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CBC Funded AWARE project is co-organizing waste to value utilization knowledge building and student educating training camp / Hackathon named Trash Design, which is held at 1.-8.4.2022. The event is organized together by Digital & Circular Fashion House and AWARE projects. In the event, development challenges come from the companies and AWARE project, involved in the event. Participants receive recyclable materials to develop new utilization ideas. Trash Design is a way of thinking with a background and purpose based on the circular economy and the reduction of resource consumption. Above all, Trash Design is an open-minded re-use of materials and products and the ability to see rubbish as new material. As an example, in one of the challenges, the participants will be having a change to work with the problem area of re-use, collection and recycling of surplus textiles. Additional information about the event: https://events.savonia.fi/event/ZPP6J

The Branch Office in St. Petersburg is closed from the 1st of April 2022.In project related issues please contact [email protected]

The Branch Office in St. Petersburg is closed from the 1st of April 2022. In project related issues please contact [email protected]

Following the Russian military aggression on Ukraine and in line with the decision of the European Council to suspend cooperation..

Following the Russian military aggression on Ukraine and in line with the decision of the European Council to suspend cooperation with Russia and Belarus, on Tuesday 22 March 2022 a meeting was held in Brussels to explore ways to continue the implementation of concerned ENI CBC programmes. As a result, it was understood that the EU beneficiaries can carry on the project operations, whereas the activities and financial flows on the Russian and Belarusian side have to be suspended. Project partners will be contacted individually for more detailed information within few weeks.

The European Commission has suspended the Financing Agreements between the EC and the Russian Federation concerning the European Neighbourhood Instrument..

The European Commission has suspended the Financing Agreements between the EC and the Russian Federation concerning the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation programmes (ENI CBC). This means, among other things, that no further payments of programme funds to Russia will be made. This concerns payments from the Managing Authorities and money transfers from the Lead Partners in Finland. On March 22nd, the Managing Authorities of the programmes with Russia and Belarus will have a meeting with the European Commission about the practical consequences of the suspension.     After the meeting, the Managing Authority expects to be able to inform you about the schedules and eligibility of costs as well as about practicalities concerning the next steps with the implementation of projects and payments. The European Commission is searching for solutions to properly conclude planned activities on the EU side. The Managing Authority wants you to note that for the moment, the projects should not plan or carry out any major activities, like large events or investments, before clear guidance for proceeding can be provided. Also, projects should not apply for changes in the projects, because the MA is not able to proceed with change requests in this unclear situation.    In addition, the Managing Authority wants to underline that a prerequisite for any payments is, as until now, that costs and activities are reported (note that the EC decisions may affect the eligibility of costs). Please note also that the MA continues checking the reported and audited costs of Russian partners and keeps record of the unpaid amounts, even though the payments cannot be made for the moment.

European Commission has published news of suspending CBC programmes with Russia and Belarus. We will give more information to project..

European Commission has published news of suspending CBC programmes with Russia and Belarus. We will give more information to project partners as soon as possible. The European Commission announcement can be found here.

Current political situation has an impact to the implementation of CBC programmes even if the programmes are not directly under..

Current political situation has an impact to the implementation of CBC programmes even if the programmes are not directly under the sanctions set up by the European Council. European Commission recommends to suspend payments (advances or reimbursement) concerning the Russian partners, and the bans set to the Russian banking sector already largely prevent proceeding with payments. We wait for further EU decisions concerning the programmes implemented with Russia. We shall keep you informed about the developments and will provide you guidance as soon as we have more information to share.If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your project coordinator in the Managing Authority.

Kaakkois-Suomi – Venäjä 2021-2027 ohjelman ohjelmointikomitea piti 8. kokouksensa etäyhteyksin 21.2.2022. Kokouksessa ohjelmointikomitean jäsenille esiteltiin viimeisimmät tiedot uuden 2021-2027 ohjelmakauden..

