At the final conference of the Interreg IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2014-2020, entitled “Shaping the future together” which was held on 12 December in Podgorica, Montenegro, with the participation of representatives of all three countries of the ProgramFme area, the results achieved during financial period 2014-2020 were presented.
Opening the conference, State Secretary in the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia, Domagoj Mikulić, congratulated all beneficiaries on the results achieved and emphasized that the implemented projects helped improve infrastructure, increase economic activity and create new jobs in the cross-border area.
“Joint efforts in the implementation of the Programme have significantly contributed to raising the quality of life in this cross-border area by responding to local needs and challenges. Interreg programmes unite one of the core values of the EU: cooperation between people, regions and countries. Our participation in Interreg programmes is extremely important for regional development, but also for the establishment of good neighborly relations,” stressed Mikulić.
In front of the National Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Directorate for European Integration, director Elvira Habota spoke and pointed out that the purpose of the territorial cooperation programme is, among other things, to help overcome challenges that states cannot solve.
State Secretary in the Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro, Bojan Božović, said that this conference is a crown of the very successful cooperation between the three countries, reminding that the total support provided by the EU for the realized 59 projects amounts to over EUR 57.2 million.
In front of the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro, the Deputy Head of the Cooperation Sector Liselote Isakson, pointed out that the European Union is proud to have supported these projects, because they improved the lives of people living in the areas covered by the Programme.
At the conference, the results of cooperation between institutions and organizations from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro were presented and short films about some of the implemented projects were premiered. Project beneficiaries shared their experiences in project implementation through four panel discussions divided by programme priorities.
The Programme was adopted by the European Commission on 24 November 2015 with the overall EU budget of EUR 57,155,316. In the financial period 2014-2020, the Republic of Croatia assumed the role of the Managing Authority for the first time.
The goal of the Programme was to strengthen the social, economic and territorial development of the cross-border area through the implementation of joint projects, and during the Programme period, 59 projects were contracted with as many as 249 project partners.
Cooperation between the three countries continues through the new Interreg VI-A IPA Programme Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2021-2027. which was approved by the European Commission on 3 November 2022, and which makes available to users from 3 countries EUR 117,685,699.00 for projects aimed at encouraging smart, green and inclusive development of cross-border regions.
