Today, at the closing of the “EU Opportunity Week” in Niš, during which certificates were awarded to nine grant winners in the second call for the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Serbia–North Macedonia 2016–2020, worth EUR 2 million, Minister of European Integration Tanja Miščević pointed out that the goal was to showcase to citizens in the best possible way all the opportunities for participation in projects that greatly benefit them, achieved in cooperation with the EU.
She also announced a new call for cross-border cooperation projects between Serbia and North Macedonia in various fields, from environmental protection to rural tourism.
Tanja Miščević and North Macedonia’s Deputy Minister for Local Self-Government Erdjan Selimi pointed out that the implementation of projects in the previous two calls had reached 96% and 98%, adding that it provided a solid foundation for continuing the projects.
“That is also the reason to request additional funds from the EU,” said Tanja Miščević.
Head of the EU Delegation to Belgrade Emanuele Giaufret stated that no one worked for Serbia as much as the EU did and announced that through the Growth Plan, Serbia would receive EUR 1.5 billion over the next three years through reforms.
“This is our shared future,” Giaufret emphasised, adding that the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans would secure Serbia’s EU membership.
Mayor of Niš Dragoslav Pavlović, who hosted the closing ceremony of the “EU Opportunity Week,” expressed his gratitude to both the state and the EU for their support, highlighting that Niš was becoming increasingly popular with investors.
Among the grant certificate recipients were the Educational Centre Leskovac for the project “Coaching for Employment and Entrepreneurship” and the Secondary School “Svetozar Krstić-Toza” from Vučje for the project “Rural Tourism – a New Perspective of Youth Mobility.”
The Centre for Knowledge Management from Skopje received a certificate for the project “Opportunity4You,” and Kumanovo’s Water Supply Company received one for the project “Strengthening International Relations Between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia with a Common Goal of Improving the Environment.”
Additionally, recognition was also given to the public utility company Piša Lipkovo for the project “Flood Prevention – From Risk to Benefit,” and the Kriva Palanka Municipality for the project “Land of Legends,” Medveđa Municipality for the project “Green Energy – Encouraging Social Entrepreneurship by Establishing Pilot Energy Cooperatives in the Cross-Border Region,” and Saraj Municipality for the project “Saraj and Lebane Together for Green Tourism – GREEN TOUR.”
The Association of Business Women in Serbia was awarded a certificate for the project “Bridging the Gender and Age Gap in the Labour Market through Capacity Building and Promotion of New Job Opportunities in the Cross-Border Region – CBC job Gender and Age Equalizer.”
Source: FoNet
