Programme

In brief 

Interreg–IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary–Serbia (Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary- Serbia) is an initiative within the 2014-2020 European Union financial framework, under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).

The Programme was approved by the European Commission by its decision C(2015) 9488 on December 15, 2015.  It relies on the Regulation (EC) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 447/2014 (IPA II Implementing Regulation).  

On the basis of “shared management system" of the participating countries – Hungary and Serbia, the Programme funds and supports co-operation projects of non-profit organizations located in the Programme-eligible area, including Hungarian NUTS III level counties Csongrád and Bács-Kiskun, and Serbian NUTS III equivalent regions: West Bačka, North Bačka, South Bačka, North Banat, Central Banat, South Banat and Srem. 

Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia is the fourth generation of the cross-border cooperation programmes in the Hungary-Serbia border region. Operating under the slogan “Good Neighbours Creating Common Future”, the Programme supports the development of a stable and co-operating region and the overall quality of life in the border region. It enables economic collaboration of organizations from the two countries, nurtures the common identity, and cultural and historical heritage of the border region, and contributes to its environmental sustainability and safety.  As such, Interreg–IPA CBC Hungary–Serbia may be perceived as a progression of the previous Hungary-Serbia IPA Cross-border Co-operation programme, implemented within the 2007-2013 EU financial framework. 

Detailed information about the Hungary-Serbia IPA Cross-border Co-operation Programme is available on the programme’s website. 

The overview of the features of the 2007-2013 programme and description of the implemented projects within the programme is available within the publication the Project Catalogue. Additionally, examples of successfully implemented projects and good cooperation were presented in the publication the Examples of Good Cooperation.

Understanding the Programme’s Name

Interreg, also known as the European Territorial Cooperation, is the EU policy encouraging the EU regions to work together and learn from one another through joint programmes, projects and networks aimed at reducing disparities between regions, reinforcing cohesion and supporting optimal economic development by addressing issues of daily life, such as transport, education, energy, healthcare and environmental protection.
Interreg applies three EU policy instruments:

• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – supporting cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation programmes involving Member states;
• Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) – supporting cooperation between the EU regions and countries and pre-accession countries;
• European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) – supporting cooperation between EU regions and regions of EU external neighbours.

Detailed information about Interreg may be found on its website: www.interreg.eu. 

IPA – Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance is an EU policy instrument supporting cooperation between the EU regions and countries – Hungary in this case and pre-accession countries – Serbia in this case. IPA addresses five policy areas:

1. Reforms in preparation for Union membership and related institution-and capacity-building; 
2. Socio-economic and regional development; 
3. Employment, social policies, education, promotion of gender equality, and human resources development; 
4. Agriculture and rural development; 
5. Regional and territorial cooperation. 

 
EU candidate countries, including Serbia, are eligible for all five components of IPA.

Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) component has the objective of promoting good neighbourly relations, fostering stability, security and prosperity in the mutual interest of the two partnering countries, and of encouraging their harmonic, balanced and sustainable development.

Hungary – Serbia border region – the Programme area covers the following counties (administratively referred to as NUTS III level or equivalent) in the Hungary-Serbia border region: Csongrád and Bács-Kiskun counties in Hungary, West Bačka, North Bačka, South Bačka, North Banat, Central Banat, South Banat and Srem districts in Serbia. Detailed analysis of the Programme area is available in the Cooperation Programme.

Important features of the Programme

The Lead Beneficiary principle
The Lead Beneficiary principle is a basic requirement in all operations financed from the Programme. The project is represented by the Lead Beneficiary, acting as the only direct contact between the project and the joint management bodies of the Programme. It is the responsibility of the Lead Beneficiary to create a well working consortium among the project partners based on a partnership agreement.

Cross-border Impact
In order to have joint projects with real cross-border effect, projects partners from both sides of the border must be involved. Projects have to be planned and implemented according to the joint cooperation criteria: joint planning, joint staffing, joint financing and joint implementation of projects. Project results should have impact on both sides of the border.

Public Procurement
The public procurement in the whole area of the cross-border Programme, both on Hungarian and Serbian territory will be carried out according to the contract procedures for the EU external actions.

