Special European Union Programmes Body

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Special EU Programs Body / Foras Um Chláir Speisialta An AE This is one of the six originally planned cross border/All Ireland/North South Implementation bodies set up following the Good Friday Agreement. Its functions are proscribed in law (British Irish Agreement Act 1999, annex I, part 2)[1]. It is sponsored by the Department of Finance in Ireland and the Department of Finance and Personnel in the North. It reports to the North/South Ministerial Council / NSMC.

Its mission is: "To develop co-operation, understanding and action between people and organisations in Ireland and Northern Ireland through consultation and the implementation of EU social, economic, reconciliation and cultural programmes."

Its website www.seupb.eu follows the convention of the cross border bodies of using neither .ie or .co/org.uk addresses, instead using .eu or .com to avoid alienating either community. The body manages the EU Programs for Peace and Reconcilliation, as of 2008, known as PEACE III, as well as being involved in other programs such as LEADER+, INTERREG IV A, URBAN II and EQUAL, that have a cross border element. While headquartered in Belfast it has two regional offices, one in Omagh (PEACE Program) and one in Monaghan (INTERREG etc).

2008 marks the beginning of the next chapter of both the PEACE and INTERREG programs moving from ii to iii (2 to 3) and iii to iv (3 to 4) respectively. The EU's PEACE III initiative (the EU program for peace and reconcilliation in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland) will provide Euro333 Million over the course of 2008-2013. INTERREG IV meanwhile will provide Euro256 Million over the same period and for the first time will include not just Ireland North and South but also Western Scotland.