On February 17, the Russian-Finnish Session in sharing experience "New technologies in the field of railway transport" was held. The organizers of the event were the SPbCCI, the Bringing Together CBC project, "Scientific Research Institute of Railway Transport" JSC  and the Center for the Corporate Accelerator of Start-up Projects of the "Russian Railways" JSC. Ludmila Karelina, Project Manager, vice president of the SPbCCI, welcomed the participants of the session and invited them to register on the Digital Platform of Cross-Border Cooperation of the Bringing Together project. Representatives of VNIIZHT shared their developments and the main directions of activities. From Finnish side were made of the speeches on topical issues of the industry development. Startup projects, which became finalists of the 2021 acceleration program of "Russian Railways" JSC, were also presented at the event. https://en.bringingtogether.ru/about/news/novosti_147.html

Eighth meeting of the Programming Committee (PC) of the South-East Finland – Russia 2021-2027 Programme was organised on-line on 21 February 2022.  The latest information regarding preparation of the regulative and legal processes, the Financing Agreement and financial allocations to the 2021-2027 Programme, including national financing, was presented to the PC members at the meeting. Among the main discussion topics was the content of the draft Programme Document, appropriate mechanisms to implement Partnership principle in the future programme, and the list of Large infrastructure projects proposals to be submitted as a supporting document along with the Programme Document.  The final Programme document drafts are expected to be submitted for the national approvals in Finland and in Russia in April-May. This is an important milestone of the new Programme. The Committee will meet again at the end of April 2022 to finalize the programming. The materials supporting the process of the South-East Finland – Russia 2021-2027 Programme  preparation are available at Programming material.

On 12 – 13 February 2022 the «Big City Lights» festival was successfully held at the innovation cluster of the Kirov Palace of Culture. The event was organized by the Committee for Tourism Development of Saint-Petersburg in cooperation with Non-Commercial Partnership “European-Russian InnoPartnership” and TeamCIS of Build The Earth project in the framework of the project “King's Road Renascence, new dimension and digital tools” (KS11135 King's Road Renascence), South-East Finland – Russia CBC Programme 2014-2020. During the two days of the festival, the participants had the opportunity to recreate in virtual mode touristic objects of St. Petersburg (the Kirov Palace of Culture, the Winter Palace, Nevsky Prospekt, St. Isaac's Cathedral, etc.) and the Leningrad Region (Vyborg Castle, the Saint Mary Magdalene Kirche  in Primorsk) using the world famous “Minecraft” game universe.

Futures Lab Logistics is a serie of workshops that aims to identify possible future changes and assess their potential impact on the logistics industry in the framework of Race4Scale project. SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS | 30.3. AT 12:00 (UTC+3) The Futures Lab Logistics starts with inspiring presentations from our speakers, Professor Heikki Liimatainen, D.Sc. and Adjunct Professor Ulla Tapaninen, PhD. You're welcome to join and listen to the presentations before the course students start their group work. More speakers will be revealed soon on the event website! THE FUTURES FAIR | 27.4. AT 12:00 TO 16:00 (UTC+3) Anyone is welcome to join and see the results of the workshop groups at the Futures Fair. Student groups will present the results of their work to the audience with the chance for open discussion and questions. Register to the event here: https://link.webropol.com/s/race4scalelogistics More information here: xamk.fi/futureslablogistics

On February 28, the final training session for Finnish participants of the Investment Mentors School pilot group will be held in the framework of the Bringing Together project. Event starts at 14:00 (Finnish time), the format is online and offline. The main theme of the event will be business mentoring. Issues such as the Finnish business mentoring system and support for business projects in Finland will be covered. The participants of the event will be presented with RoadMaps for developing a partner network for venture and investment projects, developed by specialists of the Bringing Together project. Contact persons for more information on participation: Mihail Kurvinen [email protected], Olga Oksanen [email protected]

On February 17, the Russian-Finnish Session in sharing experience "New technologies in the field of railway transport" will be held. The organizers of the event are the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bringing Together project, VNIIZHT and the Center for the Corporate Accelerator of Start-up Projects of JSC "Russian Railways". Participants will get acquainted with the priority areas of organizing work with innovative projects in Russia. Start-up projects that became finalists of the acceleration program of JSC "Russian Railways" in 2021 will be presented. The solutions by Finnish companies to improve the efficiency of rail transport and transport safety will also be considered. The event will be held in an online format (Zoom), the time of the event is 11:00-13:00 (Moscow time). If you are interested, please send an application for participation by e-mail [email protected] until February 15, specifying the full name and company name.

