Western Balkans

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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News archive - Outcomes from discussions on the future of IPA CBC Programmes with Member States

A summary of key points from discussions at a workshop on the future of Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) including IPA funding (Instrument for Pre-Accession) is now available - as a point of view of programmes' managers which could be used as input for preparation of the next programming period. The services of the European Commission, responsible for IPA CBC, together with INTERACT, organised a meeting on 31 March - 1 April 2011 which aimed towards discussing the IPA CBC with Member States framework for the next programming period.

This meeting brought together a group of key representatives from IPA CBC programmes, between Member States and accession countries, in order to provide constructive proposals and operational feedback regarding the cross-border cooperation component of the pre-accession instrument.

pdf-document for download:

IPA CBC future | Key Outcomes | June 2011

In brief, the key messages are as follows:

1. continuity of structures and systems in IPA CBC with MSs for the next period
2. more alignment of the rules with those of the ERDF ETC programmes (e.g. introduction of a compulsory Audit Strategy and Communication Plan, introduction of the financial management simplification measures applied in ERDF, the introduction of a deadline for the Compliance process and the removal of the link between compliance and pre-financing payment, etc.)
3. there is a necessity to be more explicit about certain elements of the implementation structures and procedures so that the IPA beneficiary countries understand their own obligations and duties more clearly

Source: http://www.interact-eu.net/news/ipa_cbc_future/7/9983

Structural funds / the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA), territorial cooperation programmes and cross-border programmes in particular are of great importance to build up competitiveness and excellence and it is very important for enlargement countries that the upcoming financial period (starting 2014) will allow to have a great impact on these levels. Cooperation on innovation issues is a focus in the CBC programmes.

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