Background 1 General objective: to provide a concrete - PDF document

The European Union’s Programme for the Balkan Region: Instrument for Pre- accession Assistance – Regional Programme 2010 ������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������� Kick-off Meeting of the Project Sarajevo, March 16th, 2012 A project implemented by This project is funded by The Central European Initiative The European Union Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions Background 1 • General objective: to provide a concrete contribution to regional cohesion in South-East Europe (SEE) & to the process of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans (WB). • The ultimate beneficiaries of this action are the SEE countries, in particular the WB plus Turkey and Moldova, as they still face significant challenges and are called to quickly pursue EU-related reforms to speed up the process on the path towards the EU. • Expected result: an even more impacting & visible RCC acting as a catalyst & promoter of regional strategies as well as an incubator of projects to be implemented by actors of the SEE region through increased operational partnership and ownership of the regional cooperation. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

Background 2 CEI intends to support the strengthening of the RCC Secretariat as the driver of regional projects generation, coordination and monitoring, along four mainstreams carrying out activities for: � Capacity building for the promotion of regional projects; � Prioritisation of new strategic perspectives; � Networking and capitalization on regional experience; � Innovation of vision and methodology. A cross-cutting blend of top-down & bottom-up approaches features the implementation of all envisaged WPs. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions Background 3 • In the last ten years, the number of Regional Initiatives (RIs) and Task Forces (TFs) has grown significantly, showing the strong demand for regional cooperation in various priority areas and also risks for overlapping. • All proposed activities will seek to spread knowledge on, and increase visibility of, the RCC pivotal role of regional coordination. • The action aims at contributing to the implementation of the RCC Strategy & Work Programme 2011 – 2013, while initiating a dialogue on the forthcoming Strategy and Work Programme 2014 – 2016 with the involvement of relevant stakeholders at regional, European and international level. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

Project figures • The project is financed by the European Union through the Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance – IPA MB Regional Programme 2010. • It will last 24 months (December 2011 – November 2013). • The total budget of the project amounts to 890.000 euro (10% CEI co-financing). Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions Work Packages • WP1: Project Management • WP2: Enhancing RCC Operational Capacity • WP3: Raising Awareness and Consensus on RCC Activity • WP4: Innovation of RCC Operations through the design of a pilot ICT platform • WP5: Dissemination and Communication Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

WP1: Project Management • Overall responsibility of the action is up to the Central European Initiative (CEI) • CEI Project Manager coordinates activities with the staff of RCC on partnership basis • CEI staff organization counts on two offices: 1. Twinning Unit (TU) in Sarajevo (BiH) 2. Technical Advisory Unit (TAU) in Trieste (I) Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions WP2: Enhancing RCC Operational Capacity • Strengthening the effectiveness and the impact of the RCC Secretariat and its sector strategies by feeding its perspectives with innovative regional approaches. • Capitalization on existing regional projects funded by EU operational programmes of European Territorial Cooperation objective and by EU framework programmes (CIP – FP7 RTD) for fitting RCC specific objectives in its areas of intervention. • Provision of relevant models & best practices on regional cooperation and enhancement of RCC European networking with other regional organizations. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

WP2 – Activities • Activity 1. Supporting RCC capacity to set new strategic priorities (by SWOT innovation & PCM specific capacities) • Activity 2. Study tours to other Regional Organisations (Nordic Dimension – Central Europe) • Activity 3. Institutional building seminars on integrated programing and competition rules, in cooperation with OECD LEED (RCC Parliamentary dimension) Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions WP3: Raising Awareness and Consensus on RCC Activity By rallying top relevant stakeholders at national level WP3 promotes the bottom-up identification of new sector needs / priorities to be integrated into multi-beneficiary regional projects, and to be streamlined for funding by international financial schemes at the occasion of four Sector Stakeholders Conferences. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

WP3: Raising Awareness and Consensus on RCC Activity WP3 activities aim at increasing the effective and efficient ownership of regional cooperation in South-East Europe, framed by a stronger RCC further enabled to promote, coordinate and rationalise regional cooperation along the lines of common needs and shared objectives to be supported by a reformed IPA regulation. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions WP 3 – Activities • Activity 1. Decentralized consultations for a bottom–up assessment of the priorities in the region (Stakeholders Meetings at national level) • Activity 2. Four Sectoral Stakeholders Conferences One SSC focuses on the principles of European Citizenship in the SEE (RCC Parliamentary dimension) Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

WP4: Innovation of RCC Operations through the design of a pilot ICT platform • A seminar focused on e-diplomacy tools, to be held with the DiploFoundation, provides for developing flagship project-ideas for innovative proceedings in the realm of regional cooperation. • A study on the feasibility of a Digital Proceedings Eco-system (DPE) to be carried out and the experimentation of a new Video-Conference Platform for the development of an e-RCC concept, aiming to establish a pilot model in the field. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions WP4 – Activities • Activity 1. Scenarios Building Seminar in cooperation with DiploFoundation • Activity 2. Feasibility study on the Digital Proceedings Eco-system (DPE) and design of an innovative ICT platform Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

WP5: Dissemination and Communication • Top-down and bottom-up activities targeting partner institutions and public & private stakeholders from the SEE community and IFIs focus on drawing attention on the added values to be achieved thanks to the role of RCC as the catalyst of SEE regional cooperation. • The action shall contribute to enhance the worldwide territorial marketing of SEE by raising awareness on the features of its regional path to EU as a playground for the overall development of Europe. Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions WP5 - Activities • Activity 1. Kick –off Meeting • Activity 2. Sub-grant “How do I see my neighbour” • Activity 3. Brussels Event “Western Balkans path to EU as a driver for overall development” • Activity 4. Final Conference Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions

Thank you for your attention! Ugo Poli Project Manager Tel: +39 040 7786 758 / 749 Mobile: +39 338 6612797 email: poli@cei-es.org Central European Initiative via Genova 9, 34121 Trieste - Italy Regional Cooperation for European Integration A Bridge Between Macroregions