A conference on the signing of contracts for the projects approved in the first call within INTERREG IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Croatia−Serbia 2014−2020 was held today in Novi Sad, in the Assembly of AP Vojvodina.
The speakers on the conference were Ognjen Bjelić, of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Mihajlo Dašić, from the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, Kristina Bilić, Assistant Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia, and Stella Arneri, Head of the Managing Authority for the Programme and Acting Director of the Agency for Regional Development of the Republic of Croatia.
Mihajilo Dašić from the Ministry of European Integration noted that "Serbia's membership in the EU is a strategic goal of our country, and it can only be achieved with the support and consensus of all citizens on this issue. The values we share with our European partners are best promoted through Territorial Cooperation Programmes − through cooperation, while retaining our peculiarities and working on what is common to us all."
Dašić concluded that today's conference on the signing of project contracts shows, in a practical way, how the partnership of the Government of Serbia and local self-governments with the European Union works with regard to the implementation of projects important for the citizens, the region and our country as a whole.
INTERREG IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Croatia−Serbia for the period 2014−2020 has been approved by the European Commission. The total value of the Programme amounts to EUR 40.3 million, of which EUR 34.6 million has been allocated from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II). These funds will be used to finance joint projects of Serbian and Croatian partners with a view to strengthening economic cooperation in the border programme area and contributing to its development. The priority areas of cooperation are: improving the quality of social and health services, environmental protection, tourism, and development of small and medium enterprises.
