‘Isolation’ may be the word of 2020, but Europe remains defined by its spirit of community. The second edition of 'This is Europe' podcast focuses on 'Neighbours', after the first episode featured a project from Interreg Baltic Sea Region on 'Green Europe'. It comes with stories from across the EU of collaboration, friendship, and neighbourliness. In this episode, Shahidha Bari hears from members of the Interreg community who are working together, across borders, to shape the future of the EU, and establish meaningful connections with their European neighbours.

As many as 50 applications have been submitted in the second seed money call, covering a wide range of ideas for projects that could contribute to saving the sea, connecting the region and increasing prosperity, the three main objectives of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

People in the countryside release too many nutrients to the environment through their waste water because it is often not purified effectively. This problem was overlooked for many years. The Interreg project Village waters set out to make proper cleaning of waste water common practice across the rural areas around the Baltic Sea. In this interview, the project managers explain why they started the project and what they achieved.

Cooperation in health care proves to be an elementary need and an expression of mutual assistance in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interreg Baltic Sea Region has been supporting several initiatives which trigger the exchange of good practices across borders to improve various aspects of the health care systems in the Baltic Sea region. They could be of help to local and regional authorities when overcoming short and long-term consequences of the current crisis.