A new event, Fire and Ice will be held by the river Vuoksi in a few weeks. The event is part of the Visit Vuoksi project managed by the city of Imatra. The Fire and Ice event is a free winter event for the whole family. You can try snow sculpture, participate ice fishing competition, or admire the fire show among many other activities. The project develops sustainable use of Vuoksi in Finland and Russia. During the project, four Vuoksi events will be organized to test different ways and models of sustainable event management. Two winter events will be held in Imatra and two summer events in Losevo. One part of the sustainable event management is free public transportation. On February 26, it is possible to have a free bus ride to the event venue and also use public transportation for free elsewhere in the city of Imatra. More information: https://vuoksenkalastuspuisto.fi/tulta-ja-jaata-tapahtuma-26-2-2022/

On January 28, the solemn presentation of certificates to participants of the Investment Mentors School pilot group was held within the framework of the Bringing Together project at the SPbCCI. Ludmila Karelina, Project Manager, vice president of the SPbCCI, welcomed the participants of the training and expressed hope for continued cooperation, including on the upcoming competition of projects and ideas. Anna Isakova, Director of the SPb State Company "Investment Management", author of one of the lectures of the Investment Mentors School, congratulated the participants on the successful completion of the course and wished them further success. The participants of the pilot group presented their organizations, shared their impressions about the training, thanked the authors and developers of the course, and also expressed suggestions and wishes for its development.

On the 2nd of February 2022, an exhibition on the CBC project Shore protection opens at Galleria Pihatto, Lappeenranta. At the exhibition, you can, for example, feel a mire, enjoy nature photos, and explore the travel diary from a canoe adventure at Hiitolanjoki. Titled “From Ladoga to Saimaa”, the exhibition presents the Shore protection project activities both from Finland and Russia, through photo exhibition, as well as other visual materials, including an expedition canoe with all necessary equipment. Tummuneva art production, made by Teemu Lehmusruusu with his workgroup, is also presented. Shore protection project is a two-year SEFR CBC project, funded by the EU, Finland and Russian Federation. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation is the lead partner of the project and the Hiitolanjoki Association from Finland and NGO Neo Eco Project, Komarov Botanical Institute, Priozersk municipality and the Directorate of protected areas of Leningrad region are partners in the pr

The Managing Authorities of the Karelia, Kolarctic and South-East Finland – Russia CBC programmes are procuring an evaluation of five border crossing point development projects implemented by the programmes. The performance of the evaluation shall be based on the service contract between the Managing Authorities and the winner of this tendering. The procurement of the service shall be implemented based on tendering open until 25.2.2022. In addition to the website of each of the Programmes, the tender announcement is published at Hilma (public procurement). All the tendering documents can be found here.

Ohjelmakäsikirjan täysi versio 0.5 on julkaistu. Se sisältää tietoa muutoksista koskien hankkeiden enimmäiskestoa ja myöntämiskriteereitä, sekä pidennetyistä määräajoista tukisopimuksien laatimiseen..