Infographics about the Programme

• What is in the Programme's Name?
• Overview of the Programme
• Project Life
• The Key Steps to a Successful Project
• Project Implementation

The Programme area includes the following NUTS III level (or equivalent) regions in the two countries:

• In Hungary: Csongrád, and Bács-Kiskun counties; 
• In Serbia: West Bačka, North Bačka, North Banat, South Bačka, Middle Banat, South Banat, and Srem counties. 

Long-term objectives

The long-term and overall aim of the Programme is the harmonized development of the region with intensified economic cooperation through sustainable use of natural and cultural resources. 

Specific Objectives

In order to achieve this overall aim the following five specific objectives were defined:

• Decreasing environmental risks (e.g. drought, flood, hail) and preventing negative effects on quality of water bodies and nature protected areas;
• Increasing the capacities of border crossing and the connected transport lines through promoting development of road transport and use of sustainable transport modes (public transport, bicycle, water transport);
• Creation of commonly coordinated cross-border tourism destinations based on the complementary local assets in order to ensure sustainable development of tourism potentials;
• Promoting co-operation activities in the field of culture, leisure, sport, and nature protection;
• Enforcing the growth capabilities and employment potential of SMEs through the development and adaptation of new technologies, processes, products or services (not open within the Strategic Call for Proposals). 

These specific objectives are to be achieved through the following four Priority Axes:

• PA 1: Improving cross-border water management and risk prevention systems;
• PA 2: Decreasing the bottlenecks of cross-border traffic
• PA 3: Encouraging cooperation in tourism and cultural heritage preservation;
• PA 4: Enhancing SMEs’ economic competitiveness through innovation-driven development. 

Additionally, the Programme includes the Priority Axis 5 – PA 5 - Technical Assistance, which is not a subject of Calls for Proposals, as it provides funding exclusively for the management of the Programme. 

The Strategic Call for Proposals includes only the first three Priority Axes (PA 1, PA 2, and PA 3).

The Programme’s Priority Axes are defined through Thematic Priorities (TP), which conform to the EU, national and regional level strategic documents. When selecting the thematic priorities, Hungary and Serbia sought to achieve coherence between their development programmes related to the cross-border region, with a high focus on possible synergies and overlapping development areas. Also through a bilateral understanding, the Programme supports and contributes to the objectives defined in EU, national and regional level strategic papers. Thus, the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia Programme applies the following Thematic Priorities, in line with Europe 2020, a ten-year strategy of the European Commission aimed to advance the EU’s economy through greater coordination of national and European policies: 

• TP2: Protecting the environment and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation, risk prevention and management; 
• TP3: Promoting sustainable transport and improving public infrastructures; 
• TP4: Encouraging tourism and cultural and natural heritage; 
• TP7: Enhancing competitiveness, the business environment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, trade and investment. 

Expected impacts

• Harmonized and sustainable water management system in the cross-border region. Water management activities organized in a better way, improved water management systems and the flood prevention function of canals and rivers providing better quality and safer environment for the inhabitants and creating favourable conditions for economic activities, (e.g. water and eco- active tourism).
• The development of border crossings making the daily travel of the commuters to their workplaces on the other side of the border easier. Parallel with better conditions of border crossing, the improved public transport services can also improve the cross-border labour mobility.
• Positive changes are expected on the labour market through an increased business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) interactions generating more jobs and employment opportunities.
• Improved support services to ensure sustainability of the development process. Increased use of clean and green technologies as well as technologies which decrease the industrial and chemical pollution and thus lead to improved air quality. Launch of education and training programmes tailored in the context of promoting environment protection and sustainable development.

The long term overall aim of the Programme is the facilitation of a harmonic and cooperating region with a sustainable and safe environment, where the common cultural and natural heritage is successfully managed together and the opportunities of economy and culture are extended by increased business, educational, research and cultural relations, resulting in the creation of jobs, and the isolating effects of the Schengen external border situation are minimised.

The total EU contribution to the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia programme (ERDF/IPA-Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) is 65,124,000 EUR. Taking into consideration the national counterpart (including also the own contribution of project partners), the total budget of Programme is 76,616,474 EUR.

Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

The Programme imposes a set of eligibility criteria for potential Applicants concerning their legal status, their geographical location and their professional and financial background.

