INTERREG IVA

The INTERREG IV Programme was a European Union supported Structural Funds Programme which aimed to promote greater territorial cohesion. The overall theme of the Programme was to strengthen and deepen cross border co-operation with an emphasis on supporting strategic plans and projects which would maximise the impact of the funds throughout the eligible area.

Building on the successes and lessons of previous INTERREG Programmes, the INTERREG IV Programme aimed to support strategic Programme co-operation for a more prosperous and sustainable region.

In particular, the Programme focused on developing a dynamic economy, supporting infrastructure and promoting innovative ways of addressing specific regional problems.

Previous INTERREG Programmes operated on a Northern Ireland/Ireland cross- border basis. Following a re-definition of maritime borders by the European Union, a distinctive aspect of this Programme was the inclusion of Western Scotland, and the opportunity to promote co-operation between Scotland/Ireland/Northern Ireland, as well as maintaining and enhancing the Northern Ireland/Ireland co-operation

The conditions of the grant required funded organisations to keep supporting documents available for a period of 5 years following the closure of the Programme.

At the time of formalising the text of the Conditions of Grant, it was anticipated that the Programme would close in 2015.  Therefore, projects were advised to plan to keep documents until 31st December 2020 at the earliest.

In the event, the INTERREG IV and PEACE III Programmes officially closed in 2017.  This means that projects funded by INTERREG IV and PEACE III should keep all original supporting documents in respect of their projects available until the end of 2022 (December 2022).

Please note:

• State aid rules may require a longer document retention period, beyond December 2022.  It is the responsibility of funding recipients to clarify and adhere to any state aid rules.
• Projects should continue to retain documents if they are subject to legal proceedings or have been notified to do so by the European Commission.
• Any longer archiving periods as required by national law remain unaffected.

 
In the absence of any longer archiving obligations applying to your institution, funding recipients may from 31/12/2022 on, remove from your archives any documents related to the PEACE III and Interreg IV project.

The SEUPB recommends that Lead Partners share this information also with your project partners.