National
Development Agency

The kick-off event of the Programme and the subsequent conference were organised in Croatia on 1 April. Mr László Varju State Secretary of the Ministry for National Development and Economy, Mr José Palma Andrés Director of the European Commission and Mr Milivoj Mikulic State Secretary for Regional Development attended both events.
The key objective of measures outlined within the framework of the IPA pre-accession funding facility is to promote the adjustment of the beneficiary countries to European Union requirements, policies and the acquis communautaire primarily in the case of candidate countries. In order to develop cross-border social and economic ties, counties situated in the border region of the two countries will cooperate to raise the level of development and facilitate the integration of these regions.    

Zala County, Somogy County and Baranya County will be participating on behalf of Hungary whilst the following countries will take part in the Programme on the Croatian side: Međjimurska, Koprivničko Križevačka, Virovitičko Podravska and Osječko-Baranjska. Beyond the above-listed border counties, an additional four counties in Croatia have also been integrated in the Programme, namely: Varaždinska, Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska, Požesko-Slavonska and Vukovarsko-Srijemska. Since these regional units do not directly border Hungary, they are only eligible to receive 20% of the overall financial framework of the Programme as so-called accession regions.

Joint Hungarian and Croatian organisations will be responsible for coordinating the Programme. The long-term objectives of the Programme are geared towards promoting a culture building on intensive social and economic ties in the border region, supporting knowledge-based development and facilitating the sound management of the natural and cultural heritage of the region.   

Specific objectives have also been outlined in the Programme, such as, the environmental stabilisation of the Dráva Valley and the natural and rural areas of this region and making the region more appealing as a tourist destination. A common region sustainable in terms of its tourism appeal can be created in the Dráva-Danube region and areas that are an integral part of this region. Infrastructure developments are needed to stimulate active and eco-tourism, i.e.: visitor’s centres, open-air schools, water sports centres, bicycle routes and tourist trails will be created. Plans for these may be jointly drafted by the two countries, which activity is also funded by the European Union. The development of the cultural heritage of the region, promoting cultural values and tradition and exploiting the advantages to intensive cultural and educational ties between people and educational and civil organisations also represent common interests. The Programme particularly emphasises equal opportunity, sustainability, bilingualism and cross-border cooperation.

EU funding amounting to a total of 11.6 million EUR has been made available within the framework of the call. Projects in Hungary will be implemented through the co-financing of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Republic of Hungary and in Croatia through the co-financing of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and the Republic of Croatia.  

Even more information will be presented in connection with the application package at the Information Days organised by the Micro-Regional Regional Development Council at specific venues on the following dates: 8 April 2009 – Pécs; 15 April 2009 – Kaposvár; 16 April 2009 – Zalaegerszeg.

For tender documentation and further information visit: www.hu-hr-ipa.com