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Dear Lead Partners,

We would kindly bring to your attention the following two competitions launched by the European Commission:

Regio Stars 2015 competition

The European Commission launched the RegioStars 2015 competition – the eighth annual award – for the most inspiring and innovative regional development projects co-funded by the EU's Structural Funds, which will be presented on 13 October 2015 during the Week of European Regions and Cities (OPEN DAYS) in Brussels.

The Award Categories for 2015 are:

• Smart Growth: Unleashing SME growth potential for a digital economy
• Sustainable Growth: Mobilizing investments in energy efficiency for the benefit of citizens and society
• Inclusive Growth: Integrating in society those at risk of social exclusion
• CityStar: Transforming cities for future challenges.

For the 2015 awards, the selected finalists will be invited to attend the RegioStars 2015 Awards Ceremony which will take place in October 2015 in the frame of the OPEN DAYS. A trophy and a "RegioStars Winner certificate" will be presented to the winning projects by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu and the President of the RegioStars Awards jury. A short video is also produced on each winning project, which can be used for promotional purposes.

The Managing Authority’s deadline for sending in the most innovative projects to the European Commission is 28 February 2015. Interested Lead Beneficiaries of the HURO Programme should submit their application form (English version) until 23 February 2015, to the Joint Technical Secretariat: jts@huro-cbc.eu.

For further information, and the application forms see: http://goo.gl/nrT30b.

Interreg 25 Years:  Love without borders competition

Kicking off the 25 year celebrations is DG Regio's Valentine's Challenge: the EU Love Without Borders Competition: have you got a great love story to share?

This year, DG Regio has something special in store to mark Valentine's Day, aiming, at the same time, to promote co-operation across borders and regions, and create a buzz around the 25th anniversary of Interreg - the EU's Regional Policy programme for territorial cooperation.

Share your tales of how romance overcame obstacles across European borders (be it cultural, political, linguistic, administrative, geographical, logistical, etc…) and win a romantic stay for 2 in a hotel in the Mosel region.

To participate in the competition submit your story (a photo and a caption of maximum 100 words) by 15 March 2015 by email to REGIO-EULWB-COMPETITION@ec.europa.eu.

Click here for more details and the competition timeline.

We invite you to pass around this information within your region!