European partnerships signed between the Office for European Affairs and municipalities of Irig and Bečej

Memorandums of Cooperation between the Office for European Affairs and municipalities of Irig and Bečej have been signed at the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

“The regional cooperation, contacts and partnerships the Office for European Affairs has developed with our European partners are a new opportunity and instrument for new economic development. That has also been recognised by the municipalities of Irig and Bečej, and in the forthcoming period we are going to focus on several strategic areas, such as economic cooperation, participation in cross-border cooperation (CBC) programmes, whereas it is especially important to use the great capacities of these municipalities with respect to the use of thermal water, biomass, wind energy, etc. Moreover, I would like to mention that by signing the cooperation agreement, the municipalities expressed their readiness for capacity building in the use of EU preaccession funds”, said Predrag Novikov, Director of the Office for European Affairs.

The President of Irig Municipality, Radovan Ercegovac, PhD, said that although Irig has only a population of 13,000, it has valuable resources in agriculture, service sector, while tourism is a branch with great capacities, taking into consideration all the resources of Fruška Gora, monasteries and lakes. “In the time to come we are going to participate in CBC programmes along with the Office for European Affairs, so that we could try to open up new opportunities for all our citizens”, said Ercegovac.

The President of Bečej Municipality, Peter Knezi thanked the Office for European Affairs on offering support and pointed to the thermal water and the Tisa River as development tools of the wider area. “We have also submitted a project proposal and applied for Slovak Aid,” said Mr. Knezi.