Delegation of the Institute of the European Region (IRE) visits the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Office in Brussels
The Head of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Office in Brussels, Srđan Mačkić, met on February 2, 2022 with the delegation of the Institute of the European Region led by the President of this organization Professor Franz Schausberger with his associates, Dr. Joachim Fritz and Stefan Habock.
This organization, based in Salzburg (Austria), has for many years successfully cooperated with over 150 local and regional administrations from almost 23 countries across Europe. When it comes to the Republic of Serbia, there is cooperation with the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, then the municipalities of Bela Palanka, Vlasotince, Veliko Gradište, Sremski Karlovci, Gornji Milanovac, Niška Banja, Knjaževac, as well as with the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina.
During the meeting, the interlocutors from Austria were especially interested in activities related to the city of Novi Sad and the title of European Capital of Culture, a short promotional film and program book was presented to the guests, as well as previous achievements in renovating various facilities and building completely new spaces and content for the needs of the cultural industry.
Presenting the most important activities of the Institute for 2022, Professor Schausberger pointed out the eighteenth congress called Europe Summit in Salzburg, which is planned for the end of October 2022, and expressed hope that the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina representatives will take an active part in this traditional gathering. In addition to this congress, the Institute, together with the region of Upper Austria and the University of Linz, will organize a conference entitled “Digitalization: a new strength for the regions” which will be held on May 11, 2022 in Linz. Also, the previous cooperation with the University of Novi Sad has been very successfully characterized, since students from this university, in the previous period, had the opportunity to do an internship within the Institute.
It should be noted that Professor Schausberger is also the current co-chair of the Joint Consultative Committee of the European Committee of the Regions and the Republic of Serbia, and they talked about the work of this committee so far, and used the opportunity to present results and progress in European integration.
The interlocutors expressed hope that in the near future conditions will be created for easier meetings with physical presence and facilitate the movement of people, which in the current conditions is limited due to the pandemic, and expressed mutual readiness to continue more intensive cooperation in the future.
