The Directorate for European Integration of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (DEI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro in cooperation with the Delegation of the EU to BiH organised a kick-off meeting on the occasion of announcing the first call for proposals under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) II Cross-border Programme Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro, 2014-2020, on October 25th in Mostar.
The overall objective of the programme is sustainable development in the cross-border area between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro worth 8.4 million EUR of which 3.240.000 EUR will be awarded in the first call.
Head of the Department for Cross-border, International and Special EU Assistance Programmes at the Directorate for European Integration Nada Bojanić informed the participants about the priorities of the first call for proposals open until December 2nd, 2016.
“The programme has defined three priorities: support for employment with special focus on the inclusion of vulnerable groups, protection of the environment and promotion of tourism and cultural heritage“, Bojanić said.
Programme Manager at the Delegation of the EU to BiH, Edbera Biković, noted that one of the main objectives of the CBC programme is to strengthen good neighbourly relations, the stabilisation of the region, as well as the socio-economic strengthening of often neglected border areas.
Ivana Glišević Đurović, Acting Director for Coordination of EU assistance programmes with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro said that the cross-border cooperation between Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the previous IPA I Programme started in 2007, emphasising that 35 such projects were implemented to date.
“New programme offers significant opportunities and I am certain that applicants will know how to use this opportunity to continue previously established partnerships, form new ones, as well as to implement an even greater number of projects“, Glišević Đurović concluded.
Programme Manager at the Delegation of the EU to BiH, Ljiljana Pandžić shared more info on the first call for proposals. “The first call worth 3.240.000 EUR will focus on the projects targeting two special objectives that are improving employment conditions and social inclusion of vulnerable groups, as well as the tourist offer based on the natural and cultural heritage“, Pandžić said.
In the second part, the participants had the opportunity to learn more about general characteristics of the programme followed by the Info Day regarding specific terms and conditions of the first Call.
The first call for proposals under the IPA II Cross-border Programme Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro, 2014-2020 worth 3.24 million EUR was announced on 17 October 2016 and will be open until 2 December 2016.
Info day activities will continue in the following days with the events taking place in Trebinje, Herceg Novi and Nikšić.
All necessary documents for proposals and information on the announced call are available on the link:
1st Call for Proposals Cross-border cooperation BiH-Montenegro 2014-2020
