The Programme Steering Committee (PSC) of the North-West Europe Programme decided at its last meeting (Belfast,16 and 17 June), to introduce some changes in the application procedureand it identified some thematic gaps

Improvements in the application procedure

• Make eligibility criteria more flexible. The Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) will have one week after the submission deadline to solve minor problems in the applications. To facilitate the procedure, project promoters are strongly encouraged to send their applications one week before the closure of each Call at the latest. The JTS can then come back to you to ask you to correct mistakes in the form.
  This rule will apply from Call 7 (open from 3 to24 September 2010). More details will be included in the  the updated Guidance Notes.

• Maximum of three submissions per project. In order to foster Application Form quality, the PSC agreed that one project will only be able to apply for funds three times (with the exception of projects declared ineligible). The rule will apply from Call 8 (spring 2011)

Gaps

The next Calls for proposals (including Call 7) will be open to the four priorities of the Programme, but there is a special interest in filling the following thematic gaps:

1. To use and improve territorial cooperation in order to strengthen the institutional and territorial framework for innovation and the transfer of knowledge within North-West Europe.(Measure 3 of priority 1)
2. To develop innovative approaches to the use of ICT in order to improve connectivity, including approaches aimed at reducing the need to travel and replacing physical mobility through virtual activity for both passenger mobility and freight transport. (Measure 3 of priority 3)
3. To promote a transnational and spatial approach to improving the quality of soil, water and air, to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and reduce noise pollution. (Measure 3 of priority 2)