EC has issued a second Open Call for Proposals from eligible organizations for the Cross-border Program Serbia – Montenegro. This program is the result of a joint planning effort by the Serbian and Montenegrin governments. The Cross-border Program Serbia – Montenegro analyses the socio-economic situation of the Serbian – Montenegrin border region, sets outs a common strategy for remedying problems identified and formulates joint priorities and measures for development.
Based on the Cross-border Program Serbia – Montenegro, single calls for proposals are launched at a regular interval on both sides of the border in order to select cross-border cooperation projects that contribute to the strategy’s objectives and fall into identified priorities and measures.
The Cross-border Program Serbia – Montenegro is supported by the Cross-Border Cooperation Component (Component II) of the EU ‘Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance’ (IPA), under which € 5.7 million have been allocated for the period 2007-2011.
In Serbia the responsible institutions are:
– The Serbian government’s EU Integration Office (SEIO) responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the program
– The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia for all contracting and payment issues.
In Montenegro, the responsible institutions are:
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI), responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the program
– The Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro for all contracting and payment issues.
Program areas including the eligible and adjacent area:
– In Serbia the eligible areas are territories of the following municipalities: Užice, Bajina Bašta, Požega, Kosjerić, Čajetina, Arilje, Priboj, Nova Varoš, Prijepolje, Sjenica, Raška, Novi Pazar, Tutin, Kraljevo and Vrnjačka Banja plus the adjacent area, which covers the municipalities of Gornji Milanovac, Ivanjica and Lučani and the City of Čačak, which were included after the revision of the Cross-border Program Serbia–Montenegro with the approval of the European Commission on October 18, 2010.
– In Montenegro the eligible areas are territories of the following municipalities: Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Rožaje, Plav, Andrijevica, Kolašin, Mojkovac, Žabljak, Plužine, Šavnik, Nikšić plus the adjacent area, which covers the municipalities of Podgorica, Danilovgrad and Cetinje.
Specific Objectives of the Program
1. Strengthening the incentives for SME development in the border areas;
2. Development of tourism as a key sector of the border economy;
3. Promoting cross border trade cooperation and accessibility to markets;
4. (Re-)Establishing cross border links between business and trade support organisations to promote joint cooperative initiatives;
5. Maintaining the high quality of the border area environment as an economic resource by cooperating in joint protection and exploitation initiatives.
6. Strengthening cross border people-to-people interaction to reinforce cultural and sporting links and to share know-how and experience in areas of common interest.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 14, 2011
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
