EGTC-Workshop 2021/1 (Tata)

The first EGTC workshop organised this year in Tata was a celebratory occasion for several reasons. On the one hand, thanks to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, experts interested in cross-border cooperation could finally meet again face to face to share their experiences. On the other hand, the Pons Danubii EGTC celebrated the tenth anniversary of its foundation, for which occasion nearly a hundred visitors assembled in the ceremonial hall of the Piarist Religious House on the 24 June 2021.

The meeting was opened by the welcoming words of Dr. Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who praised the Pons Danubii EGTC for the role it plays in the region and with his encouraging words he also gave new impetus to the partners and development processes. Following that, members of parliament Dr. Judit Czunyiné Bertalan and János Bencsik expressed their appreciation and highlighted the connection between local conditions, trends and the efforts of the Pons Danubii EGTC from the perspectives of history, society and economic development. The mayors of Tata and Komarno, József Michl and Béla Keszegh welcomed the guests while the director of the Pons Danubii EGTC, Zoltán Bara talked them through the ten-year history of the organisation between the two cities and the EGTC, as well as the most significant achievements of the last decade. 

The professional part of the workshop took place in the afternoon with a programme focusing on the topical issues of the 2021-2027 development period as a preparation for the planning and implementation tasks. Nikoletta Horváth, Head of Department for Cross-border Cooperation Programmes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade outlined the latest developments in the planning of Interreg programmes. Szilveszter Holop, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the INTERREG V-A Slovakia-Hungary Programme, presented the latest news regarding the Slovak-Hungarian border region, and Dr. Márton Szűcs, Head of the Secretariat of the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg V-A Hungary-Croatia Cooperation Programme, shared information on the Hungarian-Croatian border region. 

CESCI contributed to the workshop through the introduction of two topics. CESCI’s GIS specialist, Viktória Jánosi, presented the recently completed EGTC monitor, which is the information platform of Hungarian EGTCs. Melinda Benczi, analyst discussed the potential resources and direct funding opportunities from the EU post 2021.

Concluding the programme, the representatives of the EGTCs went through the more current and significant projects and problems of their regions during a round-table talk, as well as the topics that need to be discussed together to make the operational and project development activities of the EGTCs more efficient and successful in the future.