• Eligible applicants are non-profit organizations governed by public or private law for the purposes of public interest (except for the state-owned road building companies);

• Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the proposed project activities both from a professional and financial point of view and may not act as intermediaries;  

• Applicants have to prove an operation of at least one year, counted back from the day of the submission of the application; 

• As a general rule, applicants have to have their headquarters in Hungary or Serbia, and their headquarters or a regional/local branch office has to be registered and acting in the eligible Programme area (NUTS 3, or equivalent regions covered by the Programme); 

• In case the Applicants do not have registered headquarters in the Programme area, they must have the local branch office which must act as the Applicant and in case of contracting it shall be the Lead Beneficiary / Beneficiary and its staff must be involved in project management; 

• In case the applicants do not have registered headquarters in the Programme area and its local branch is not a legal entity, then the national/regional organisation must be the Applicant and in case of contracting it must be the Lead Beneficiary / Beneficiary, and its Project must have a cross-border character and the organization’s staff must implement the project activities in the Programme area;

• Applicants must possess relevant previous cross-border cooperation professional experience and must prove their financial and administrative capacity to manage the relevant project parts;

• Applicants must possess proper project management experience corresponding to the scale of funding requested in their Application form.

Detailed information on eligibility for Applicants is available in the Guidelines for Applicants for each Call for Proposals.

Programme bodies 

• European Commission (EC) is a donor of the IPA funds (Community contribution), establishing the IPA regulations.
• Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) supervises and monitors the Programme implementation, and it is responsible for project selection. Its operations are regulated by the Rules of Procedures of the JMC.

The JMC is composed of the following institutions:

Voting members from Hungary:

1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in the role of the Hungarian National Authority
2. Bács-Kiskun County,
3. Csongrád-Csanád County,
4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
5. Ministry of Technology and Industry
6. Prime Minister's Office
7. Ministry of Agriculture
8. Ministry of Interior

Voting members from the Republic of Serbia:

1. Ministry of European Integration, Government of the Republic of Serbia, Serbian National Authority
2. Government of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina,
3. Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities,
4. Ministry of Internal Affairs,
5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
6. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
7. Ministry of Economy,
8. Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications,
9. Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure
10. Ministry of Environmental Protection

Observers in the JMC:

1. European Commission
2. Ministry of European Integration (Serbia)
3. CSEMETE Nature and Environment Protection Association, Hungary
4. Social Cooperation of Bácsalmás
5. Secretariat of Ministerial Commssioner for the Danube Region Strategy, Minstry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
6. Governmental Audit Office of EU Funds (Serbia)
7. Ministry of Human and minority rights and Social dialogue (Serbia)
8. Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Serbia)
9. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
   Budapest Danube Contact Point
10. Hungarian State Treasury – Certifying Authority
11. Directorate General for Audit of European Funds – Audit Authority
12. Széchenyi Programme Office - Hungary

• Managing Authority (MA) is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Hungary. The MA bears the overall responsibility for the management and implementation of the Programme towards the European Commission. However, it is directly supported by the Joint Secretariat (JS), and may delegate certain tasks to SZPO, the hosting institution of the JS. 
• National Authorities (NA) are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy State Secretariat for International Affairs in Hungary and the Ministry of European Integration (MEI) of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. The NAs represent the participating countries in the Programme – Hungary and Serbia respectively. They bear responsibility – among others – for setting up the control system in order to validate the expenditures at national level and for ensuring national state co-financing. Moreover, the National Authorities are responsible for investigation of suspicion of irregularities, declaration of irregularities and handling of irregularities. 
• Certifying Authority (CA) is the Directorate of EU Assistance of the Hungarian State Treasury. The Certifying Authority’s main task is drawing up certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment and submitting them to the European Commission.
• Audit Authority (AA) is the Directorate General for Audit of European Funds (EUTAF) in Hungary. This body, functionally independent from the Managing Authority and the Certifying Authority, is responsible for verifying the effective functioning of the management and control system. The work of the AA is assisted by the Group of Auditors. 
• Joint Secretariat (JS) assists the Programme bodies – MA, CA, AA, JMC and NAs in carrying out their respective duties.  The JS provides assistance to potential applicants, and by keeping the regular contact with Lead Beneficiaries of contracted projects, it supports efficient project implementation in both sides of the border. The JS is set up within Széchenyi Programme Office Non-profit LLC (SZPO), as a hosting institution on the basis of a contract with the MA, and has members in Budapest and Szeged in Hungary.
• Joint Secretariat Antenna (JS Antenna) contributes to the implementation of tasks delegated to the JS. The JS Antenna is set up in Subotica, Serbia in order to ensure a geographically balanced implementation of the Programme through serving applicants’ needs in the Serbian border area as well. 
• Control Bodies (CB) are set up by each partner state, and the responsible control body of each partner state checks the invoices or accounting documents submitted by the Beneficiaries on the territory of the controller, and verifies on-the-spot the delivery of the products and services co-financed, the soundness of the expenditure declared, and the compliance of such expenditure and related (parts) of projects with relevant EU- and national rules.

