The Interreg V-A Romania-Hungary Programme organized in Oradea, (Romania), on November 10, 2016 its first annual event, under the form of a launching conference, with the title: KEEP ON COOPERATING!
The event was honoured by the presence of several important guests: the Ambassador of Romania in Hungary, H.E. Mr. Marius Gabriel LAZURCA, Hungary's Consul-General in Cluj-Napoca, Mr. MILE Lajos, the Economic Affairs Attaché of Hungarian Embassy in Romania, Mr. SZABÓ Miklós, as well as the representatives of the European Commission, DG REGIO, Mrs. Agnès MONFRET and Mrs. Iva GAILLY. The Managing Authority of the Programme was represented by Mr. Mihai BUSUIOC, Secretary General of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, Mrs. Camelia COPORAN, Deputy Director General of the Directorate General for European Programmes, and Mrs. Roxana RACOVIŢĂ, Head of the Managing Authority of the Programme. On behalf of the Hungarian National Authority, the Deputy State Secretary from Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Zsigmond PERÉNYI and his colleague, the Head of Department of the International Cooperation Programmes, Mr. Adrián SAVANYÚ also attended the conference.
The official launching of the Programme was greeted at local level by the welcome notes of Mr. Claudiu POP, the Prefect of Bihor County, Mr. PÁSZTOR Sándor, the President of Bihor County Council and Mr. Mircea MĂLAN, the Vice Mayor of Oradea.
The aim of the event was to present the status of Programme implementation, results to be obtained, perspectives and stories behind successful cross border initiatives already implemented in the region and all across Europe. The conference brought together more than 150 participants from both partner states: stakeholders who are interested to contribute to the programme, potential project applicants, as well as professionals working in the field of territorial cooperation and/or regional development.
The conference also intended to provide a joint platform for sharing knowledge, for receiving information on the application and project development processes, as well as for networking.
In line with the position of the European Commission, namely the orientation towards projects with strong impact and concrete results, the Management Authority provided information related to the timing of the launch of calls for proposals. Thus, the two Member States expressed their commitment to launch a part of the investment priorities until the end of the year 2016, another part of them to be launched until the end of the first quarter of next year.
The event ended in an informal setting, with a concert of pan flute and other folk blowing wind instruments, performed by the vocalist and instrumentalist Dr. Oana Lianu, covering a mixed Romanian and Hungarian repertoire. The participants also had the opportunity to enjoy an exhibition of photos taken in the eligible programme area, signed by the photographer Ovi D. Pop.
