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Interview with Mayor of Guldborgsund Municipality

When you face pressing global challenges, it is almost a natural step to join forces with your neighbours to find a common solution to meeting the needs of citizens across the whole Baltic Sea region. Simon Hansen, Mayor of the Danish Guldborgsund Municipality, describes how taking part in transnational projects funded by Interreg Baltic Sea Region helped his city to make urban mobility greener and to advance urban social innovation ultimately improving the lives of its residents.

Interview with Deputy Mayor of Tartu

Joining the Interreg community isn’t just about receiving funding to transform your smart idea into reality, but also building long-term connections with key partners from all over our region. Raimond Tamm, Deputy Mayor of the Estonian city of Tartu, will present to us what his city achieved by taking part in transnational projects funded by Interreg Baltic Sea Region. Enjoy this journey in the Interreg world.

Low-carbon mobility solutions to green our future

In line with the EU’s climate neutrality target, Interreg Baltic Sea Region supported several initiatives tackling the diverse challenges faced by the Baltic Sea region’s transport sector. We united our efforts to make our region more accessible, better connected and less polluted, ultimately improving the overall mobility experience in the area while protecting the environment. Read how Interreg Go LNG, BSR electric and Sohjoa Baltic have contributed to green mobility and innovation in transport sectors in the region.

Highlights of my IVY journey on the shores of the Baltic Sea

More than 540 volunteers aged 18-30 have joined the Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) initiative since March 2017 to experience and learn about cross-border, transnational or interregional programmes and projects. One of them is Luca Arfini, a young Italian passionate about communication. Read what it meant for him working as an Interreg Reporter at the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat (MA/JS) of Interreg Baltic Sea Region.

How water-smart ideas make the Baltic Sea region thrive

From a rich marine life to beautiful vacation places, the Baltic Sea offers numerous resources that can be exploited to boost the economic growth of the region without harming its ecosystem. Interreg Baltic Sea Region funded multiple cooperation projects that have contributed to a sustainable and innovative blue economy. Good and successful examples of smart blue initiatives include ALLIANCE, Baltic Blue Growth, Capacity4MSP and Blue Platform.

Cooperation as the key to a climate-neutral Baltic Sea region

A common challenge for the countries in the Baltic Sea region is how to produce green and climate-neutral energy. In fact, as much as 75% of the EU greenhouse gas emissions still come from energy use and production. Cooperation and sharing good practices in Interreg projects, such as LowTEMP, Baltic Integrid and Area 21, can be a game-changer in accelerating the energy transition in the region.

“The most effective thing for solving the climate crisis is to adopt better policies and to hold the biggest polluters accountable” – Ecosprinter

Bas Eickhout is a Member of the European Parliament for the Greens since 2009. Currently, he is the deputy chairman of the Greens–European Free Alliance group, as well as the vice-chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, and a member of the Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China.

"Sports has played a massive part in my life", Mr Abid Raja, Norway’s Minister of Culture & Equality

Luca Arfini, a young communications professional from Italy, has started a new series of interviews with high-level figures involved in sports and in its promotion across Europe. The first one to be interviewed is Mr Abid Raja, Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality.

Abid Raja was born in Norway but has Pakistani origins; he was one of the first persons in Norwegian politics with a minority background to be nominated at such high-level position.

Interview with MEP Ska Keller

JEF Brussels Secretary-General Luca Arfini interviewed Ska Keller, co-president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and former Spitzenkandidat in both the 2014 and 2019 European Parliament elections. In a role as co-chair for her group, she is a member of the Conference of Presidents, or rather the governing body within the Parliament. She has been working at the EU level since the age of 27 when she was elected for the first time as an MEP.

Damian Boeselager MEP: “Our goal is the development of a European parliamentary democracy.”

The New Federalist interviewed Damian Boeselager, a co-founder of ‘Volt Europa’ who now sits as the party’s only MEP. He is a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and of the Delegation for relations with Canada.
JEF Brussels Secretary-General Luca Arfini sat down with him to discuss how he started his political career, the main challenges he had to face when founding Volt and his plans for the 2019-24 term.
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