Detailed descriptions of the roles of the Programme Bodies may be found in the document Cooperation Programme. 

Three Calls for Proposals are planned within the Programme.

The first call – Strategic Call for Proposals, which is intended for the projects of strategic value for the Programme area, encompasses three Priority Axes: PA 1 (Improving the cross-border water management and risk prevention systems), PA 2 (Decreasing the bottlenecks of cross-border traffic), and PA 3 (Encouraging tourism and cultural heritage cooperation).

The remaining two Calls for Proposals are intended for a broader range of Applicants and activities, compared to the Strategic Call, and they include four Priority Axes: PA 1 (Improving the cross-border water management and risk prevention systems), PA 2 (Decreasing the bottlenecks of cross-border traffic), PA 3 (Encouraging tourism and cultural heritage cooperation), and PA 4 (Enhancing SMEs’ economic competitiveness through innovation driven development).

Information about the current Call for Proposals and the related documentation package are available on the page Call for Proposals. 

The Managing Authority for the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia is committed to maintain high legal, ethical and moral standards, to adhere to the principles of integrity, objectivity and honesty and wishes to be seen as opposed to fraud and corruption in the way that it conducts its business. All members of staff of the Programme’s management bodies share this commitment. 

The objective of this policy is to promote a culture which deters fraudulent activity and to facilitate the prevention and detection of fraud and the development of procedures which will aid in the investigation of fraud and related offences and which will ensure that such cases are dealt with timely and appropriately.
 
The term fraud is commonly used to describe a wide range of misconducts including theft, corruption, embezzlement, bribery, forgery, misrepresentation, collusion, money laundering and concealment of material facts. It often involves the use of deception to make a personal gain for oneself, a connected person or a third party, or a loss for another – intention is the key element that distinguishes fraud from irregularity. Fraud does not just have a potential financial impact, but it can cause damage to the reputation of an organisation responsible for managing funds effectively and efficiently. 

This is of particular importance for a public organisation responsible for the management of EU funds. Corruption is the abuse of power for private gain. Conflict of interests exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the official functions of a person are compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other shared interest.

The Managing Authority has procedures in place for reporting fraud, both internally and to the European Anti-Fraud Office and contacts the OLAF Coordination Office of the National Tax and Customs Office as well. 

The Managing Authority has a zero tolerance policy to fraud and corruption, and has in place a control system that is designed to prevent and detect, as far as is practicable, acts of fraud and correct their impact, should they occur. 

Frauds can be reported to OLAF under the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/contacts/fraud-reporting-form_hu. 

All Programme-related documents may be obtained from the web page Downloads. 

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2022

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2022 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2020.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2022, we invite you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2022.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2021

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2021 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2021.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2021, we invite you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2021.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2020

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2020 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2020.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2020, we invite you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2020.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2019

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2019 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2019.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2019, we encourage you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2019.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2018

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2018 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2018.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2018, we encourage you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2018.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2017 

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2017 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2017.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2017, we encourage you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2017.

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2016 

Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2016 of the Interreg-IPA CBC Hungary-Serbia provides a detailed overview of the activities implemented within the Programme by the end of 2016.

For a brief overview of the implemented activities by the end of 2016, we encourage you to check out the Citizens' Summary of the Annual Implementation Report (AIR) 2016.

PROJECT TENDER PROCEDURES

Instructions for project-related procurement announcements on the Programme’s website

According to the Eligibility Rules of Expenditures document, it is recommended to Beneficiaries to have current project-related tender announcements published on the Programme’s website.  Having tender information published on the Programme’s website has indisputable benefits for the Beneficiary and the project itself. It ensures transparency and it may result in a bigger number of received offers, and thus increase chances of selecting a high-quality offer.

