demand for ERDF co-financing. The lead partners of all submitted applications can expect to receive formal decision notifications in November.
Approved projects by Programme priorities
| Number of projects | Total ERDF co-funding allocated to projects | |
| Priority 1. Capacity building and people-to-people cooperation | ||
| Specific objective 1.1 Other actions to support better cooperation governance | 6 projects | 1 400 731,62 EUR |
| Priority 2. Green, resilient and sustainable development | ||
| Specific objective 2.1 Promoting climate change adaptation and risk prevention and resilience taking into account ecosystem- based approaches | 4 projects | 2 231 829,58 EUR |
| Specific objective 2.2 Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution | 5 projects | 2 430 695,51 EUR |
| Priority 3. Fair and inclusive society | ||
| Specific objective 3.1 Promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of marginalized communities, low income households and disadvantaged groups, including people | 8 projects | 3 344 893,50 EUR |
| Priority 4. Economic potential of tourism and heritage | ||
| Specific objective 4.1 Enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development, social inclusion and social innovation | 11 projects | 6 116 652,33 EUR |
| Total | 34 projects | 15 524 802,54 EUR |
About the approved projects
The Latvia-Lithuania Programme has approved 34 cross-border cooperation projects all with the common goal of fostering development and collaboration within the region. These projects place a special emphasis on enhancing the quality of life, fostering economic growth, and promoting sustainability.
Under Programme Specific Objective 1.1, six projects have been approved, each focusing on capacity building and people-to-people cooperation. Projects like Colorful emotions, Together in Art, fit4future and LingoKey will bring together educators and students from diverse educational institutions in the cross-border region. They will foster mutual learning of music and art, Latvian and Lithuanian languages, as well as will integrate STEAM education method (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) and will develop skills needed for working with children with special needs. Two other projects aim at improving public services: Quality under control will aim at increasing capacities of the municipal employees, while ActiHealth aims to encourage residents of Daugavpils city and Akmenė district to engage in various physical, mental health, and healthy lifestyle activities.
Under Specific objective 2.1, four projects will focus on climate change adaptation and risk prevention. Projects PEATFIRE, FloodAdapt and Safe Response are expected to enhance the readiness of the Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia and Lithuania and local municipalities in the cross-border region to address climate-change-related disaster situations such as floods and fires. While, ICEREG will concentrate on improving knowledge required for the management of ice-jam flood risk.
Five projects will aim at protection of the environment within the Specific objective 2.2. LI-VE-RESP and SPPwelfare will work towards reducing antibiotic pollution resulting from animal husbandry and fish breeding. Municipalities in Biržai, Aizkraukle, Šilutė, and Kuldiga will also implement nature protection measures in their urban environments and raise environmental awareness within projects Safe and diverse and All about ponds. Green Stories will lead the way in innovative public environmental education and the protection of natural values in Aukštaitija National Park and Silene Nature Park.
Eight projects are set to address socioeconomic inclusion and the creation of new social services within Specific objective 3.1. Each of them strives to have a positive impact on such target groups as people with disabilities, children from disadvantaged families, and the elderly. One project, RE:IMPACT, plans to empower the regional social entrepreneurship ecosystem. Rowing4confidence and MultiMobile aim to expand social services by promoting synergy with an active lifestyle, such as providing rowing lessons for children with special needs and children from disadvantaged families, while also introducing digital social service provision in remote areas. Meanwhile, five projects, including Hand in Hand, ActiveAging, INO INCLUSION, INO-REHAB, and INCLUSIVE, focus on various social inclusion measures, such as fostering interaction among different target groups, promoting active and healthy aging, creating a sensory reading room, and introducing new solutions for social skills development and stress relief.
The bulk of the approved projects, a total of 11 applications, will focus on improving the economic potential of tourism and heritage within Specific objective 4.1. These projects cover diverse thematic fields. WaterWays and WaterTour projects aim to enhance the accessibility and attractiveness of water tourism by developing specific infrastructure on rivers and lakes. Furthermore, projects like Military Heritage II, Reclaimed History, and Historical Path UP will promote historical heritage through specific niche experiences. BIRDIE and Green Secrets will expand sustainable and green tourism opportunities. Park in the Dark and SnowPower will create new tourism offerings for low tourism seasons using modern technologies and infrastructure to attract tourists, while D-tour and Weekend in Village will promote craftsmanship as a preserver of cultural heritage by transforming it into a digital tourism product.
It is expected that the projects will start their activities in 3-4 months and will achieve their final results within two years.
