The operation Common strategy on cross-border and inter-regional development in the field of Culture in Central Europe (STRATCULT) focuses on the stimulation of cross-border cultural activities and improving the efficiency of cultural Structural Funds projects. Although cultural activities account for about 2.8 % of total Structural Fund expenditure, results of cross-border cultural projects tend to be of minor visibility. Many cross-border cultural projects are, in reality, not planned in a cross-border context, leading to unbalanced project development and implementation and inefficient spending of Structural Funds. Furthermore, selection criteria, quality criteria and output indicators for cultural Structural Funds projects are only partly adapted to the specific needs of cross-border and inter-regional cultural co-operation. STRATCULT aims to stimulate cultural Structural Fund projects in Border Regions and beyond. Through a new strategic approach, the operation wants to improve the quality of cultural projects and enhance the effectiveness of Structural Fund interventions. Furthermore, it aims to contribute to a smoother enlargement process by enhancing the capacities of project partners, facilitating the transfer of information on good practice (based on a Europe-wide evaluation of culture-related Structural Fund projects) and addressing the economic gap between new and old Member States in the specific context of cultural cross-border and inter-regional co-operation (e. g. export problems of artistic and cultural goods and services linked to differences in price levels). To reach these goals, partners in Central Europe (Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic) and Finland will establish a model of how co-operation and strategic and long-term planning procedures can be realized inter-regionally in an efficient way. Based on comparable data on a European level (gathered through the operation), the final output will be a Common Strategy for cross-border and inter-regional cultural co-operation in Central Europe, a long-term plan for co-operation in the field of culture and Structural Funds within an inter-regional setting, and a set of specific follow-up pilot projects.