The Alpine Space is considered as one of the most attractive areas for living, working and recreating throughout Europe. However, some geographic and economic preconditions are less advantageous if compared to those of other European regions. Therefore, in order to overcome the disadvantages of location factors and to promote the Alpine Space as a dynamic economic region in Europe, projects are called for achieving the following objectives:

• strengthening innovation capabilities of SMEs, creating appropriate environments for their development and fostering stable cooperation between R&TD centers and SMEs;
• enhancing development options based on traditional sectors and cultural heritage, as well as on emerging sectors at transnational level;
• strengthening the role of urban areas as engines for sustainable development;
• strengthening rural-urban relations and the development of peripheral areas.
  
  

How should this be achieved?

Through the submission of high quality projects supporting:

• clusters generation and the strengthen of the key economic branches;
• the development of pilot initiatives for technology transfers;
• the setting up of joint actions dealing with valorization of cultural heritage;
• the development of production chains based on regional products or joint quality labels for key economic branches;
• the promotion of integrated tourism systems.

The list is not exhaustive. For more details please check the Operational  Programme.

Priority 2 Accessibility and Connectivity
Priority 3 Environment and Risk Prevention