EGTC-Workshop 2019/1 (Szentgotthárd)

This year’s first national EGTC workshop and professional conference was held on 28-29 March in Szentgotthárd. This two-day conference provided an opportunity for exchanging professional experiences between EGTCs as well as explore the possibilities for development. Our organization, the CESCI was represented by Melinda Benczi, our strategic planner and project manager, who presented the European Investment Bank’s pilot program for financing cross-border developments.

The program was opened by Gábor Huszár, the mayor of Szentgotthárd, who emphasized in his speech that the city is in a special position, not only because of its rich historical past, but also because of the centuries-old peaceful coexistence of the Slovenian, Austrian and Hungarian nationalities, which serves as a stong foundation for the future. Without any doubt the establishment of the MURABA EGTC will also advance the good cooperation.

János Magyar, the mayor of Lendva, also welcomed the participants of the conference. He said that the city has been also the member of another European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, called Pannon EGTC. They consider their participation in the MURABA EGTC to be important, so they have decided to found it one and a half year ago. After that, Márton Ropos, who is the president of the Slovenian Municipality and MURABA EGTC welcomed the participants. When establishing the MURABA EGTC, it was also their intention to strengthen the cross-border cooperation. After that, Erika Kissné Köles, the Slovenian nationality’s spokesperson welcomed the participants and recalled that after the change of the regime the national minority organizations, such as the Slovenian Municipality, the Association of Slovenians in Hungary were founded. She mentioned that she carries the cause of the MURABA EGTC on her heart also as the chairman of the supervisory board.

Dr. Katalin Fekete, head of department responsible for Cross-border Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also welcomed the participants, then Tamás Beleznay, Head of department at the Prime Minister’s Office, informed the participants about the possibilities of the Hungarian Village Program.

The first block of the afternoon was dedicated to assessing legal obstacles and preparing for the next EU budgetary period. Ferenc Deák, the Deputy Head of Department at the Ministry of Agriculture spoke about the situation of small producers and local products, while Tibor Markovics, the director of the Őrség National Park, has analysed this topic from the point of view of national parks. Then, Biriki Ariana, Communication Manager of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg V-A SK-HU Program, provided useful advice on the image, communication and website development of EGTCs.

In the afternoon our colleague, Melinda Benczi, concluded the day with her presentation, with a strong emphasis on how EGTCs can benefit from the European Investment Bank’s new financing instrument currently being under preparation. The participants then took part in a roundtable discussion where they shared their main challenges and best practices.

On 29 March, László Foltán, project manager of the Vízivándor Program, gave a presentation on the opportunities offered by the cross-border water tourism, which was followed by the Mura EGTC’s and Pontibus EGTC’s presentation on their experiences. At the end of the two-day event, the participants had the opportunity to visit a local Slovenian model farm.

The next EGTC workshop is planned to be organized in Budapest.