TO MORE EU FUNDS THROUGH THE COOPERATION OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS

IA seminar on Financial Management of the EU Structural Funds was held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, organized by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). The seminar was attended, apart from the members of this institution, by the representatives of the DG Regio and DG for Employment of the European Commission, as well as of the Departments for Management of EU Funds from Ireland, Wales, the Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain, Slovenia, etc.

Depending on administrative preparations we make, the country will use more or less EU funds in the future. Therefore, it is strategically important to train professionals at all relevant state levels, who will contribute to the implementation of as many successful projects as possible with their knowledge of EU financial regulations, which will have direct impact on faster economic growth, higher employment rate and generally higher living standard. Representatives of Niš, Šabac, Golubac, Dimitrovgrad, Despotovac and Medveđa have received training at the premises of the Office for European Affairs of the Province over the past two years. Vojvodina is certainly the leader regarding European cooperation and regional initiatives, however, our wish is to help our colleagues from other parts of the country. That is the only way for our country to seize all the opportunities ahead of us. As far as fund management is concerned, I believe that we should look up to the countries in which that work is done at the regional level and in coordination with the national level. In order for the whole process of fund usage to be as successful as possible, the local and regional level should be more engaged in the initiation and implementation of development strategies”, said Predrag Novikov, Director of the Office for European Affairs, after attending the seminar in Maastricht.