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DELEGATION OF OSIJEK-BARANJA COUNTY IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE AP VOJVODINA

The Vice-President of the Assembly of the AP Vojvodina, Sándor Egeresi received the Delegation of the Osijek-Baranja County which visited Novi Sad at the invitation of the Secretariat for International and Regional Cooperation of the Executive Council of the AP Vojvodina. The Delegation was headed by the Deputy County Prefect, Mile Horvat, Director of the Regional Development Agency of the Osijek-Baranja County, Stjepan Ribiĉ, Project Manager Gordana Stojanoviĉ, Executive Manager Branka Kaselj and Programme Director of the Centre for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights, Nikoleta Poljak.

They talked about establishing cooperation within the regional project titled “National Minorities in Creation of Civil Society”, with which the Secretariat for International and Regional Cooperation will apply for investment incentives of EU funds.

Partners are: the Danube Bureau, Kanjiža Municipality and NGO “Development Project Group” from Rumenka, while foreign partners include two non-governmental, non-profit organisations from Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants of the meeting also discussed the issue of establishing the Regional Development Forum. Forming of the Forum was initiated by the Secretariat for International and Regional Cooperation of the Executive Council of the AP Vojvodina, for the purpose of establishing long-term regional cooperation. The Forum would include development agencies from the West Balkan countries and neighbouring countries which are members of the European Union: Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia. The Forum should be formed during the first half of the current year.

The Vice-President of the Assembly of the AP Vojvodina, Sándor Egeresi pointed out enhancement of cooperation with countries from the region, as one of objectives of the Provincial Administration. Mr. Egeresi stressed out that during the past period, Vojvodina had participated in a number of significant European projects, above all through the Danube Bureau, which had been established upon the initiative of the Provincial Assembly. He introduced the guests with the initiative for establishing the Danube Region which should have economic, apart from political significance for the members of the region and he emphasised participation of the non-governmental sector in this initiative as the most important thing.

The Deputy County Prefect, Mile Horvat said that Administration of the Osijek-Baranja County wanted to cooperate with Vojvodina and that two regions could successfully apply for financial resources before the European Union funds. Mr. Horvat also added that Vojvodina should establish cooperation with the Regional Development Agency of the Osijek-Baranja County. This agency realised 49 projects worth 22 million Euros, it cooperates with 11 countries, out of which 9 are members of the EU. According to the Director of the Regional Development Agency, Stjepan Ribiĉ, within the IPA programme of cross-border cooperation, 6 million Euros were envisaged for projects in the field of socio-economic development, environmental protection, while the Agency wants to apply for those funds together with Vojvodina, within the field of regional cooperation.

The Vice-President Sándor Egeresi and the Deputy County Prefect, Mile Horvat agreed to prepare proposals of cooperation agreement in both regions, which would be signed in three months. The Agreement would define fields of cooperation and projects with which they will jointly apply for funds of EU funds.