EUR76.6 mil for projects in the border region
The European Union will finance a new cross-border cooperation (CBC) programme between Hungary and Serbia worth over EUR76.6 million in the coming period. Interreg-IPA Serbia-Hungary CBC Programme was officially launched on Friday, 7 October, at the conference held at the Congressional Hall of the Novi Sad Fair.
The Programme, funded through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance together with national partners, enables both Serbian and Hungarian non-profit organisations to implement joint projects in the border region. The goal of the cross-border cooperation is to improve infrastructure, promote economic cooperation and tourist offer, as well as foster the common cultural heritage and support sustainable development.
At the same time, today saw the official closure of the former programme which enabled the implementation of 204 projects to the tune of EUR50,1 million between Serbian and Hungarian non-profit organisations in the period from 2008 to today.
Hungarian PM’s Office Deputy State Secretary Zsigmond Perenyi said the previous Hungary-Serbia Interreg Programme was highly successful and reached fund utilisation of 98 per cent.
“This accounts for one of the highest percentages in the EU and we hope the newly launched Programme would once again bring important projects to Serbia. These have already been pinned down and we all know we need them,” Perenyi said.
Perenyi said the Calls for Proposals were ongoing and would be running for another five months and called SCOs and local self-governments to submit their proposals as soon as possible because Brussels ought to see “these funds are important and necessary to people who live here.“
Speaker of the Vojvodina Assembly Istvan Pastor said he was happy with the previous funding cycle as Vojvodina managed to withdraw more than EUR50 million.
“I believe we gained know-how, at both institutional and individual level, and can now take an optimistic look at the new opportunity,” Pastor said.
Assistant Director of the Serbian European Integration Office Sanda Simic, the Office in charge of the implementation of said programmes in Serbia, assessed previous cooperation with Hungary as excellent. She added that Serbia implemented such projects with Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria as well, whereas the preparation of a programme with Macedonia was under way.
Simic said the trans-national programmes covering large geographical areas were also ongoing – the Danube and the Adriatic-Ionian programmes.
“IPA funding plays a major role in EU candidate countries such as Serbia as the cooperation between the EU and non-EU countries facilitates the process of EU integration,“ said Sanda Simic.
Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia Programme is implemented within the 2014-2020 IPA financial framework under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.
The Programme fosters the development of a stable and cooperation-oriented region and aims to improve the overall quality of life in the border region.
Visit the Programme’s web-site for more information: interreg-ipa-husrb.com
