The Alpine Convention and the Alpine Space Programme will participate in the Executive Board as observers. In case decisions have to be taken, they are made by consensus with one vote for each country delegation.
Alpine Convention
The Alpine Convention is an international treaty between the Alpine Countries (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia and Switzerland) as well as the EU, for the sustainable development and protection of the Alps.
The Alpine Conference is the political decision-making body of the Alpine Convention and consists of the Ministers of the Contracting Parties. Meetings of the Conference are normally held every two years in the Member State holding the Presidency of the Convention (one state holds the presidency for two years).
The Permanent Committee is the executive body of the Alpine Conference and ensures that the Convention’s decisions, principles and aims are out into practice. The Permanent Committee meets generally twice a year.
The Permanent Secretariat, established in 2003 with its main office in Innsbruck and a branch office in Bolzano/Bozen, provides support to the decision-making organs of the Convention, favors the exchange of experience and knowledge about the Alps and is in charge of public relations for the Alpine Convention.
Thematic Working Bodies are set up according to the current needs of the Convention. Their responsibility consists of developing new protocols, recommendations and implementing measures, study ongoing developments as well as reporting progress to the Alpine Conference and Permanent Committee. The Thematic Working Bodies are set for a two-year term and often work in subgroups for specific topics.
A specific Thematic Working Body for the EUSALP has facilitated the coordination of the contributions that the Alpine Convention provides for the Strategy.
Visit the group session
Website: www.alpconv.org
Alpine Space Programme
The Alpine Space programme is a European transnational cooperation programme for the Alpine region. It provides a framework to facilitate the cooperation between economic, social and environmental key players in seven Alpine countries, as well as between various institutional levels such as: academia, administration, business and innovation sector, and policy making.
The programme is financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as well as through national public and private co-funding of the Partner States. In the current programming period, 2014–2020, the programme is investing €139 million in projects through which key actors develop shared solutions for prevalent Alpine issues. The thematic fields of cooperation are predefined for each programming period of seven years, during which several calls for project proposals are launched.
At the start of each programming period, the Partner States collaborate with regional stakeholders to produce a new set of founding documents, which are then submitted to the European Commission, for review and approval. The final document, known as the “Cooperation Programme”, outlines the programme’s objectives and priorities.
Visit the group session
Alpine Space Projects and EUSALP: see all connected projects
Website: www.alpine-space.eu