Beneficiaries should publish their tender announcements on their own website and provide their Programme Manager from the Joint Secretariat with the information needed for having the tender information published on the Programme’s website.

The following are the expected steps a Beneficiary is required to take for having the announcement published on the Programme’s website:

1. In case the Beneficiary has already chosen three or more companies to invite to participate in the tender, the whole tender package needs to accessible from the Beneficiary’s and the Programme’s websites on the day of launching the procedure, meaning, when the Beneficiary sends out the tender package to the previously chosen companies, using the appropriate documentation. To have the tender package published on the Programme’s website on the same day of the launch of the tender procedure, the Beneficiary is required to provide the Joint Secretariat with the key information about it, including the deadline for tender submission, and a link to the application package – at least three days before launching the procedure. The Joint Secretariat will publish the received information on the day of launching.
2. In case the Beneficiary has not yet chosen any companies to invite to participate in the tender, or would like to give the opportunity to more companies that may be interested in participating, only the key information needs to be sent to the Joint Secretariat, along with the deadline for expressing interest and email address where such information needs to be sent to (without a link to the final tender package). At the time of launching of the tender, the Beneficiary should invite each company that expressed their interest to participate in the procedure, by sending the tender package to them. The same steps apply in case the Beneficiary has already chosen companies to invite. However, before launching the procedure the list with these companies should be extended by including those that expressed their interest.

It is the Beneficiary’s obligation in both of these cases to evaluate all received offers, which arrived on time and with the requested data on the envelope, even if the company was not directly invited, because all received tender offers should be considered valid.

Concerning the key information of a procurement procedure, the following data* need to be sent to the respective Programme Manager of the Joint Secretariat via e-mail at least three days before launching a tender:

Project ID: 

Project Title:

Beneficiary responsible for the Tender:

Subject of the Tender: 

Type of procedure:

Link to the tender dossier [in case 1 it is a must]:

Deadline for submission of tenders [in case 1 it is a must]:

Deadline for expressing interest [in case 2 it is a must]:

Contact e-mail:

*These categories are available in Hungarian and Serbian on the respective web pages of this text.

Sending the above-listed information three days prior the launch of the tender procedure should not present a burden to the Beneficiaries, since these are basic pieces of information, available at the time of preparation of the tender documentation.

In case of any questions regarding publishing of a tender procedure, Beneficiaries are advised to contact the Joint Secretariat.

Please note that the content of the project tender announcements posted on the website is the sole responsibility of the project and the Beneficiary in charge of the tender procedure.

The Partner states Hungary and Serbia along with the Programming Committee, including the Joint Secretariat of the running programme, are working together on the programming for the next iteration of the cross-border cooperation programme between Hungary and Serbia. Here are all the basic documents produced during this joint effort.

Territorial Analysis of the next Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia programme.

Interreg-IPA-CBC HU-SRB Territorial analysis.pdf

"Do no significant harm" Report for the next Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia programme.

DNSH Report for the Interreg VI-A IPA HU-SRB

Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme for the period 2021-2027 in three languages:

Interreg VI-A IPA HU-SRB - Strategic Environmental Assessment - Eng.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA HU-SRB - Strategic Environmental Assessment - Hu.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA HU-SRB - Strategic Environmental Assessment -Srb.pdf

The Programming Committee has approved the Interreg Programme (IP) document for the Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme that was submitted to the EC on 01 April 2022. You can find the IP in three languages below:

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme-Eng.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme-Hu.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme-Srb.pdf

You can read below the minutes of the programming committee meetings:

1. Programming Committee meeting – 7 November 2019, Beograd

• Minutes (English)

2. Programming Committee meeting – 17 September 2020, online

• Minutes (English)

3. Programming Committee meeting - 22 March 2021, online

• Minutes (English)

4. Programming Committee meeting - 17 June 2021, online

• Minutes (English)

5. Programming Committee meeting - 18 November 2021, online

• Minutes (English)

After minor corrections, ultimately, the European Commission has approved this version of the Interreg Programme on 14 October 2022 :

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme_HU.pdf

Interreg VI-A IPA Hungary Serbia Programme_SRB.pdf