EGTC-Workshop 2014/4 (Ráckeve)

The 8th EGTC workshop was organised on 18-19 November in Ráckeve. Besides the active EGTCs with Hungarian interests and CESCI, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of National Development also attended the event.

Attendees were welcomed by Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of CESCI at the beginning of the event. A presentation was held by Antal Kiss, Ministerial Commissioner of the Ministry of National Development on the potentials of direct sources from the European Union. He mentioned that there were very few applicants and approved projects from Hungary, with an exception of the Europe for Citizens programme. Following the Ministerial Director’s presentation, Gyula Ocskay has reported on the calls relevant and available for EGTCs. He has emphasised the importance of international partnership, and highlighted uneven complexities and financing intensities and funding forms of the current programmes. He came to the conclusion that to be successful applicants, applying a system-based perspective is necessary for EGTCs. For the period of 2014-2020, he also suggested development projects to be scheduled, sources to be identified for each project, and partnerships required to be formed.

Websites of the EGTCs are essential when establishing international partnerships. Therefore on the first day of the workshop, websites of EGTCs were evaluated from the viewpoint of a potential foreign partner. It came clear that there is space for improvement in this field, as most websites contained barely enough information.

Consultation was also held with employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accounting of 2013 and 2014 operational grants and the functioning of the new application system were discussed, and several suggestions were made by representatives of EGTCs concerning own funds required and the simplification of the application system.

The second day, participants talked over the details of the organisation of an international event, the EGTC Days, to be held in September 2015 within European Cooperation Day. CESCI has undertaken compiling a proposal in order to decide substantial issues. The proposal will be consulted and finalized by the representatives of the EGTCs.

The workshop, financed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, ended with a common lunch.