15 events on both sides of the border organized by nine projects being implemented within the Programme will be open to public and free to attend
Budapest, 11 September 2019 – Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia, an EU co-financed initiative, will celebrate this year’s European Cooperation Day in September and early October, with 15 events organized by nine projects being implemented within this Programme.
With the goal to showcase what the cross-border cooperation between the two neighbouring countries represents and to raise awareness about the importance of the EU investments the region, the Joint Secretariat of the Programme invites the residents of the Hungary-Serbia border region and its visitors to join this year’s celebration.
The visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy free-of-charge art exhibitions, theatre shows for children, agricultural seminars, music festivals, fairs and much more. The detailed schedule of events is available on the Programme’s website.
The participating projects, which help preserve the cultural heritage of the Hungary-Serbia border region and increase its tourism potential, or improve the water management systems in the region, or enhance economic competitiveness of the small and medium enterprises, are the following: C-AGRO-Dev – “Cross-border Agrobusiness Development Program”, ColourCoop – “Colourful Cooperation”, CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”, Modern Folking – “Strengthening multicultural relations by youth events organization in the border region”, NATESS – “Natural selfness”, PLANTSVITA – “Development of soil type adapted microbiological products promoting ecological pest management”, PROTECT – “Nature Protection from Invasive Plant Species”, THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”, and WATERatRISK – “Improvement of drought and excess water monitoring for supporting water management and mitigation of risks related to extreme weather conditions”.
“Following the successful initiative we had last year, we decided to make our projects the focal point of the European Cooperation Day celebration this year, as well. Our goal is to help citizens better understand what the cross-border cooperation is all about and how important the EU investment in our region is. The project-hosted events will offer excellent opportunities to learn more about the common cultural heritage of the region, as well as about how common issues of the two countries in the domain of tourism and sports, agriculture, water management and entrepreneurship can be tackled through cross-border cooperation,” stated Viktor Tunić, Head of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia.
Through the Interreg-IPA CBC Programme Hungary-Serbia, the European Union currently supports 72 projects in the Hungary-Serbia border region which aim to improve the conditions in the areas of: water management, cross-border traffic, tourism and cultural heritage preservation, and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The number of such projects will grow, as the Third Call for Proposals is currently open.
The European Cooperation Day is an annual observance taking place on 21 September and the surrounding weeks to celebrate the achievements of territorial cooperation in different regions in Europe, including the neighbouring countries of the European Union.