A conference on the announcement of the Second Call for Proposals within the IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Serbia–Montenegro 2014–2020 was held on 16 September in Podgorica. The conference was organised by the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia and the European Integration Office of Montenegro, with the support of the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Serbia–Montenegro 2014–2020.
The conference was opened by Ivana Glišević Đurović, Deputy Chief Negotiator and National IPA Coordinator of the Government of Montenegro, who emphasised the importance of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme between Serbia and Montenegro. The programme has been implemented since 2008, with 43 projected contracted so far through four public calls in the total value of EUR 9.6 million.
Mihajilo Dašić, Assistant Minister of European Integration in charge of cross-border and trans-national cooperation, also gave an address at the conference, noting that Serbia's and Montenegro's membership in the EU is a strategic goal of the two countries, which is achievable only through support and consensus of all citizens. Dašić stressed that the aim of these calls, which are realised within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, is not only to attract significant financial resources, but also to prepare non-EU countries for the use of European funds through the cohesion policy.
Alexandra Pesch, Project Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, concluded that cross-border cooperation programmes encouraged cooperation among people and invested into initiatives at the local level in small communities.
The Second Call for Proposals within the IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Serbia–Montenegro 2014–2020 was published on 12 September and it will be open until 27 December 2019. The objectives of the Call are the strengthening of social and cultural inclusion of vulnerable groups, and the improvement of capacities for using the tourist potentials of the programme area.
