The Interreg North West Europe Programme aims to make this geographical area a leading economic player and an attractive place to work and live, with high levels of innovation, sustainability and cohesion.

This programme is one of the instruments of the European cohesion policy and aims to harmonise the development of the territories of North-Western Europe by reducing the imbalances between regions. Integrated into the Europe 2020 strategy, the programme is part of a priority action plan of the European Union whose objective is to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. For the 2014-2020 programming period on which our ICaRE4Farms project depends, 4 Member States (Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom at the time), certain regions of France, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as a third country, Switzerland, are eligible. With €396 million of ERDF funding, the Interreg North West Europe programme has three main objectives: to improve innovation performance, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to optimise the use and re-use of raw materials and natural resources of this geographical area. The maximum co-financing reaches 60% of the total cost of the project selected under this programme and it allows partnerships composed of governmental bodies, civil society representatives, academic and scientific (research) institutions, business support bodies, enterprises and public environmental bodies.