This year, for the 17th time in a row, the event “European Week of Regions and Cities 2019” was held in Brussels, successfully organized by the Committee of the Regions and the General Directorate for Regional and Urban Policies.

This time the “European Week of Regions and Cities 2019” was held in the period from October 7 to 10, 2019, and Vojvodina was part of the partnership called “Europe of Opportunities” together with the following regions: Alpine Euroregion ( South Tyrol, Trentino, Tyrol); Carinthia (Austria); Union of Municipalities of the Attica Region (Greece); Veneto, Marche, Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy); Norland (Norway); Maritime Region, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Region (Poland); Bouches du Rhône, Marseille (France); The city of Castellón and Castilla la Mancha (Spain). The Italian region of Veneto was the leading partner.

The provincial delegation at this important event was led by the President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina Istvan Pastor. On the first day of the event, a formal reception was held in the European Parliament.

On the first day, President Pastor also met with the President of the Committee of the Regions, Karl Heinz Lamberz.

Mr. Lamberc expressed his support and gratitude to the Office of AP Vojvodina in Brussels, i.e. the activities that the entire province carries out in the field of interregional cooperation. President Pastor informed the interlocutor about the current issues of the European integration of the Republic of Serbia and expressed the hope that in the coming period, that is, during the mandate of the upcoming European Commission, the process of expansion to the countries of the Western Balkans will be more certain. President Lambertz agreed with this position, and expressed his belief that the institution headed by him will do everything to contribute to a positive attitude on the way to further European integration of our country.

The same evening, on Monday October 7, a traditional Vojvodina reception was held. This time, Vojvodina presented itself with a program called “Vojvodina, Future Unlimited”. The reception was attended by a large number of representatives of European cities and regions, as well as representatives of European institutions. The guests were welcomed by the President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina Istvan Pastor, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the EU Ana Hrustanović and Assistant Provincial Secretary for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government Nebojša Drakulić.

The reception was attended by about 150 guests, among them several members of the European Parliament, ambassadors, diplomats, representatives of European institutions, high-ranking officials of several European regions, businessmen from Belgium… At the reception, Fondaci”OPENS19″ had its own promotional stand, and the Pannonia String Quartet also performed. A very interesting promotional film about Vojvodina was also shown.

As the City of Novi Sad holds the title of Youth Capital of Europe in 2019, one of the significant events at this year’s European Week of Regions and Cities was the presentation of the youth policies of the city of Novi Sad and the province of Vojvodina.

The workshop entitled “Cohesion policy for a more social Europe: Regions and cities inclusive for all” (Cohesion policy for a more social Europe: Regions and Cities inclusive for all) was held through three different panels at the European Committee of the Regions on October 8, 2019.

Numerous speakers tried to convey how the implementation of local and regional policies can actively contribute to the construction of a “more social Europe”, and in accordance with the broader perspective of one of the goals of Sustainable Development – “sustainable cities and communities”. The workshop presented strategies and examples of good practice of local and regional authorities on socially responsible legislation and examples of Cohesion Policy implementation with a focus on an inclusive approach. As part of the third panel, Novi Sad was presented as the holder of the title of Youth Capital of Europe for 2019, when Katarina Živanović, assistant to the coordinator for international cooperation, presented the work of OPENS so far and plans for the future. As part of the third panel, in addition to OPENS representatives, positive examples from two Polish and one French region were also presented. The speakers were Dominik Hanania, Deputy Director of Environment, Major Projects and Research from the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône from the South of France, Katarina Zeman, Deputy Director of the Laboratory for Social Innovation from Gdynia from Poland ke and Adam Sponka, director of the Regional Center for Social Policy, also from Poland.

On October 8, the director of the “European Affairs” Fund of AP Vojvodina, Vidosava Enderić, met with Marco Zanni, a member of the European Parliament, who was on a working visit to the Fund at the beginning of the month. This time, the focus of the conversation was on future cooperation in the field of tourism and EU projects.

The AP Vojvodina delegation also spoke with the delegation of the German federal state of Hessen, which was led at the meeting by the state secretary for European affairs, Mark Weinmeister. The meeting was also attended by the heads of the AP Vojvodina and Hesse offices in Brussels, Srđan Mačkić and Friedrich von Heusinger. A significant contribution to the cooperation of the two regions was made by the offices in Brussels, and on this occasion they discussed the continuation of the cooperation, that is, its institutionalization through the signing of the Cooperation Agreement.

The meeting with Hessen was held on October 8, 2019, and the signing of the Agreement is scheduled for November 2019.