Hanna KailastoDirector of Strategy, Media and Communications UnitCentre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Southeast Finland From expert to vantage point over cross-border cooperation Hanna Kailasto has extensive work experience both in the public and private sectors, and where the strategic approaches are relevant. Last five years her responsibilities have been connected in supervising strategical management and communications unit in the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Southeast Finland (ELY-Centre). The experience and ability she can utilize in her current position has been built over the years as an expert in the Association of Finnish Technical Traders, Wholesale Business Service and the Road Administration of South-East Finland District. During 2012-2014, on-site on her official position in the ELY-Centre Kailasto worked as a specialist and development manager in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, where she was responsible for tasks related to the Northern Growth Zone and the development of a new transport policy in co-operation with the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and the regions.  Close involvement in the preparation of the AVI - ELY -strategy has built her expertise in strategical work and familiarized her with the activities of the ministries guiding the ELY-Centre. “I have been pleased to continue this work for the past year as chair of the Climate Group of Strategy Managers”, notes Hanna Kailasto, Director of Strategy, Media and Communications Unit from ELY-Centre, with great interest and broad experience on different operations having impacts on climate change. As of 2004, her work has also touched upon the cooperation between Russian Federation and Finland, and the versatile networks and memberships have provided her with excellent opportunities to take part.  ”Getting to know each other is very important basis for good cooperation. It opens up a whole new level of dialog and increases understanding. It is very important to get to know each other's culture, because through it the effectiveness and efficiency of cooperation can be improved”, highlights Hanna Kailasto acting currently as the member of the CBC 2014-2020 Joint Monitoring Committee and 2021-2027 Programming Committee for the South-East Finland – Russia Programme.   The ELY-Centre participates actively in cross-border cooperation SEVIRA (Project website) and Cycling (Project website) projects are good examples of the Finnish-Russian cross-border cooperation, and ELY-Centre as a partner, has been able to support their implementation. In addition, the organisation having a vital role as the regional governmental official in environment, traffic planning and development operations, is partner in some Large Infrastructure Projects funded by the Programme. Cycling event across the Finnish-Russian border was a memorable experience of cross-border cooperation for the participants. The projects also make a great contribution to sustainable development and help to promote information of the climate change. These are objectives that should also be included in the projects of the next programming period.  ELY-Centre, as an active organisation, considers the overall effectiveness of the Programme very high and highlights its promotion now and in the future by all means. Also, from the Finnish perspective, the long-term relations and cooperation with Russia are important and political challenges should be kept away from the crass root and local activities, which benefits to the wellbeing of people. "The means to increase the dialog and finding consistent tools, such as the initiative of the Advisory Group proposed for the future South-East Finland – Russia programme, are more than welcomed”, comments Hanna Kailasto and considers the stakeholders’ cooperation very important in bringing the projects’ results to life even after they have ended. Versatile and multi-channel communication is the key element and the personal contacts of key personnel with various parties are also very important. “Hopefully, the covid pandemic shall calm down and face-to-face meetings could take place again, so that issues related to the transition period between two programmes could be addressed properly”, wishes Hanna Kailasto, with the rest of us in the Programme administration.  Pawing way towards 2021-2027 period by learning from the best practices It is very important to analyze what has been learned from the collaboration, and to consider, what are the key new issues and how they can be addressed. While there exist many similarities in different programmes, benchmarking as a tool to find the best practices can be very beneficial. In this sense, it is good that the collaboration between the programmes is well recognized and implemented already in many ways. This gives a solid ground for the future.  Hanna Kailasto wishes to send her regards and heartfelt thanks to both Finnish and Russian partners, and the European Commission representatives for their fruitful cooperation. “And also, many thanks to the representatives of the Managing Authority and its Branch Office for the excellent and long-lasting promotion of cross-border cooperation”.  Editor: Sari Loisa

Programme Manual full version 0.5 is published. It includes updated information of the criteria for the maximum duration of the projects, and the extended deadlines for contracting and closing of the project actions. Full version 0.5 replaces the previously published versions. These updates follow the decisions taken by the Joint Monitoring Committee and addressing the procedures agreed in the Joint Operational Document complying with the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/879 on specific provisions for the implementation of programmes as well as funded projects. Download new manual and its translations here: MATERIAL FOR PROJECTS

BIM-ICE project press release The Public Procurement Committee of St. Petersburg in collaboration with the Government of the Ivanov Region and Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU) has organized the 4th International Forum of Contract Relations. This time the Forum has been organized online on Zoom platfrom and has gathered more than 500 participants representing construction companies, regional and local committees, universities and government bodies. The topics discussed not only covered the new regulations and their specifics in the procurement sector, but also implementing BIM in construction and design. One of the reports in the BIM section has been presented by Iurii Stolbikhin, BIM-ICE Porject Deputy Manager, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Municipal Services of SPbGASU. Iurii has presented the BIM-ICE Project and its current state and introduced possible cooperation spheres and roles for the construction companies. Contact: Svetlana Petrova Email: [email protected] Telephone: +7 898 1194 3094